2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Basketball Championships Digital Program

WELCOME LETTERS

WELCOME LETTERS

March 7, 2023

March 7, 2023

On behalf of the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, (CRDA), we welcome back the MAAC basketball teams and coaches to Atlantic City and historic Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. Last year’s tournament saw Saint Peter’s Final Four journey begin with their MAAC win, and we expect another action-packed tournament at this year’s 2023 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Basketball Championship. We are excited to have the tournament return to our venue and are confident that our building management team, Oakview Group, will provide a safe and friendly environment to play this championship event. We look forward to our continued partnership with MAAC and we invite the athletes, coaches, fans and families to experience all the amenities that our destination has to offer. From world class accommodations to dining, shopping and entertainment, we are sure you’ll find plenty to do during your time here. Visit our website at www.atlanticcity.com for a listing of all upcoming events and attractions. On behalf of the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, (CRDA), we welcome back the MAAC basketball teams and coaches to Atlantic City and historic Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. Last year’s tournament saw St. Peter’s Final Four journey begin with their MAAC win, and we expect another action-packed tournament at this year’s 2023 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Basketball Championship. We are excited to have the tournament return to our venue and are confident that our building management team, Oakview Group, will provide a safe and friendly environment to play this championship event. We look forward to our continued partnership with MAAC and we invite the athletes, coaches, fans and families to experience all the amenities that our destination has to offer. From world class accommodations to dining, shopping and entertainment, we are sure you’ll find plenty to do during your time here. Visit our website at www.atlanticcity.com for a listing of all upcoming events and attractions.

Dear MAAC Basketball Fans: Welcome to the 42nd annual Hercules Tires MAAC Basketball Championships! 2023 marks the fourth year that the MAAC’s premier event is being hosted by Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. Atlantic City has been a great host to the championships working with the conference to maintain the event through the COVID pandemic and is now ready to welcome fans in the manner that was envisioned before the 2020 tourney was cut short. This will be the 35th year I’ve been overseeing the MAAC Basketball Championships, and as I prepare to retire in June it seems appropriate to reflect on how the event has grown. In 1989 when the MAAC was hosted by the Meadowlands Arena, it was just the men’s semifinals and finals that were played in the venue. It was also the weekend of a colossal ice storm the night of the finals and I recall thinking we should announce the fans that somehow made it to arena, rather than the teams, as the introductions would be shorter. Despite that shaky start, I have always envisioned the basketball championships as culmination event that celebrated the MAAC’s premier men’s and women’s sport. For that reason, we elevated the championship to include all teams when the conference moved to the new Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, NY in 1990. This expanded to all men’s and women’s teams at the arena starting in 1992 and it has remained a joint men’s and women’s championships format since then as the MAAC leadership recognized our men’s and women’s basketball players should have a similar championship experience. During my tenure, the MAAC has been hosted by many communities including Albany, NY; Buffalo, NY; Springfield, MA; Trenton, NJ; Bridgeport, CT; and most recently Atlantic City, NJ which was chosen because it was a neutral site in a destination city with first class accommodations for the teams and fans. The MAAC could not successfully conduct these championships without the assistance of the arena staffs that make it all come together in a seamless manner.

Sincerely,

Sincerely,

Sean Pattwell Executive Director Casino Reinvestment Development Authority Sean Pattwell Executive Director Casino Reinvestment Development Authority

I want to thank all the MAAC’s partners and co-hosts for their efforts this year. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA), the City of Atlantic City, Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, the Atlantic City Sports Commission, Visit Atlantic City, Rider University, and the MAAC have worked diligently to create a first-class event for our student-athletes, coaches and fans. Included in these acknowledgements are the MAAC’s hospitality hosts at the Tropicana Casino and Resort, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, The Showboat Hotel, The Claridge – A Radisson Hotel and the Sheraton Atlantic City Convention Center Hotel. This annual event is a showcase of college basketball that the conference membership looks forward to each March and brings economic rewards to the region through team and fan travel and entertainment. For 35 years I have been privileged to serve as MAAC Commissioner, but the heavy lifting of administering the event has fallen on the MAAC staff who tirelessly work to put on a first-rate event for our teams and fans. I want to single out MAAC Senior Associate Commissioner, Jordan Confessore, who oversees all elements of the championships with her team of Caitlin Lowe for women’s basketball, Valerie McQuade for broadcasting, Kelsey Nugent for hotels and esports, and Hamilton Cook for media relations. Along with Deputy Commissioner, Jess Grasso, all the MAAC staff is focused on ensuring all operations work to elevate the MAAC brand and highlight the accomplishments of the student-athletes. I am very grateful for their efforts and the many that preceded them in their roles. Fortunately, for fans unable to attend in-person the MAAC’s ESPN long-time partner will ensure that all championship games will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks. The broadcast partnership with ESPN has been a huge game changer for the MAAC since it was launched in 2014. With all MAAC home games broadcast on either ESPNU, ESPN3 or ESPN+ it has allowed the conference and its member schools to expand its brand and reach throughout the nation and also internationally through our Sidearm Sports streaming service. Playing in the NCAA Tournament is a life-long goal of MAAC athletes and coaches, and that is why the level of play is so intense as 22 teams chase the elusive bid that starts the “Road to the Final Four.” The pressure is real and the stakes high for all 22 MAAC teams as they get a shot to punch their ticket to the “Big Dance.” This year the “Big Dance” will conclude in Houston, TX for the men and Dallas, TX for the women and the MAAC championship winners are ready to ‘Dance’ as March Madness returns to Atlantic City. The ability of a team to move on from the MAAC Championship and be successful in the NCAA’s was reinforced when last year’s men’s champion Saint Peter’s University advanced to the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Tournament. The Peacocks were the Cinderella story of the tourney and despite busting most fan’s brackets, their extraordinary run with wins over Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue garnered support from college basketball fans all over the nation. In that 4-game tournament run the Peacocks had four of the top 20 ranked viewer ratings games on CBS/Turner with ratings ranked 3rd, 7th, 17th & 19th. As a graduate of Saint Peter’s ’75, I sat in the stands alone before the North Carolina game and reflected on my own career journey that started as a team manager and advanced to the Conference Commissioner role. It has been a great ride and I thank you all for attending the 2023 Championships this week as I conclude my own 35-year run. I also want to remind our basketball fans that the MVP Arena along with the MAAC and Siena College will host the 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball First and Second Rounds in Albany, NY. The long-time commitment to hosting NCAA championships by the MAAC is part of the conference’s give back to the Association as well as our partner host communities and local sports fans. In 2024, the MAAC will also host the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Regional Rounds in Albany, NY at the MVP Arena. Finally, I want to thank all of those who have worked tirelessly to make the event a memorable experience, with special thanks to the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall General Manager, Jim McDonald and his staff, our colleagues at the CRDA, as well as Atlantic City Sports Commission, CEO Larry Sieg, and staffers Dan Gallagher, Casey Sickler and Nancy Taylor. Also, Michelle Perry, the MAAC’s design and operations consultant at Game Changers Consultants, and MAAC Properties sponsorship team from Van Wagner including Patrick Quinn. Van Wagner has been connecting brands to sports for over twenty years and is an important piece to the teams that financially supports the basketball championships. We look forward to exciting MAAC basketball this week, as well as showcasing Atlantic City through our broadcast partner, ESPN, to a national audience of sports fans. Thank you for your continued support and enjoy the championships! Sincerely,

March 7, 2023

Welcome to the 2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. We are once again honored to host the event and thrilled to have the student-athletes, their families, and friends back in Atlantic City. Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall has a long history of hosting large and memorable events, and this week will be no exception as we all get to witness 22 men’s and women’s teams battle for their chance to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Thank you for joining us this week and allowing us to showcase our world-class facility and city! Atlantic City has a lot to offer the athletes, families and fans of the event and we hope you get to experience as much as you can in your free time. We wish all the student-athletes and coach’s good luck this week as you compete to earn a spot in the big dance. Enjoy the week with us and we look forward to seeing you at another event in the future.

Sincerely,

Jim McDonald General Manager

Richard J. Ensor Commissioner

6 JIM WHELAN BOARDWALK HALL | ATLANTIC CITY

2023 | HERCULES TIRES MAAC MEN’S & WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS 7