| ALBANY TO
HOST 2009 AMERICA EAST TOURNAMENT
May 1, 2008
 Cambridge,
Mass. — University at Albany will play host to
the 2009 America East Men’s Basketball
Championship at the 4,538-seat SEFCU Arena on
campus in Albany, N.Y. The decision was
reached in a vote by the conference’s
athletics directors.
The nine-team tournament in 2009 begins with a
first-round game on Friday, March 6.
Quarterfinal and semifinal games follow on
Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8,
respectively. The championship game will be
played Saturday, March 14 at the home court of
the higher remaining seed and will be
televised by ESPN2.
“We are very proud that our colleagues have
chosen the University at Albany to host this
championship,” said Lee McElroy, Albany Vice
President & Director of Athletics. “The
America East basketball championship has been
extremely successful and we hope to continue
the tradition. We look forward to the
challenge of working with the conference
membership in presenting a prestigious college
basketball event to the university community
and Capital Region.”
“We are very excited about going to Albany for
the 2009 Men’s Basketball Championship,” said
America East Commissioner Patrick Nero. “The
experience and dedication of Albany’s staff,
combined with the passion for basketball in
the Capital Region, will make for a promising
championship. All of our teams return young,
talented players from last year and this can
only add excitement to the 2009 tournament.”
SEFCU Arena opened in the spring of 1992 as an
$11 million state-of-the-art facility. The
playing surface on the arena’s three
basketball courts and the surrounding .11 mile
track were completely renovated in December of
2004. SEFCU Arena, formerly the Recreation &
Convocation Center, played host to the 2006
America Men’s Basketball Championship title
game.
The America East Championship has utilized the
present format of a single site for the first
rounds, with the championship game played at
the higher remaining seed since 1996.
Binghamton University’s Event Center was the
site of the championship in 2006 and 2008.
Boston University hosted at Agganis Arena in
2007 and at Walter Brown Arena in 2003 and
2004, while the Terriers were a co-host in
2002 at Matthews Arena. The championship was
played at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark,
Del. from 1996 to 2001.
America East will consist of nine teams for
the 2008-09 season: Albany, Binghamton
University, Boston University, University of
Hartford, University of Maine, University of
Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), University
of New Hampshire, Stony Brook University and
University of Vermont.
Game times and ticket information for the
America East Men’s Basketball Championship
will be announced at a later date.
For more information on the 2009 America East
Men’s Basketball Championship, please visit
AmericaEast.com.
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