America East hoop tourney formats debated Focus is on location and structure

The future sites and formats for the America East men’s and women’s basketball tournaments were discussed by the athletic directors from the nine schools earlier this week but nothing has been decided, according to University of Maine interim athletic director Paul Bubb.

The men’s tournament will again be held at one site for the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds (this year at Boston University’s Walter Brown Arena) with the championship game being played on the home court of the highest-seeded survivor. The first two rounds were held at Northeastern’s Matthews Arena in Boston a year ago.

The entire women’s tournament will return to the Chase Family Arena in West Hartford, Conn. where it was a year ago.

Bubb said the athletic directors will meet again in May to chose the sites for next season’s tournaments and, possibly, for several years to come.

“My preference would be to develop a philosophy and follow it for a set period of time,” said Bubb. “We talked about a number of things including what should be our driving force behind choosing hosts. Should everyone have a chance to host a tournament [on a rotating basis]? Should we go to a central location where the media can best be served? Should the top seed host? Should it be at a neutral site? Should the bottom line be financial?”

If it is based on financial potential, they would be held at sites with the potential to draw the largest crowds or to schools that offer the most lucrative guarantees.

“I’ve seen a lot of different philosophies work,” said Bubb, who added that one advantage to holding a tournament at the same site every year would be the fans can plan ahead.

He was less than enamored with the choice of Hartford as the host of the women’s tourney again. Hartford won the America East title as the fifth seed on its home court last season and Bubb said, “I have a hard time believing they would have won it if it was held at Vermont.”

University of Maine men’s basketball coach John Giannini said his biggest disappointment is that there is a “bias against the northern New England schools” hosting the tournament.

But there could be a solution: University of New Hampshire athletic director Marty Scarano suggested Portland’s Cumberland County Civic Center.

“When Rudy Keeling [former Northeastern and Maine coach] and I were in the league together, he always said Portland would be the best tournament site,” said Giannini.

“It’s a great city with a good facility that can hold over 6,000 fans; it’s centrally located in terms of travel time; I think it would be well-attended and it’s a great area for fans from the other schools to visit. It’s one of the best vacation locations in the country,” said Giannini. “To me, it makes perfect sense.”