When you think of great places for college basketball tournaments, the mind immediately jumps to Hartford, Connecticut. That’s ideal because next season’s AAC tournament will be played in Hartford, Connecticut. The league announced the move today.
“We are pleased to bring our 2015 men’s basketball championship to the city of Hartford and to this outstanding arena,” said Aresco. “The success of UConn’s men’s and women’s teams this year has made Connecticut the center of college basketball nationally. This event will enjoy tremendous fan support and our visitors will enjoy the many attractions in Hartford and its surrounding communities.”
Here are some other quotes from the twitter machine.
Aresco says desire to move tournament around and the tremendous bid from Hartford were keys to decision.
— American MBB (@American_MBB) April 14, 2014
Aresco: "Our membership was unanimous" in bringing Men's Tournament to Hartford in 2015
— American MBB (@American_MBB) April 14, 2014
Bessette cites roughly $35M in ongoing improvements to XL Center – "we have tremendous restaurants, great hotels, many attractions."
— American MBB (@American_MBB) April 14, 2014
The many attractions of Hartford is a great reason to move the tournament there for sure.
On another note, getting a new arena is guaranteed to get the conference tournament. Which is guaranteed money for the city. That’s another reason to move faster on those plans. One would think Orlando would be in the mix next year to host the tournament. Maybe SMU. Maybe Memphis again. Definitely not Tulane unless everyone wanted to go to New Orleans so maybe Tulane.
The last line of the press release was a stark reminder of the future.
The American’s membership in 2014-15 will comprise UCF, Cincinnati, UConn, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, USF, SMU, Temple, Tulane and Tulsa.
We aren’t in good league territory anymore. Back to fighting for respect by kicking some ass.
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