MAAC will change the basketball championship plan next year

Next year, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will return to a prime time slot for men's basketball championship.

The women's title game gets a day for itself.

The MAAC, to which Siena also belongs, announced the men's final on Thursday in 2026 on a Tuesday evening, March 10, on ESPN or ESPN2. This is similar to the Monday evening slot that the league had for years before the tournament moved to the Boardwalk Hall of Atlantic City in 2020.

On Monday, March 9th, in Espnu or ESPN+ in the Boardwalk Hall, the game of the women's championship will be an independent game next year. The semi -finals of men and women will take place on Sunday, March 8th. The men will have one day free between the semi -finals and the final.

The MAAC said that at a later date he would publish his full schedule for the championships of the next year in Atlantic City, including the first round and quarter -finals.

The MAAC makes the changes as part of a multi -year expansion of its multimedia rights with ESPN.

The MAAC is currently organizing its men's and women's championship games as a Saturday double header. This year's tournament will start at Boardwalk next Tuesday next Tuesday and last until Saturday, March 15th, the day before the NCAA tournament was selected on Sunday. The women's final is planned for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, followed by the men's title game at 7:30 p.m.

The Maac Commissioner Travis Tellitocci said last week that he expected changes to the tournament format.

Before Atlantic City, the MAAC played most of the tournament and its championship games on a Monday, six days before the selection on Sunday.

Tellitocci said last week that the former tournament data would give the MAAC Champions additional media complaints before the basketball tournaments of the NCAA men and women appear. It also moves the Maac title games from a crowded schedule on Saturday, which includes the final of the Big East tournament.

“The expansion of our media law contract with ESPN represents an important milestone for the MAAC and its student athletes,” said Tellitocci in a press release. Increase the profile of our programs, but also offer fans more access to deal with MAAC Sports on a national stage. “

If you withdraw the tournament next year, the Boardwalk Hall will have to re -plan New Jersey High School State Wrestling Championships, which will take place on the weekend before the MAAC championships.

The efforts to achieve the General Manager of Boardwalk Hall, Jim McDonald, were unsuccessful.

The MAAC entered the last year of its contract with Atlantic City last year. Tellitocci said the league tested all possibilities for its tournament, including a return to the MVP Arena in Albany.