Atlantic 10 Release
BRONX, N.Y.- After coming within just one possession of winning the 2013 Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn this past March, the Fordham Rams will look to better that performance in a new location this coming spring.
The Atlantic 10 Conference announced on Thursday that, beginning in 2014, the conference will enter into a three-year partnership with the city of Richmond, Va., to host its women's basketball championship at the Richmond Coliseum.
"It is not only exciting moving our premier event to a neutral site, but we hit a home run with the Richmond Coliseum," said Head Coach Stephanie Gaitley. "Having started my career at the University of Richmond, I'm extremely excited to go back there.
"It is a terrific facility and a great community," Gaitley continued. "A big thank you is due to the Atlantic 10 Conference office for a job well done."
"The opportunity to establish a long-term home for our women's basketball championship and partner with the City of Richmond was one we could not pass up. We selected Richmond because it gives us the ability to build on our record attendance from last year's championship and provide a true March Madness environment for our women's basketball student-athletes," stated A-10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade. "I want to thank our head coaches and Directors of Athletics for their leadership in this selection and commend the City of Richmond, SMG and my staff for their commitment to making this a true win-win partnership for everyone involved."
The 2014 Atlantic 10 Tournament, featuring all 13 teams in the conference, will commence on Wednesday, March 5th, when the bottom two teams in the conference standings compete in a play-in game. Thursday will feature four first round games, followed by four quarterfinal matchups on Friday. The top four seeds in the tournament will receive a bye to the quarterfinals. Saturday's semifinal games will gain exposure to a national television audience, as CBS Sports Network will air the broadcast. The championship game will tip-off at 11 AM Sunday morning, also aired nationally on ESPNU.
The Fordham Rams begin their march to Richmond on November 8th, when they open the 2013-2014 regular season at home against the University of San Francisco Dons.
