ATLANTIC CITY — The 2026 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will go national this season.
The tournaments will return to Atlantic City for a seventh straight time on March 5-10 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
The men’s championship will be played March 10, a Tuesday night, and televised nationally in prime time on ESPN or ESPN2.
The move is similar to the Monday night time slot the MAAC had for years before the tournament moved to Boardwalk Hall in 2020.
The women’s final will be a standalone event on March 9 and shown nationally on ESPN+ or ESPNU.
Previously, both finals were played on a Saturday with the women’s in the afternoon and the men’s at night. Now, both will get their own spotlight and be shown nationally, a topic discussed Tuesday at the MAAC’s preseason event at Ocean Casino Resort
“MAAC women’s basketball has always been so strong,” said Fairfield University women’s coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis, whose Stags have won the MAAC title the last two seasons.
“There have been teams in our league who have made runs in March. Obviously, that’s a goal of ours to do the same. The more we can get in front of a national audience is not only great for our program, but for our league, as a whole. Our championship has always proven to be a very exciting event.”
Since previous MAAC championships were played on Saturday night, the games were overshadowed by other larger conference title games. The changes were made because ESPN wanted to show the men’s championship on a weeknight, which should provide the MAAC with more national exposure.
The tournament’s first-round and quarterfinal games will be March 5 and 6. The majority of the tournament will play out over the weekend, “which we never had here in Atlantic City,” MAAC Commissioner Travis Tellitocci said.
“Now, with the women’s being a stand alone game and the men on Tuesday, obviously an opportunity to promote the women more and the men on national television back in prime time, which we haven’t had in a number of years.
“That opportunity to be on ESPN and ESPN2 is a huge exposure for the conference and, on the back end, it allows us to promote the teams that win leading up to Selection Sunday. I think it checks a lot of boxes.”
Tellitocci also said it’s great for the fans.
“I think being on national television will get people out, as well, as it becomes more of a primer event,” he said.
First-year Iona men’s coach Dan Geriot said one of the main reasons he took the job with the Gaels was because of the new format.
Iona lost in last year’s championship to Mount St. Mary’s.
“I think it puts us on the right platform,” Geriot said. “We need to be on that stage. We need to be on that platform. We have really great basketball players. We have great student-athletes. We have great people supporting us. I think it’s critical for us to show that, display that and continue on.”
The MAAC also held a live show Tuesday on ESPN+, with players and coaches from all 13 schools discussing their teams. The MAAC also announced its preseason polls, all-conference teams and Players of the Year during the broadcast.
Quinnipiac senior forward Amarri Monroe was named the MAAC Men’s Preseason Player of the Year.
Last season, Monroe led the Bobcats to a 20-13 (15-5 MAAC) record and the conference semifinals. He hopes to make it to the national stage this season.
“That’s always the end goal, but there’s a lot of preparation that goes into that. Hopefully we can strive to reach that,” Monroe said.
Contact Patrick Mulranen: 609-272-7217
PMulranen@pressofac.com
Twitter @ACPressMulranen
Can’t get enough High School sports? Get the latest scores, game highlights and analysis delivered to your inbox each week
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Patrick Mulranen
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today