The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Of its current 11 full members, 10 are located in three states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. The other member is in Maryland.
Heritage Bank Center is an indoor arena located in downtown Cincinnati, next to the Great American Ball Park. It was completed in September 1975 and named Riverfront Coliseum because of its placement next to Riverfront Stadium. In 1997, the facility became known as The Crown, and in 1999, it changed its name again to Firstar Center after Firstar Bank assumed naming rights. In 2002, following Firstar's merger with U.S. Bank, the arena took on the name U.S. Bank Arena and kept that name until 2019.
University of Dayton Arena is a 13,409-seat multi-purpose arena located in Dayton, Ohio. The arena opened in 1969. It is home to the University of Dayton Flyers basketball teams. From 2001 to 2010, the facility hosted the annual "play-in" game in the NCAA men's basketball tournament which featured the teams rated 64th and 65th in the tournament field. Beginning in 2011, when the tournament expanded to four opening-round games, the arena continued to host all "first four" games. Overall, the arena has hosted more men's NCAA Division I basketball tournament games than any other venue.
Mid-major is a term used in American college sports at the NCAA Division I level, particularly men's basketball, to refer to athletic conferences that are not among the ACC, AAC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC, which are alternatively referred to as "high majors". The term "mid-major" was coined in 1977 by Jack Kvancz, the head coach of men's basketball team at Catholic University. NCAA neither acknowledges nor uses the terms "major" or "mid-major" to differentiate between Division I athletic conferences. Some schools and fans consider it offensive and derogatory, while others embrace the term.
The 2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2005–06 basketball season. It began on March 14, 2006, and concluded with the championship game on April 3 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The 1992 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 19, 1992, and ended with the championship game on April 6 in Minneapolis. A total of 63 games were played.
The 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 17, 1994, and ended with the championship game on April 4 in Charlotte, North Carolina, played at Charlotte Coliseum. A total of 63 games were played.
The 2005 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 19, 2005, and concluded on April 5, 2005, when Baylor was crowned as the new national champion. The Final Four was held for the first time at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 3 and 5, 2005, and was hosted by Butler University and the Horizon League. Future Final Fours will be held every five years in Indianapolis, the NCAA's home city, will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium, one block south of the Indiana Convention Center, where the RCA Dome is located. Baylor, coached by Kim Mulkey-Robertson, defeated Michigan State, coached by Joanne P. McCallie, 84–62 in the championship game. Baylor's Sophia Young was named Most Outstanding Player. For the first time, taking a page from the Men's Tournament, the regionals were named after the city they were played in, rather than the geographical location, and the "pod" system adopted by the Men's Tournament was used.
The 2011 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 19, 2011, and concluded on April 5, 2011. The Texas A&M Aggies won the championship, defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 76–70 in the final held at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The 2003 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 22, 2003, and concluded on April 8, 2003, when the Connecticut Huskies (UConn) won their second straight national title. The Final Four was held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia on April 6–8, 2003. UConn, coached by Geno Auriemma, defeated archrival Tennessee, coached by Pat Summitt, 73–68 in the championship game. UConn's Diana Taurasi was named Most Outstanding Player.
The 1997 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 14, 1997, and concluded on March 30, 1997, when Tennessee won the national title. The Final Four was held at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati on March 28–30, 1997. Tennessee, Old Dominion, Stanford, and Notre Dame qualified for the Final Four. Tennessee and Old Dominion won their semi-final Final Four matchups and continued on to the championship. Tennessee defeated Old Dominion 68-59 for their fifth national title.
The 2006 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament was played from March 8 to March 11, 2006, at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. The winner was named champion of the Atlantic 10 Conference and received an automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Xavier won the tournament. The top four teams in the conference received first-round byes, while Duquesne and St. Bonaventure were left out of the tournament as the bottom two teams in the conference standings. George Washington entered the tournament undefeated in Atlantic 10 play, but lost to Temple in the quarterfinals. George Washington earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
The 2004 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament was played from March 10 to March 13, 2004, at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The winner was named champion of the Atlantic 10 Conference and received an automatic bid to the 2004 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Xavier won the tournament. The top two teams in each division received first-round byes. Saint Joseph's entered the tournament undefeated, but lost to Xavier in the quarterfinals. Dayton, Richmond, Saint Joseph's, and Xavier all received bids to the NCAA tournament, with the latter two teams losing in the regional finals.
The 2003 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament was played from March 10 to March 15, 2003. The winner was named champion of the Atlantic 10 Conference and received an automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Dayton won the tournament and got the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Xavier and Saint Joseph's also received bids to the NCAA Tournament. Rhode Island, Richmond and Temple received bids to the 2003 National Invitation Tournament. Ramod Marshall of Dayton was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Future NBA players Jameer Nelson of Saint Joseph's and David West of Xavier were among those joining Marshall on the All-Championship Team.
The 2015–16 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season was the 40th season of Atlantic 10 Conference basketball. The 2016 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The 2015–16 Saint Joseph's Hawks basketball team represented Saint Joseph's University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hawks, led by 21st year head coach Phil Martelli, played their home games at Hagan Arena and are members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Hawks finished the season 28–8, 13–5 in A-10 play to finish in fourth place. They defeated George Washington, Dayton, and VCU to be champions of the A-10 tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a #8 seed, they defeated Cincinnati in the first round, their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2004, to advance to the second round where they lost to Oregon. DeAndre' Bembry was named A-10 player of the year.
The 2016–17 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games at Fifth Third Arena, with a capacity of 13,176. The season marked the final year prior to major renovations to Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats were led by 11th-year head coach Mick Cronin and were members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 30–6, 16–2 to finish in second place in AAC play. They beat Tulsa and UConn in the AAC tournament before losing to SMU in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the South region. They defeated No. 11-seeded Kansas State in the first round before losing to No. 3-seeded UCLA in the second round.
The 2016–17 Saint Joseph's Hawks basketball team represented Saint Joseph's University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hawks, led by 22nd-year head coach Phil Martelli, played their home games at Hagan Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 11–20, 4–14 A-10 play to finish in a tie for 12th place. As the No. 13 seed in the A-10 tournament, they lost to Massachusetts in the first round.
The 2016–17 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season was the 41st season of Atlantic 10 Conference basketball. The 2017 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament was held at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from March 8–12, 2017. Dayton won the regular season championship. Rhode Island won the A-10 Tournament by beating VCU in the tournament championship. As a result, Rhode Island received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Three A-10 teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament: Dayton, VCU, and Rhode Island. Both Dayton and VCU lost in the first round while Rhode Island lost in the second round. Richmond received the conference's sole bid to the National Invitation Tournament while George Mason and George Washington received bids to the College Basketball Invitational.
The 2017–18 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season was the 42nd season of Atlantic 10 Conference basketball. The season began with practices in October 2017, followed by the start of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. League play began in late December and ended on March 3, 2018.