The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 11 full members are located in four Northeastern states: Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Maryland. It was announced on October 23, 2023 that Sacred Heart University and Merrimack College will join the conference beginning in the 2024-25 season.
The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Participating schools are located principally in the Northeastern United States, from which the conference derives its name.
Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Easton, Weston, and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of 2020, the town had a population of 61,512. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region.
Fairfield University is a private Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2023, the university had about 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,200 graduate students, including full-time and part-time students. It offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees through its five schools and colleges.
Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Roman Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1963 by Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholic university in the United States to be staffed by the laity.
Quinnipiac University is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. It also hosts the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
Christopher Ellis Drury is an American professional ice hockey executive and former player. He has served as the president and general manager for the New York Rangers since May 5, 2021. He previously served as the general manager of the Rangers American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Total Mortgage Arena is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut. It is the home venue of the Bridgeport Islanders of the American Hockey League (AHL) and PWHL New York of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).
Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum is a 2,000-seat hockey rink in Storrs, Connecticut. It is the former home arena and current practice facility for the University of Connecticut women's and men's college ice hockey teams. It opened on November 7, 1998, replacing the outdoor UConn Ice Arena, which was in use since the 1960s. The Forum was constructed as part of the UCONN 2000 commitment by the State of Connecticut to help rebuild, renew, and enhance the campuses of the University of Connecticut. It was opened in time for the hockey team's elevation to Division I status. The arena was used for the 2000 MAAC Championship, the 2001 MAAC tournament, and the 2002 ECAC women's hockey tournament. It hosted the 2008 Hockey East Women's Tournament. The building was named for Mark E. Freitas '81, a former hockey letter winner and benefactor, on February 5, 2005.
The Fairfield Stags are the athletic programs representing Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Most of the programs are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and classified as Division I (non-football) in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Campus Field is a 3,334-seat multi-purpose stadium in Fairfield, Connecticut. It is home to the Sacred Heart University Pioneers football, lacrosse, and track and field teams. The facility opened in 1993.
M&T Bank Arena, previously known as TD Bank Sports Center and People's United Center, is a multi-purpose arena in Hamden, Connecticut. Its design is unusual in that it consists of two separate playing and seating areas, one intended for basketball and one intended for ice hockey, joined together within a common facility. It seats 3,570 for basketball and 3,386 for hockey. Officially, the hockey side is known as the Frank Perrotti, Jr. Arena at the People's United Center.
The Sacred Heart Pioneers are the 32 sports teams representing Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut in intercollegiate athletics. The Pioneers compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Northeast Conference, Atlantic Hockey, Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, and New England Women's Hockey Alliance. SHU will move from the NEC to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) after the 2023–24 school year.
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Island Sound, it is a port city 60 miles (97 km) from Manhattan and 40 miles (64 km) from The Bronx. It borders the towns of Trumbull to the north, Fairfield to the west, and Stratford to the east. Bridgeport and other towns in Fairfield County make up the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, as well as the Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk–Danbury metropolitan statistical area, the second largest metropolitan area in Connecticut. The Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk–Danbury metropolis forms part of the New York metropolitan area.
The Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Sacred Heart University. The Pioneers are a member of Atlantic Hockey. They play at the Martire Family Arena in Fairfield, Connecticut. From 1993-2016, the Pioneers home arena was the Milford Ice Pavilion in Milford, Connecticut.
The UConn Huskies men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Connecticut. The Huskies are a member of the Hockey East conference. The Huskies play in the on-campus Toscano Family Ice Forum, having moved from the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut during the 2022–23 season.
Connecticut Ice is an annual ice hockey event celebrating the tradition and progress of youth and amateur hockey in the state of Connecticut. The three-day event is headlined by a four-team tournament with participation from all of the state's four Division I programs: Connecticut, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart and Yale.
Mullett Arena is an indoor multipurpose arena at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.
The 2022–23 Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey season was the 30th season of play for the program, the 25th at the Division I level, and the 20th in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Pioneers represented Sacred Heart University and were coached by C. J. Marottolo, in his 14th season.
The Toscano Family Ice Forum is an ice hockey arena on the campus of the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. The arena opened in January 2023 and has a capacity of 2,600 spectators.
