MAAC & ASUN Announce Men’s & Women’s Basketball Challenge
EDISON, NJ – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) have announced the MAAC/ASUN Men’s and Women’s Basketball Challenge in November of 2019 and 2021.
The event will feature two men’s and women’s team from each conference that will play two games over the two-day event at the HP Fieldhouse on the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
In 2019, the two men’s teams will be Iona College and Monmouth University from the MAAC and Stetson University and Kennesaw State from the ASUN. The University of North Florida and Lipscomb University will be the ASUN’s women’s teams as Marist College and Rider University will represent the MAAC. Teams for 2021 are to be determined.
The 2019 dates are November 22 and 23 with the women playing in the afternoon and the men playing the two late games. In 2021, the dates will be November 19 and 20. All games will air on ESPN3 with the opportunity to move to ESPNU.
“We are truly grateful and honored to represent the MAAC in the MAAC/ASUN Challenge. Disney’s Wide World of Sports is a really great venue to hold the tournament. We know our players and fans are especially looking forward to this event,” - Marist head coach Brian Giorgis
"We are thrilled to be representing Rider and the MAAC in the first ever MAAC/ASUN Challenge. The MAAC is always one step ahead in being able to showcase the talent of our conference on both the men’s and women's side and this tournament in just another example. The MAAC is a very underrated conference so for us to have an opportunity to play on this stage is one we are thankful for. It will be a first-class event and we will work hard to prepare for a great weekend of basketball." - Rider head coach Lynn Milligan
“The MAAC and A-Sun basketball challenge is a strong opportunity to showcase the talents of both conferences. I appreciate the efforts of both Rich Ensor and Ted Gumbart to put this together. We look forward to competing against Kennesaw State and Stetson next season. It’ll be a fun atmosphere for a pair of competitive games.” – Iona head coach Tim Cluess
“We are excited to represent Monmouth and the MAAC in the MAAC/ASUN Challenge down in Orlando next season. It’s a great opportunity for our kids and our program and we’re looking forward to it.” – Monmouth head coach King Rice
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 38th year of competition during the 2018-19 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.