A-10 Tournament in 2017 & 2018

[twisted3829]

Driving Time to Pittsburgh:
Duquesne - 0 hours
St Bonaventure - 3.5 hours
Dayton - 4 hours
GMU and GW - 4 hours
SJU and LSU- 5 hours
VCU and UR - 5.5 hours
Fordham 6 hours
Davidson - 6.5 hours
UMass and URI - 8.5 hours
Saint Louis - 9 hours

Drive Time to Washington DC
GMU and GW - 0 hours
VCU and UR - 2 hours
SJU and LSU - 2.5 hours
Fordham - 3.5 hours
Duquesne - 4 hours
St Bonaventure - 5.5 hours
Davidson - 6 hours
URI and UMass - 6.5 hours
Dayton - 7.5 hours
SLU - 12.5 hours

[TruePoint]

It ticks me off that this league really seems to ignore its northern schools. UMass and URI are two of the longest tenured members but the tournament in some 35 years has never gotten to New England. Dayton and Xavier with just a decade and a half in the league got four tournaments in SW Ohio. Philly, Atlantic City, and Pittsburgh have all hosted five or more times. Not much love is ever shown to UMass and URI. Be it tournament locations, tv appearances, league teams, etc... The A-10 as a league will never gain much traction in our region if it never chooses to invest in it.

I hear you, but these decisions are made with more in mind than loyalty. The reality is, in their calculus, URI and UMass aren't going anywhere and they need to keep the far flung schools that are flight risks happy.

[RF1]

It ticks me off that this league really seems to ignore its northern schools. UMass and URI are two of the longest tenured members but the tournament in some 35 years has never gotten to New England. Dayton and Xavier with just a decade and a half in the league got four tournaments in SW Ohio. Philly, Atlantic City, and Pittsburgh have all hosted five or more times. Not much love is ever shown to UMass and URI. Be it tournament locations, tv appearances, league teams, etc... The A-10 as a league will never gain much traction in our region if it never chooses to invest in it.

I hear you, but these decisions are made with more in mind than loyalty. The reality is, in their calculus, URI and UMass aren't going anywhere and they need to keep the far flung schools that are flight risks happy.

And I suppose the league is worried that Duquense (Pittsburgh), GMU and GW (DC) might bolt?

These decisions are political and based on the self interest of members. UMass and URI are outliers in both geography and make-up (public) and are just two votes. That is what it all comes down to. This league has moved away from its northeast public roots and become a more southern and western oriented private school dominated league. URI and UMass have little clout and it seems to decrease each and every year that passes.

[rodfromcranston]

6.5 hours from Amhearst or Kingston to DC??????
Shit, I'm made that drive many times back when, with a first class sports car,
and never did it in less than 7.5 hours, even driving at night.
9 hours by train, that seemed to stop 25 times in Connecticut.
Wait! Olean to DC is 5.5 hours??????????????????????????????

[RF1]

I will give officials at the Dunkin Donuts Center some credit for at least making an effort to land the A-10 Tournament. The facility however gets a total fail to date for meeting the expectations set forth in justifying its 100 Million Dollar purchase and renovation. Rhode Islanders were promised that a renovated facility would attract many high profile events. That has been far off the mark. The only sporting event of real special note was the 2010 NCAA Basketball Tournament early rounds. The venue has had some regional NCAA hockey tournament action but it seems like it has occurred less frequently post renovations. No Frozen-4 has come to town and likely won't given the facility's size. Seems that bookings don't appear all that much different now than before the costly purchase and renovation. It would be interesting if local media ever investigated how the venue has lived up to expectations and detail its finances.

The A-10 Tournament would have been a big shot in the arm for the local economy. The four day event would have brought many visitors that would have filled the hotels, bars, and restaurants downtown. With one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, an opportunity to improve things is unfortunately missed.

[rambone 78]

Rod, drive time from here to DC is 6.5 hours nowadays IF you could get there without all the lane restrictions [day and night] due to construction.

I used to drive I-95 to Florida back in the day and enjoy it. Not anymore. Totally fed up with sitting in traffic in construction zones.

That, and the fact there is just too much damn traffic now. These roads weren't built for the number of cars [and trucks] there are now.

And don't get me started on trucks on 2 lane highways! There are just as many assholes driving semis as there are cars!

[ramster]

Rod, drive time from here to DC is 6.5 hours nowadays IF you could get there without all the lane restrictions [day and night] due to construction.

I used to drive I-95 to Florida back in the day and enjoy it. Not anymore. Totally fed up with sitting in traffic in construction zones.

That, and the fact there is just too much damn traffic now. These roads weren't built for the number of cars [and trucks] there are now.

And don't get me started on trucks on 2 lane highways! There are just as many assholes driving semis as there are cars!

I'm with Rod, it usually took me 7.5 hours and that was leaving on a Sunday morning - I dread what during the week would be. But looking at Yahoo Maps it says from Kingston RI to Washington, DC 6 hours 47 minutes for 384 miles. I'd say that is pretty optimistic.

Yahoo Maps says Olean NY to Washington DC is 320 miles 5 hours 59 minutes - I was very surprised by this, would have thought much longer

[rambone 78]

6 hrs. 47 minutes if you do the posted speed limits.

Go 70-75 mph with no construction hangups, can be done in 6 hours. Some I know have done it, but good luck.

Of course I live in Groton, so I've got a head start

[rodfromcranston]

Maybe Yahoos' favorite person, Kim Kardashian made those maps.
Just look at where Olean is and tell me it would be around the same time than coming from Providence.
Rambone, if you're in Groton, that's almost and hour from Provuidence, so your times
are skewed.

[Bos8]

6.5 hours from Amhearst or Kingston to DC??????
Shit, I'm made that drive many times back when, with a first class sports car,
and never did it in less than 7.5 hours, even driving at night.
9 hours by train, that seemed to stop 25 times in Connecticut.
Wait! Olean to DC is 5.5 hours??????????????????????????????

I'm down near DC. I've done the trip up to Kingston in 6.5 hours before, typically if I wait until after rush hour to leave and arrive early in the morning. I've also had that trip take me 9+ hours, so it really depends on when you leave, as well as traffic in New York.

[rodfromcranston]

I used to avoid NYC by going over the Tappanzee and down the Garden State Pkwy.

[TruePoint]

I used to avoid NYC by going over the Tappanzee and down the Garden State Pkwy.

Yup that's the way to, although there is no perfect way. 287 will still get backed up and the GSP can also clog. But my preferred route to all points south of NYC is to jump on the Merritt at exit 38 and ride that down to 287. Since I'm traveling from Boston now, I'll often head out on the Mass Pike to 84 and either cut back to the Merritt when I get to Hartford or cut down later (684 is a fun way to do that). Kind of depends on where I'm headed. Lots of ways to go, but taking 95 through NYC is insane. Even if your destination is the city there are much better ways to get there.

[Rhody74]

My daughter went to American U. and it was a crapshoot on traffic, especially in NJ. Once we were stuck so long I considered applying for residency. Nowadays, I-95 in Connecticut is a logjam, even without any construction.

[bigappleram]

Went to school in DC and have lived in NYC for 15 years now so this drive is quite familiar. Only if you leave at very off-hours (very late at night, or very early AM) could you do the DC to RI trip in under 7 hours. 8 hours is more realistic (and it could be more) given the various traffic issues you may encounter (Jersey Shore, NYC traffic, 95 in CT logjams, etc). TP is spot on, Merritt Pkwy is always the best route to/from NYC, avoiding 95 in the Stamford/Fairfield area is a must unless you enjoy stand still traffic.

[bigappleram]

also kinda off-topic, but anyone who does significant amounts of driving for professional/personal reasons must download the app WAZE. it is by far the best navigation/driving direction tool in the market. makes google maps look like Lycos. it has saved me hours of driving time b/w NYC and RI and many other places.

[URI96]

Anyone that thinks you can get from RI to DC in 6.5 hours has obviously never driven through Connecticut.

[twisted3829]

times I posted were strictly from google maps

[rodfromcranston]

Made by Kim Kardashian.

[RhowdyRam02]

I'm surprised people are upset about Pittsburgh over Providence. Yeah, it would have been cool to have the tournament in our back yard, but Pittsburgh is the right choice. It's the #23 media market in the country, Providence is #52 so exposure could be better. The Consol Energy Center is a nicer arena than the Dunk, and while it will look empty for many games, so would the Dunk. And it's the fair thing to do for the teams out West. Since 1992 all but four of the tournaments have been on the Eastern seaboard. We would have been better off if Boston had tried to go for it.

[RF1]

I'm surprised people are upset about Pittsburgh over Providence. Yeah, it would have been cool to have the tournament in our back yard, but Pittsburgh is the right choice. It's the #23 media market in the country, Providence is #52 so exposure could be better. The Consol Energy Center is a nicer arena than the Dunk, and while it will look empty for many games, so would the Dunk. And it's the fair thing to do for the teams out West. Since 1992 all but four of the tournaments have been on the Eastern seaboard. We would have been better off if Boston had tried to go for it.

Pittsburgh will suck. There is only one team within 3 hours and it has a small fanbase. The locals won't support it and many eastern and northern school members will skip it to avoid the long ride through the nothing-ness of PA in early March. The venue seats nearly 20k and will look empty on tv for most games. The DDC would have looked substantially more full with the same crowds.

As for fairness, the tourney has been in Pittsburgh five times previously. It was in sw Ohio four times. It was held 6 times in Atlantic City and 10+ times in Philadelphia. It has never been anywhere in New England in nearly 40 years even though UMass and URI are two of the four longest continuous tenured members in the conference. How then is its being held in Pittsburgh fair?

[RhowdyRam02]

There's only three fanbases within 5 hours of the Dunk, we average 4500 fans on our own campus, UMass' attendance is weak, and Fordham is non-existant. This idea that the Dunk will be better attended is not true at all.

And if you're going to point out Eastern 8 tournaments held in Pittsburgh, some of which held before URI was even in the conference, then I'm going to point out that the A10 Championship game was held at UMass from 1992-95, so you're whole never in New England thing is flat out false.

[twisted3829]

Brooklyn is 3 hours away, how much closer is it really going to be?

Dayton will travel to Pitt in droves as will VCU (because VCU travels in droves everywhere). I really don't think it's going to be as bad as you think it will be

[RF1]

There's only three fanbases within 5 hours of the Dunk, we average 4500 fans on our own campus, UMass' attendance is weak, and Fordham is non-existant. This idea that the Dunk will be better attended is not true at all.

And if you're going to point out Eastern 8 tournaments held in Pittsburgh, some of which held before URI was even in the conference, then I'm going to point out that the A10 Championship game was held at UMass from 1992-95, so you're whole never in New England thing is flat out false.

The championship game in MA is a lame reference. I am surprsied you didn't point out taht URI has hosted opening round games. The league still held a tourney at one site during the years where the championship final was held at the highest remain seed. The tourney with all teams was never in MA. There was just the champoinship game.

[RhowdyRam02]

So the championship game is a lame reference, but citing the Eastern 8 tournament before URI was a conference member isn't?

[RhowdyRam02]

And it's not that bad for us to get to Pittsburgh. You can fly round trip, non stop from Logan to Pittsburgh for $131 and the flights are only about an hour and 40 minutes.

[RF1]

So the championship game is a lame reference, but citing the Eastern 8 tournament before URI was a conference member isn't?

I was referring to UMASS and URI's membership in the league with the comment that there has never been a tourney in New England during THEIR time as members. UMass joined in 1976 and URI in 1980. URI participated in two of the five tournaments in Pittsburgh (held there in 1978,79,80,81 & 82).

[ace]

The official release. Brooklyn through 2016, Pittsburgh in 2017, DC in 2018 and then back to Brooklyn through 2021.

http://www.atlantic10.com/ViewArticle.d ... =209634435

[Ramulous]

The financial guarantees required by the A-10 to award the tourney may have been too oppressive for URI and the Dunk to agree to.......

[ramster]

I like both of these selections.
CONSOL Energy Center just opened in 2010. Verizon Center opened in 1997. Compared to the Dunk which opened in 1972 these arenas are light years ahead.
I'd love the Dunk for convenience purposes but I continue to be impressed by Bernedette McGlade as A10 Commissioner.
These are top notch facilities. Wasn't long ago we were all scared that the ACC pushed us out of the Brooklyn arena but then we negotiated some additional years there in exchange for giving up two years. Turns out we got some very good options to fill those two years - and to me these options are signficantly better than the Dunk.
Arena's like we are seeing now in Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, Washington DC all appeal to the Dayton's, VCU's, of the world - they make our A10 Conference more appealing to prospective members down the road and also tend to keep the best teams we have happier.
We have come a long, long way since the days of Atlantic City.

[RF1]

The financial guarantees required by the A-10 to award the tourney may have been too oppressive for URI and the Dunk to agree to.......

You might be right. The de facto subsidies that the DDC gives to its main tenants may preclude them from doing much for anyone else even if it risk related. They already can't fully meet their bond obligations for the purchase and renovation. They likely don't have any wiggle room.

[steviep123]

I'm curious of the ACC and Barclay's fulfilled all of their part of the deal that allowed the ACC Tourney to be at Barclays in 2017 (instead of the A10).

From this announcement, as part of the A10 letting the ACC have Barclays in 2017, the A10 in exchange has Barclays in 2019, 20, and 21. In addition, the announcement said, "the ACC and the A-10 will play inter-conference doubleheaders at Barclays Center in 2015, 2016 and 2017. In addition, the A-10 has secured a spot for its teams to participate in the annual BROOKLYN HOOPS™ events at Barclays Center." While we do have Barclays for the coming 3 years after this one, I don't recally any double headers at Barclays involving ACC and A10 teams or Brooklyn Hoops events. Does anyone know if that has happened? Does the NIT tip off count? Virginia and URI did play each other, but that wasn't a guarantee. It would be nice to know.

[rjsuperfly66]

I'm curious of the ACC and Barclay's fulfilled all of their part of the deal that allowed the ACC Tourney to be at Barclays in 2017 (instead of the A10).

From this announcement, as part of the A10 letting the ACC have Barclays in 2017, the A10 in exchange has Barclays in 2019, 20, and 21. In addition, the announcement said, "the ACC and the A-10 will play inter-conference doubleheaders at Barclays Center in 2015, 2016 and 2017. In addition, the A-10 has secured a spot for its teams to participate in the annual BROOKLYN HOOPS™ events at Barclays Center." While we do have Barclays for the coming 3 years after this one, I don't recally any double headers at Barclays involving ACC and A10 teams or Brooklyn Hoops events. Does anyone know if that has happened? Does the NIT tip off count? Virginia and URI did play each other, but that wasn't a guarantee. It would be nice to know.

They did play and it was a joke -- It was Virginia Tech/St. Josephs and BC/Fordham in 2015. It took the 10th and 14th ranked teams from the A10 the year before and matched them against the 15th and 13th ranked ACC teams from the year prior.

It was rumored that VCU and Richmond were to take part in 2016, but the ACC found no interested parties and ultimately decided to cancel out of the deal. I'm guessing there had to be some sort of out clause otherwise I can't imagine the ACC just saying "Yeah we had this deal, but screw it, come do something about it."

I suppose the ACC could leverage in other ways if they chose to and it wasn't worth it to pursue.

[steviep123]

I'm curious of the ACC and Barclay's fulfilled all of their part of the deal that allowed the ACC Tourney to be at Barclays in 2017 (instead of the A10).

From this announcement, as part of the A10 letting the ACC have Barclays in 2017, the A10 in exchange has Barclays in 2019, 20, and 21. In addition, the announcement said, "the ACC and the A-10 will play inter-conference doubleheaders at Barclays Center in 2015, 2016 and 2017. In addition, the A-10 has secured a spot for its teams to participate in the annual BROOKLYN HOOPS™ events at Barclays Center." While we do have Barclays for the coming 3 years after this one, I don't recally any double headers at Barclays involving ACC and A10 teams or Brooklyn Hoops events. Does anyone know if that has happened? Does the NIT tip off count? Virginia and URI did play each other, but that wasn't a guarantee. It would be nice to know.

They did play and it was a joke -- It was Virginia Tech/St. Josephs and BC/Fordham in 2015. It took the 10th and 14th ranked teams from the A10 the year before and matched them against the 15th and 13th ranked ACC teams from the year prior.

It was rumored that VCU and Richmond were to take part in 2016, but the ACC found no interested parties and ultimately decided to cancel out of the deal. I'm guessing there had to be some sort of out clause otherwise I can't imagine the ACC just saying "Yeah we had this deal, but screw it, come do something about it."

I suppose the ACC could leverage in other ways if they chose to and it wasn't worth it to pursue.

That's ridiculous!

They could have taken several teams from either to make a good double header. Or at the very least have an A10 game followed by an ACC game. Something to have it happen. Hope the A10 remembers this the next time a big conference tries to steal our venue. Hopefully the ACC gave the A10 some $$ for backing out.