Quite the press release... sounds as though The American is taking more than the legal structure, it sounds as though the records and all are making a transition to the American in promoting the new conference.

Quote:The Conference’s women’s basketball tournament has been one of the nation’s strongest and most successful. Previously held in Hartford, Conn., the BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Championship was the nation’s attendance leader for nine straight years. The tournament produced 23 NCAA Final Four appearances, including Louisville and Connecticut in 2013, and nine national champions, including the Huskies’ title this past season.

The 2014 Women’s Basketball Championship will be held Friday, March 7 through Monday, March 10.

Sounds like a NEW site for existing tourney that just has a new name... Big East / American Women's Tourney Release

For those of you who have never been to Mohegan Sun and are not familiar with the metropolis that is Uncasville, CT...
It's located in the SE corner of the state. Not far from the Rhode Island border.
It's about a 45 minutes from the XL Center (the site of the Big East Women's Tournament), and about a 1 hour drive from Bradley International Airport which is in Windsor Locks, CT.

I think Mohegan Sun is a great choice. Living in CT myself, I've been there several times. Lots of great restaurants & shops. The wife and I had a great anniversary dinner at Michael Jordan's a few years back! The only problem is, if you want to leave the complex itself, you'll need to drive. Mohegan Sun is in the middle of nowhere with no other "attractions" in the immediate area.

Don't imagine there will be a ton of out of state travelers coming specifically for the women's tourney. Myself, I'm going to see if I can talk the wife into a trip to Memphis next March for the men's tournament.

It's a great arena and should draw well and it doesn't hurt to have a title sponsor and host as will likely be the case!

I wonder if the men's tournament will ever be held at casinio too? Sounds like an interesting venue for a short trip.

(06-10-2013 02:38 PM)bearcatlawjd Wrote:  I wonder if the men's tournament will ever be held at casinio too? Sounds like an interesting venue for a short trip.

Well, Memphis is getting the first men's tourney. Not in a casino, but there are 9 big casinos about 30 miles / 40 minutes south of the FedExForum.

http://www.tunicatravel.com/casinos

I'm curious to see how it turns out. The casino is cool and there is a good amount to do there. I'm a big Hartford guy though and always favor what's best for the city, so I am a bit disapointed in that regard. The casino is in the middle of nowhere, so you will not really see much of CT if you make the trip up and stay on the resort the whole time. Airport access isn't great either. Women's hoops is fairly popular in CT, but around the casino is a low population area, so I'm not sure what the draw is going to be, especially considering the diminished product. We'll see how it does.

So if you're a gambling family or love those slots... this is your conference! ;-)

If Hartford had given a comparable bid or had a corporate partner to tie to it to pay the bills - then it would have likely remained there. I'm sure the conference is getting sponsorship money, room deals, and use of Arena and conference space for meetings... for the business of bringing everyone there.

Providence is probably the closest airport. Newark may be the cheapest to fly into, but that's about 3 hours away.

I was in Vegas a couple weeks after they held the Pac 12 tourney at MGM. Does anyone know how that went? I think it's a neat idea.

I know the MWC's tourney was also held in Vegas, at I believe the Orleans.

Memphis getting the Men's tourny first is a great move, but I wouldn't mind seeing it also held at Mohegan Sun in the future.

(06-10-2013 08:39 PM)Kronke Wrote:  I was in Vegas a couple weeks after they held the Pac 12 tourney at MGM. Does anyone know how that went? I think it's a neat idea.

I know the MWC's tourney was also held in Vegas, at I believe the Orleans.

Memphis getting the Men's tourny first is a great move, but I wouldn't mind seeing it also held at Mogegan Sun in the future.

Why? Mohegan Sun is in the far NE corner of the new conference, and it only seats 10K. Memphis can fill up 18K if we're in it. And there are nine full-service casinos 30 miles from Memphis. Don't see any advantages to the conference doing the Mohegan Sun for the men.

Like I said, I just think it's a neat idea ever since I saw it announced that the Pac 12 was holding their tourney at MGM. It would be fun being able to eat, drink, sleep, gamble, and watch your basketball team all under the same roof.

It being "in the far NE corner" of the conference is irrelevant to me. 2 hour flight to Memphis or 4 hour flight to CT, what's the difference?

I didn't know their arena only held 10k, though.

(06-10-2013 08:44 PM)TripleA Wrote:  

(06-10-2013 08:39 PM)Kronke Wrote:  I was in Vegas a couple weeks after they held the Pac 12 tourney at MGM. Does anyone know how that went? I think it's a neat idea.

I know the MWC's tourney was also held in Vegas, at I believe the Orleans.

Memphis getting the Men's tourny first is a great move, but I wouldn't mind seeing it also held at Mogegan Sun in the future.

Why? Mohegan Sun is in the far NE corner of the new conference, and it only seats 10K. Memphis can fill up 18K if we're in it. And there are nine full-service casinos 30 miles from Memphis. Don't see any advantages to the conference doing the Mohegan Sun for the men.

It's a world-class resort, wrapped around the arena. Not some barge in the river with slots. It's about the roadtrip and amenities, not the built-in home court advantage Memphis has enjoyed in every conference tourney the last decade or so.

(06-10-2013 10:57 PM)TRest3 Wrote:  It's a world-class resort, wrapped around the arena. Not some barge in the river with slots. It's about the roadtrip and amenities, not the built-in home court advantage Memphis has enjoyed in every conference tourney the last decade or so.

Well put.

(06-10-2013 11:01 PM)Kronke Wrote:  

(06-10-2013 10:57 PM)TRest3 Wrote:  It's a world-class resort, wrapped around the arena. Not some barge in the river with slots. It's about the roadtrip and amenities, not the built-in home court advantage Memphis has enjoyed in every conference tourney the last decade or so.

Well put.

I don't mean to be harsh, as Triple A is a classy poster, but either CUSA is left behind or it isn't. You don't have to keep doing things the same way, every year we can move the tournament around.

(06-10-2013 08:44 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Why? Mohegan Sun is in the far NE corner of the new conference, and it only seats 10K. Memphis can fill up 18K if we're in it. And there are nine full-service casinos 30 miles from Memphis. Don't see any advantages to the conference doing the Mohegan Sun for the men.

I've seen CUSA tourneys of the past... jammed for Memphis games and empty for other games. It'd be nice to have everyone staying, eating, gaming, and watching all in the same complex... people wandering in and out of games increasing attendance overall for everyone... and making it feel full more often and not just Memphis games.

(06-10-2013 11:01 PM)Kronke Wrote:  

(06-10-2013 10:57 PM)TRest3 Wrote:  It's a world-class resort, wrapped around the arena. Not some barge in the river with slots. It's about the roadtrip and amenities, not the built-in home court advantage Memphis has enjoyed in every conference tourney the last decade or so.

Well put.

since 2002- 2003 memphis has hosted 6 of the 10 conference tournaments. not exactly "every" for the last decade. and maybe if some other cusa schools had a basketball fanbase with a pulse, it wouldnt have been in memphis that many times.

(06-10-2013 10:57 PM)TRest3 Wrote:  

(06-10-2013 08:44 PM)TripleA Wrote:  

(06-10-2013 08:39 PM)Kronke Wrote:  I was in Vegas a couple weeks after they held the Pac 12 tourney at MGM. Does anyone know how that went? I think it's a neat idea.

I know the MWC's tourney was also held in Vegas, at I believe the Orleans.

Memphis getting the Men's tourny first is a great move, but I wouldn't mind seeing it also held at Mogegan Sun in the future.

Why? Mohegan Sun is in the far NE corner of the new conference, and it only seats 10K. Memphis can fill up 18K if we're in it. And there are nine full-service casinos 30 miles from Memphis. Don't see any advantages to the conference doing the Mohegan Sun for the men.

It's a world-class resort, wrapped around the arena. Not some barge in the river with slots. It's about the roadtrip and amenities, not the built-in home court advantage Memphis has enjoyed in every conference tourney the last decade or so.

Memphis hosted the C-USA tournament several times when Cincinnati was in C-USA and I don't think they reached the title game one time. The only reason they dominated later on was because of the competition. With UC, UConn, Temple and Louisville (for 1 year) I would be surprised if Memphis was competitive in the conference tournament.

Hey, I wasn't suggesting that it should be in Memphis every year. I have no problem with it being moved around, assuming other venues are suitable, and the tourney is supported.

And the casinos in Tunica are NOT barges on a river with slot machines. They are full service casinos, just as you would find in Atlantic City, Vegas, etc. I've been to almost every major one in all three locations. Tunica is comparable to Atlantic City.

My point about the Mohegan is that it is not centrally located, it only seats 10K (okay for early games, not okay for semifinals and finals, usually), and staying at the casino is nice, but if that's attractive, you can get all the casino action you want within 45 minutes of FedExForum.

As for Memphis not supporting the early games, hell, nobody is going to games with crappy teams, in any location. MSG was unique, b/c it was close to enough member schools to ensure great attendance throughout. Not the case for us now, or anybody else, for that matter.

And as for Memphis not being competitive in the AAC tourney this season, in Memphis:

(06-11-2013 07:40 AM)123az Wrote:  

(06-10-2013 10:57 PM)TRest3 Wrote:  

(06-10-2013 08:44 PM)TripleA Wrote:  

(06-10-2013 08:39 PM)Kronke Wrote:  I was in Vegas a couple weeks after they held the Pac 12 tourney at MGM. Does anyone know how that went? I think it's a neat idea.

I know the MWC's tourney was also held in Vegas, at I believe the Orleans.

Memphis getting the Men's tourny first is a great move, but I wouldn't mind seeing it also held at Mogegan Sun in the future.

Why? Mohegan Sun is in the far NE corner of the new conference, and it only seats 10K. Memphis can fill up 18K if we're in it. And there are nine full-service casinos 30 miles from Memphis. Don't see any advantages to the conference doing the Mohegan Sun for the men.

It's a world-class resort, wrapped around the arena. Not some barge in the river with slots. It's about the roadtrip and amenities, not the built-in home court advantage Memphis has enjoyed in every conference tourney the last decade or so.

Memphis hosted the C-USA tournament several times when Cincinnati was in C-USA and I don't think they reached the title game one time. The only reason they dominated later on was because of the competition. With UC, UConn, Temple and Louisville (for 1 year) I would be surprised if Memphis was competitive in the conference tournament.

Yeah, you guys left CUSA just in time to not get spanked by the Tigers for 4 or 5 years in a row...oh wait....we did beat you 4 years in a row OOC. I guess if you had stayed in conference we could have doubled that record.