TOLEDO, Ohio (Jan. 26) -- The Mid-American Conference Council of
Presidents has approved that the Mid-American Conference men’s
basketball tournament will be held at Cleveland’s Gund Arena
beginning in the year 2000 and running through the year 2002. The
decision was made Monday at the Council’s meeting in Toledo.
The MAC women’s basketball tournament site selection was
delayed until March 1, at which time, a decision will be made on the
date, site and time of future tournaments.
It was also announced that the MAC offices would be relocated to
Cleveland beginning July 1, 1999. The exact site in Cleveland has yet
to be determined.
"The MAC is appreciative of the courtesies extended to us over the
past four years by the Toledo community, but we are excited about the
new opportunity that Cleveland affords us," said Dr. Robert Glidden
of Ohio, Chair of the Council of Presidents. "The largest
concentration of MAC Alumni, some 300,000, reside in the Cleveland
area. That provides us with a solid base of fans for our basketball
tournaments and makes Cleveland a natural site for the conference
office."
"In following the direction of the Council of Presidents, an Ad
Hoc Committee was formed and chaired by Kathy Beauregard, Athletics
Director at Western Michigan University. I would like to extend my
deepest appreciation for the detailed and extensive evaluation
process that this committee performed," said MAC Commissioner Jerry
Ippoliti. "I would also like to thank my Senior Associate
Commissioner Rob Fournier in the negotiations in finalizing this
arrangement."
"In addition, I would like to extend my gratitude to the city of
Toledo for all the support it has shown the MAC over the years," said
Ippoliti.
"Gund Arena and the City of Cleveland are delighted to host the
Mid-American Conference Tournament (MAC) for the next three years.
The MAC Conference plays exciting Division I basketball that will
appeal to all basketball fans including thousands of MAC alumni in
the Greater Cleveland area. I am sure the fan interest will be
particularly strong for the two local MAC schools in Northeastern
Ohio -- Kent State University and the University of Akron," said Jim
Boland, Chief Executive Officer CAVS/Gund Arena Company.
The Mid-American Conference offices have been in Toledo for 15
years and the tournament has been held in Toledo the last four years
. This year will be the fifth year it has been staged in Toledo.
Previous tournament sites include Columbus, Ohio, 1993-94; Detroit,
Mich., 1990-92; Toledo, 1987-89 and 1985; Rockford, Ill., 1986 and
1984; Bowling Green, Ohio, 1983; and Ann Arbor, Mich., 1980-82.