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2016 MAAC ROWING
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MAACSPORTS.COM
@MAACSPORTS
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THE MAAC AND THE WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT ESPN WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS PARTNERSHIP
The MAAC will support 25 sports and championships during
the 2015-16 academic year, which almost all have NCAA
Championship Access through automatic bids or regional
qualifying systems. Highlighting the MAAC’s commitment
to providing a first rate experience for its fans and student-
athletes are those championships held at the Walt Disney
World Resort ESPN Wide World of Sports.
The 2015-16 academic year represents the MAAC’s 17th
year of hosting championships at the complex where the
league hosts 3 events each year. These include one
fall championship each year with all 11 member schools
participating as with men’s soccer in 2015. The sports
that rotate include men’s soccer, men’s & women’s cross
country, women’s soccer, and volleyball. In the fall of 2016,
cross country will return to the complex for its championship.
The championship operation at Disney allows the MAAC to
provide its participating student-athletes and their families
and fans a world-class sports championship experience.
The access to the playing facilities, on-site hotels, theme
parks, including an after-hours awards banquet, are
designed to provide lasting memories as the student
graduate and become alumni of the league and its member
schools.
The MAAC recently approved a new events agreement with
Disney for 2015-18, which includes ESPN broadcasting
elements for all the championships. ESPN’s state-of-the-art
studios broadcast highlights of MAAC on-site tournaments
throughout all Disney World Resort hotel properties as
well as on ESPN3 and MAAC.TV. All MAAC contests
for Volleyball, Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Men’s and
Women’s Cross Country, and Men’s and Women’s Golf are
broadcast by ESPN’s on-site studios. This year’s men’s
soccer championships will have its final championship
game, semi-finals, two of the quarterfinal games and two
of the first round games broadcast on ESPN3 to a national
audience available for viewing in 86 million homes on high
speed internet networks.
The MAAC has also co-hosted with ESPN since 2006 the
Advocare Invitational (previously the Old Spice Classic) at
the ESPNWWS complex. This 8-team tournament is held
over Thanksgiving weekend continues to draw elite men’s
basketball teams to compete. One MAAC school is included
in the field each year and this Thanksgiving Monmouth
University will compete in this premier event.
The MAAC also hosts its Men’s & Women’s Golf
Championships at the Disney complex. The men’s and
women’s golf teams compete at PGA-caliber courses during
the spring and rotate between Palm and Magnolia (2016)
at the Arnold Palmer managed courses. The golf hosting
agreement at Disney was recently extended through 2018
championships.
As noted before, ESPN studios in Orlando is an important
element of MAAC broadcasting efforts. It also serves as the
production site for the annual MAAC Pre-Season Coaches
Show and develops in-season features, commercials and
promotional elements for the MAAC ESPN broadcasts and
for MAAC.TV.
During the 2012-13 season, both the Cross Country andGolf
Championships saw live coverage on ESPN3 for the first
time in MAAC history because of the valuable partnership
between the MAAC and the Walt Disney World Resort.
Also shot on site is the annual MAAC SAAC Forum where
student-athlete leaders from all MAAC schools participate
on a live issues forum on ESPN3 form the sports complex.