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2015 MAAC FIELD HOCKEY
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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 and Golf
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.
THE MAAC AND THE WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT ESPN WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS PARTNERSHIP