The NCAA has awarded six championships to the Mountain East Conference for the 2014-18 seasons. The MEC has partnered with Salem, Va., to serve as a co-host for four national championships. The Mountain East Conference will also serve as the host for two upcoming NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Regional Men’s Golf championships.
The MEC will host the following championships:
• NCAA Division II Softball National Championship (Moyer Sports Complex/Salem, VA)/2014, 2017, 2018
• NCAA Division II Women’s Lacrosse National Championship (Kerr Stadium/Salem, VA)/2015
• NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Men’s Golf Regional Championship (Edgewood Country Club/Sissonville, WV)/2014
• NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Men’s Golf Regional Championship (Longaberger Golf Club/Nashport, Ohio)
The MEC will host a championship in each of the three states that its membership is located.
“Being selected to by the NCAA to co-host four NCAA National Championships in addition to regional events is an honor, and we are thrilled,“ Mountain East Conference Commissioner Reid Amos said. “Hosting these championship events will help us grow our brand across the region and country, and we are very pleased that the NCAA had the confidence in our conference to grant such an opportunity. We have partnered with great organizations and venues that will provide a memorable championship experience for everyone involved.“
“The city of Salem is proud to have partner with the Mountain East Conference as the host city for several NCAA championships,“ said John Shaner, Director of the City of Salem Parks and Recreation Department. “We are looking forward to working with the MEC and are excited to crown champions in Virginia’s Championship City.“
“We really want to thank everyone who put in a bid,“ said Mark Lewis, NCAA executive vice president of championships and alliances. “The competitiveness of the bids made it extremely difficult for the sport committees to select sites as there just weren’t spots for all of the great bids we received. Ultimately the sites that were selected will provide our student-athletes, coaches and fans the best experience possible.“
The new NCAA championship bid process creates the largest host site announcement ever, spanning 82 championships across a four-year cycle. Previously, selection announcements varied by sport. This process now gives the NCAA and host sites more time to plan each championship experience.
Bidding for 82 of 89 NCAA championships began in July and 1,984 bid applications were ultimately submitted. Each sport committee, per division, selected the host sites it believed would provide the ultimate experience for the respective student-athletes, resulting in 523 total championship event sites awarded. The seven championships not included in the process due to preexisting site arrangements are: Division I baseball, Division I men’s basketball, Division I football, Division I men’s and women’s golf, Division I softball and Division III women’s ice hockey. For more information on all of the NCAA championship sites awarded, log on to http://www.ncaa.com/site-selections.