FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gregg Cohen, Interim Director of Media Relations
(718) 997-4273 • Office
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
CUNYAC RISING TO NEW HEIGHTS
EXCITING EVENTS, GREAT VENUES MARK UPCOMING YEAR
FLUSHING, N.Y. – The clock is winding down to zero. The whistles are ready to blow. It’s time for action!
The fall sports season is officially here for the City University of New York Athletic Conference. From today through May, there will be 24 CUNYAC Championship teams crowned in both the Community and Senior College Divisions, and a handful of championship-winning teams, from the entire slate of 180 teams (with over 3,000 student-athletes) will compete at the National level, at the NJCAA or NCAA Championships.
“The stars are certainly aligning for us on so many levels” said CUNYAC Executive Director Zak Ivkovic. “We have always strived to improve each year, but the current levels of championship play and organization, combined with increased television coverage and corporate support is unprecedented.”
In 2009-10, the Conference benefitted from the efforts of 27 All-Americans, four individual National Champions and one Runner-up NJCAA Championship team (Kingsborough Women’s Tennis), just to point to the highlights.
2010-11 is set to be a banner year with enthusiastic leadership, top-notch venues and a full menu of Conference sponsors, more than CUNYAC has ever enjoyed previously, both in terms of quantity and quality. Additionally, ten championship finals will be televised, as CUNYAC embarks on its’ most comprehensive TV package ever. Before the year even kicks-off, the final event of the upcoming season will hold special significance, as the “Silver Anniversary” will be celebrated at the 25th Annual Michael Steuerman Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.
The Championship event calendar (CUNYAC Championships 2010-11) will see trophies handed out at first class professional facilities in 11 sports, highlighted by the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the site of the U.S. Open. Professional teams and international events are also held at the Armory Track & Field Center (Indoor Track); Icahn Stadium (Outdoor Track & Field); MCU Park (Baseball) and the Metropolitan Oval (Soccer). In addition, the Cross Country Championships are held at historic Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, widely considered the ‘Mecca’ in the sport of outdoor road running. All of the indoor championship events are held on campus, as to maximize attendance, emphasized by the Swimming & Diving Championships at Lehman College’s APEX Pool and the original prize, basketball.
The centerpiece of the year will be the 45th Annual CUNYAC/Con Edison Basketball Championships, held once again at City College and Borough of Manhattan C.C., our two largest venues in each division. CCNY is about to unveil a brand-new wood basketball floor, with portable baskets, transforming Nat Holman Gymnasium into a superior indoor facility, befitting of its’ namesake.
The 2010-11 TV Schedule will include, as always regular season “Games of the Week”, all four basketball championship games, along with both men’s and women’s volleyball finals, which were added two years ago. The program will be expanded to four additional senior college title games: men’s & women’s soccer in the fall, baseball and softball in the spring.
The CUNYAC family of corporate partners for 2010-11 has grown substantially with the addition of Municipal Credit Union, OAI Printed Graphics and Applebee’s. When added to our already impressive manstays, Con Edison, Hospital for Special Surgery, Pepsi-Cola, Modell’s Sporting Goods and EmblemHealth, it gives CUNYAC an unmatched level of support.
The City University of New York Athletic Conference, the largest urban university system in the nation, is comprised of ten institutions in its senior college division competing in the NCAA’s Division III, and five institutions in its community college division competing in the NJCAA’s Region XV. All fifteen schools are a part of the City University of New York, and are spread across the City’s five boroughs. The conference runs championship events in 24 sports, for both men and women. Member institutions include Baruch College, Borough of Manhattan Community College, Bronx Community College, Brooklyn College, the City College of New York (CCNY), the College of Staten Island, Hostos Community College, Hunter College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Kingsborough Community College, Lehman College, Medgar Evers College, New York City College of Technology (City Tech), Queensborough Community College and York College.
-- CUNYAthletics.com --