ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
The ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments are postseason college basketball tournaments organized by the Eastern College Athletic Conference.
Despite its name, the ECAC is not a traditional athletic conference, but rather a loosely organized sports federation for colleges and universities in the northeastern United States. Among other things, it organizes end-of-season college basketball tournaments for member schools which are not members of a traditional conference, or which do not otherwise have access to such a tournament. At various times, it has organized end-of-season basketball tournaments at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, Division II, and Division III levels.
Division I
From 1975 to 1982, the ECAC organized annual regional end-of-season men's basketball tournaments for independent Division I ECAC member colleges and universities in the Northeastern United States. The winner of each regional tournament was declared the ECAC regional champion for the season and received an automatic bid in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.Before 1975, the ECAC had not organized such tournaments for Division I schools; the NCAA Tournament invited only one team per Division I conference and accommodated independents with a limited number of at-large bids. In 1975, however, the NCAA Tournaments field expanded to 32 teams, including the champions of end-of-season conference tournaments, who received automatic bids. Although a number of at-large bids still existed, the process for selecting the field for the 1975 NCAA Tournament included many second-place conference teams and threatened to exclude independent schools in the northeastern United States, which had no end-of-season conference tournament to play in and therefore no automatic bids. With no conventional athletic conferences yet in existence in the Northeast, the ECAC began to organize its Division I basketball tournaments in 1975, allowing Northeastern independents to retain their independent status while still having an opportunity to play in an end-of-season tournament offering an automatic bid. The ECAC Division I tournaments thus assured that at least some Northeastern colleges and universities would receive NCAA Tournament bids.
In both 1975 and 1976, the ECAC organized four regional Division I tournaments: Metro ; New England; South ; and Upstate. As Eastern independent colleges and universities began to join existing conferences or form new ones and play in their own end-of-season conference tournaments, the number of ECAC regional tournaments declined due to reduced demand for them. After the formation of the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League, the ECAC combined its Southern and Upstate Regions into a single "Southern" Region and held only three regional tournaments in 1977, 1978, and 1979. After the teams that played in the New England region all joined the Big East Conference, the Atlantic 10 Conference, or the new ECAC North Conference, the ECAC also did away with its New England tournament, and in 1980 and 1981 it held only two tournaments, Metro and Southern. Many of the teams in the Metro Region then formed the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and in 1982 the ECAC held two tournaments, reorganized as the Metro-South and South tournaments.
After the completion of the 1982 post-season, the remaining ECAC Metro-South Region teams formed the ECAC-Metro Conference, while the ECAC South Region teams formed the ECAC South Conference. With all the former independents in the northeastern United States having joined a traditional conference holding its own end-of-season tournament, and with the National Invitation Tournament providing a means of postseason tournament play for Division I teams not invited to the NCAA Tournament, the ECAC had no reason to continue its Division I basketball tournament series, and it ceased to organize such tournaments after 1982.
1975 tournaments
National rankings indicated.Regional champions
Sources| Champions |
| Metro:: #20 Rutgers New England: Boston College Southern: Georgetown Upstate: Syracuse |
Brackets
SourcesMetro
New England
Southern
Upstate
1976 tournaments
National rankings indicated.Sources
Regional champions
Brackets
MetroNew England
Southern
Upstate
1977 tournaments
National rankings indicated.Regional champions
Sources| Champions |
| Metro:: St. John's New England: Holy Cross Southern: #13 Syracuse |
Brackets
SourceMetro
Note: The Manhattan-St. Johns semifinal game was held at Rose Hill Gymnasium, Bronx, NY. The Army-Seton Hall semifinal game took place at Yanitelli Center, Jersey City, NJ.
New England
The 1977 New England Tournaments semifinal games contrasted with one another greatly: Holy Cross, led by freshman guard Ronnie Perry, played a hard, physical game - with 45 free throws in the second half, 24 by Holy Cross and 21 by Connecticut - to defeat Connecticut 89-77, while Providence, led by senior guard Joe Hassett, found its offense lacking and used tough defensive play to overcome Fairfield 44-31. The much-anticipated championship game that followed - a rematch of the December 1976 Colonial Classic final played at the Boston Garden, in which Holy Cross had handed Providence one of only three losses the Friars suffered all season on a game-winning last-second shot by the Crusaders Chris Potter - was played before a sold-out crowd at the Hartford Civic Center and was one of the greatest games in the eight-season history of the ECAC Division I tournaments. With less than a minute to play and his team behind, Holy Crosss Michael Vicens stole the ball along his own end line and raced down the court to score on a reverse dunk. This energized both the crowd and the Holy Cross players and swung the games momentum in favor of Holy Cross. The Crusaders got the ball with less than 10 seconds to go, and Potter scored on an 18-foot jumper with five seconds remaining to again give Holy Cross a win, 68-67. Holy Cross thus won an automatic bid to the 1977 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and made its first appearance in that tournament since 1956. Providence also reached the NCAA Tournament via an at-large bid.
Southern
Note: The St. Bonaventure-Syracuse semifinal game was held at Manley Field House, Syracuse, NY. The Old Dominion-Georgetown semifinal game took place at McDonough Gymnasium, Washington, DC.
1978 tournaments
National rankings indicated.Regional champions
Sources| Champions |
| Metro:: St. John's New England: Rhode Island Upstate-Southern: St. Bonaventure |
Brackets
MetroNew England
Upstate-Southern
Note: The St. Bonaventure-Syracuse semifinal game was held at the Rochester Community War Memorial, Rochester, NY. The Virginia Commonwealth-Georgetown game took place at McDonough Gymnasium, Washington, DC.
1979 tournaments
National rankings indicated.Regional champions
Source| Champions |
| Metro:: Iona New England: Connecticut South-Upstate: #16 Georgetown |
Brackets
SourcesMetro
New England
South-Upstate
1980 tournaments
Regional champions
Source| Champions |
| Metro:: Iona South: Old Dominion |
Brackets
SourcesMetro
South
1981 tournaments
Regional champions
Source| Champions |
| Metro:: Long Island-Brooklyn South: James Madison |
Brackets
SourcesMetro
South
1982 tournaments
Regional champions
Source| Champions |
| Metro-South:: Robert Morris South: Old Dominion |
Brackets
SourceMetro-South
South
Divisions II and III
Combined Division II/III tournaments
The ECAC organized combined Division II/Division III men's basketball tournaments annually from 1973 to 1980 as invitational events for ECAC teams not invited to the NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament or – after it began in 1975 – the NCAA Men's Division III Basketball Tournament. From 1973 through 1975 and from 1977 through 1980, it held four regional tournaments – Metro, New England, Southern, and Upstate – each year, while in 1976 it held only three tournaments.After 1980, the ECAC divided the Division II and Division III competitions, placing the Division II competitions on hiatus until 1988 and beginning Division III-only tournaments in 1981.
| Year | ECAC Division II/III Regional Champions |
| 1973 | Metro:: Brooklyn New England: Tufts Southern: East Stroudsburg Upstate: Union |
| 1974 | Metro:: Trenton State New England: Brandeis Southern: Cheyney Upstate: Brockport State |
| 1975 | Metro:: Bridgeport New England: Quinnipiac Southern: Bloomsburg Upstate: Union |
| 1976 | Metro:: Upsala New England: Amherst Southern: No tournament Upstate: Hamilton |
| 1977 | Metro:: Kean New England: Quinnipiac Southern: Mansfield Upstate: Potsdam State |
| 1978 | Metro:: Trenton State New England: Quinnipiac Southern: Loyola Maryland Upstate: Albany |
| 1979 | Metro:: Monmouth New England: Sacred Heart Southern: East Stroudsburg Upstate: Hamilton |
| 1980 | Metro:: Monmouth New England: Saint Anselm Southern: Mansfield Upstate: Elmira |
Division II tournaments
After 1980, the ECAC placed Division II end-of-season tournament competition on hiatus until 1988. From 1988 through 2005 it organized a single annual Division II men's basketball tournament as an invitational event for Division II ECAC teams not invited to that years NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament. No tournament took place in 2006, but the ECAC held it twice more, in 2007 and 2008. The Division II tournament again went on hiatus from 2008 through 2013, thanks to various factors including an expansion of the NCAA Men's Division II Tournament field and a decline in the number of Division II men's basketball programs associated with the ECAC. A Division II tournament took place in 2014, but the tournament again went on hiatus after that.| Year | ECAC Division II Champions |
| 1988 | Dowling |
| 1989 | Merrimack |
| 1990 | Pace |
| 1991 | Pace |
| 1992 | Millersville |
| 1993 | Saint Rose |
| 1994 | Adelphi |
| 1995 | New York Tech |
| 1996 | Saint Michael's |
| 1997 | UMass Lowell |
| 1998 | Merrimack |
| 1999 | Merrimack |
| 2000 | Saint Michael's |
| 2001 | Saint Rose |
| 2002 | Southampton |
| 2003 | Mansfield |
| 2004 | Felician |
| 2005 | Bridgeport |
| 2006 | no tournament |
| 2007 | Goldey–Beacom |
| 2008 | Saint Vincent |
| 2009-2013 | no tournament |
| 2014 | Lincoln |
| 2015-present | no tournament |
Division III tournaments
After its last combined Division II/III regional tournaments in 1980, the ECAC split Division II and Division III tournament competition. In 1981, it held its first Division III-only postseason regional invitational men's basketball tournaments for ECAC teams not invited to the NCAA Men's Division III Basketball Tournament, and these have occurred annually ever since. The ECAC organized these tournaments regionally, holding Metro, New England, and Upstate tournaments from 1981 to 1985 and adding a Southern tournament in 1986. In 2013, the ECAC returned to a three-tournament structure, holding Metro, New England, and Southern regional tournaments, while in 2014 it had four tournaments. In 2015 and 2016, it again had a three-tournament structure, with New England, Metro, and South tournaments. In 2017, it changed format again, becoming a single tournament which determined a single ECAC Division III champion.| Year | ECAC Division III Regional Champions |
| 1981 | Metro:: Jersey City State New England: Massachusetts Maritime Upstate: Hamilton |
| 1982 | Metro:: New Jersey Tech New England: Tufts Upstate: Hamilton |
| 1983 | Metro:: Jersey City State New England: Rhode Island College Upstate: Hamilton |
| 1984 | Metro:: Moravian New England: Trinity Upstate: Hamilton |
| 1985 | Metro:: New Jersey Tech New England: Trinity Upstate: Fredonia State |
| 1986 | Metro:: Staten Island New England: Trinity Southern: Catholic Upstate: Hamilton |
| 1987 | Metro:: Old Westbury State New England: Williams Southern: Mary Washington Upstate: Hamilton |
| 1988 | Metro:: New Jersey Tech New England: Saint Anselm Southern: Frostburg State Upstate: Geneseo State |
| 1989 | Metro:: Kean New England: Trinity Southern: Ursinus Upstate: Albany |
| 1990 | Metro:: Stony Brook New England: Colby Southern: Allentown Upstate: Hamilton |
| 1991 | Metro:: Medgar Evers New England: Colby Southern: Lebanon Valley Upstate: Potsdam State |
| 1992 | Metro:: Glassboro State New England: Brandeis Southern: Dickinson Upstate: Hamilton |
| 1993 | Metro:: Jersey City State New England: Colby Southern: Lincoln Upstate: Rochester Tech |
| 1994 | Metro:: Jersey City State New England: Western Connecticut State Southern: Lincoln Upstate: Elmira |
| 1995 | Metro:: Kean New England: Amherst Southern: Alvernia Upstate: Fredonia State |
| 1996 | Metro:: Rutgers-Newark New England: Amherst Southern: Lincoln Upstate: Oneonta State |
| 1997 | Metro:: Drew New England: Eastern Nazarene Southern: Johns Hopkins Upstate: Nazareth |
| 1998 | Metro:: York New England: Colby–Sawyer Southern: Lebanon Valley Upstate: Plattsburgh State |
| 1999 | Metro:: Fairleigh Dickinson-Madison New England: Williams Southern: Penn State-Behrend Upstate: New Paltz State |
| 2000 | Metro:: Montclair State New England: Tufts Southern: King's Upstate: Ithaca |
| 2001 | Metro:: New Jersey City New England: Williams Southern: Lebanon Valley Upstate: Geneseo State |
| 2002 | Metro:: Ramapo New England: Massachusetts-Dartmouth Southern: Franklin & Marshall Upstate: St. Lawrence |
| 2003 | Metro:: Baruch New England: Babson Southern: Franklin & Marshall Upstate: Rochester Tech |
| 2004 | Metro:: Ramapo New England: Western Connecticut State Southern: Lebanon Valley Upstate: Geneseo State |
| 2005 | Metro:: Kean New England: Wheaton Southern: Franklin & Marshall Upstate: Oswego State |
| 2006 | Metro:: New Jersey City New England: Wheaton Southern: Albright Upstate: Ithaca |
| 2007 | Metro:: New York University New England: Western New England Southern: DeSales Upstate: Vassar |
| 2008 | Metro:: Stevens Tech New England: Newbury Southern: Carnegie Mellon Upstate: Brockport State |
| 2009 | Metro:: Lehman New England: Becker Southern: Washington & Jefferson Upstate: Hartwick |
| 2010 | Metro:: Baruch New England: Elms Southern: Penn State-Behrend Upstate: Ithaca |
| 2011 | Metro:: Stevens Tech New England: Brandeis Southern: Lebanon Valley Upstate: Hobart |
| 2012 | Metro:: Mount Saint Mary New England: Worcester Tech Southern: Alvernia Upstate: Cortland State |
| 2013 | Metro:: Old Westbury State New England: Eastern Connecticut State Southern: Juniata |
| 2014 | Metro:: Staten Island New England: Johnson & Wales Southeast: Stevenson Southwest: Juniata |
| 2015 | Metro:: Staten Island New England: Southern Vermont South: Stevenson |
| 2016 | Metro:: New Jersey City New England: Nichols South: Neumann |
| 2017 | Stockton |
| 2018 | Widener |
| 2019 | Brandeis |