A-10 Tournament returning to Atlantic City

As Dick Jerardi reported in today's Daily News, Atlantic 10 officials decided that they liked their 3 years in Atlantic City so much that they will hold their tournament at Boardwalk Hall for 3 more years.

The formal announcement announcement was made today.

The A-10 opened up the tournament for bids and got interest from several cities, including Springfield, Mass., Pittsburgh, Dayton and Cincinnati. Penn expressed interest in having the tournament at the Palestra, but did not submit a formal bid.

"The decision to return to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City provides a great opportunity to grow our marquee event and truly brand the Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship," commisioner Bernadette McGlade said in a statement. "The facility is well-suited for this championship, Atlantic City is a historic seashore resort, and the city has welcomed the Atlantic 10 and committed to host 3 more great years."

In 2010, the format will be changed slightly. First-round games will be on Tuesday, March 9 at campus sites, with seeds 5, 6, 7 and 8 hosting seeds 12, 11, 10 and 9, respectively. The top four seeds will still get byes into the quarterfinals, which will be on Friday, March 12 at Boardwalk Hall. The semis will be on Saturday, March 13. The championship game will be on Selection Sunday (March 14) on CBS at 1 p.m.

Dates for the 2011 tournament are March 8, 11-13, while the 2012 tournament will be held March 6, 9-11.