West Babylon, N.Y. - On Thursday afternoon, the East Coast Conference announced the dates and sites for its 2019-2020 championship tournaments. The ECC will conduct 20 championships in 19 sports beginning in late October and concluding in May.
All championships will be broadcast for free on the ECC Network. The ECC Network is available at www.eccsportsnetwork.com and also on a free app on Apple and Android mobile devices, as well as on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and Roku devices.
The ECC's championship slate kicks off with the Women's Tennis Championship on October 25 and 26 at the tournament's traditional home, Queens College. The league's Men's and Women's Cross Country Championship takes place the same weekend. New York Tech will host the championship for the second time in three seasons.
The ECC adds a second championship under its Esports umbrella in 2019-20, with the addition of an Overwatch Championship. The semifinals will take place on November 1 with the final to follow on November 9. New York Tech will serve as the host for the final on their Old Westbury campus.
Small changes have been made to the Men's and Women's Soccer Championship. The semifinals of both tournaments will now be held the same day, November 13. the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds will still host the semifinals on their home pitch. Another small shift sees both finals held on a weekend for the first time. The men's final will take place on Saturday, November 16, while the women's final kicks off on Sunday, November 17. The highest remaining seed will host the final in both tournaments.
The final championship of the fall season, the Volleyball Championship will take place on November 22 and 23. The No. 1 seed will host the entire four-team tournament in their home gymnasium.
The winter championships kick off with the Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships on February 22. The Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island, N.Y. will serve as the host for the fifth consecutive year.
Up next are the Men's and Women's Basketball Championships. First Round action will be hosted by the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds on their home courts on March 4. The action then moves to our nation's capital as University of the District of Columbia will serve as the host for the semifinals and finals on March 7 and 8. This marks the second time UDC has hosted the tournament, also doing so in 2016.
The Women's Bowling Championship will be back in the state of Pennsylvania for the second straight year. Chestnut Hill College will serve as the host at Limerick Bowl in Limerick, Pa. The three day event begins on March 20 and concludes on March 22.
The second-ever ECC League of Legends Championship on March 28 wraps up the winter championships. Molloy College will host the final in the Madison Theatre on their campus in Rockville Centre.
The spring season begins on April 24 and 25 with the Men's Tennis Championship. As with women's tennis, Queens College will serve as the host.
The following week is the busiest one of the year with champions crowned in the sports of softball, men's and women's lacrosse, and men's and women's outdoor track & field. The double-elimination Softball Championship will have the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds each host a single game on their home diamond on April 29. After a day off, the tournament wraps up on May 1 and 2 with the No. 1 seed hosting the remainder of the tournament.
The Men's Lacrosse Championship also begins with the semifinals on April 29 with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds each hosting a contest. The final takes place on May 2 with Mercy College hosting for the first time in the tournament's history.
The Women's Lacrosse Championship will have a slight bracket alteration. After two years where the top six seed qualified, the tournament will revert to four seeds again this season. Four teams qualified for the tournament from its inception in 2014 through the 2017 season.
The semifinals will take place on April 30 on the campuses of the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. As with the men, Mercy will host the final of the women's championship on May 2.
Traditionally the first championship of the spring season, the Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships have been pushed back this year to May 2. The move was made to align the sports' championship date with other Division II conferences throughout the country. The championship makes its way back to Western New York with Roberts Wesleyan serving as the host for the third time and first since 2016.
The last championship of the year will be the Baseball Championship from May 7-9. For the second straight year, New York Tech will serve as the host at Angelo Lorenzo Memorial Field on their campus in Old Westbury, N.Y.
To view the full 2019-20 ECC Championship schedule, click here.