Conference tournament to be held at Red Bull Arena
- by Soccer America , Dec 12, 2009
The soccer-specific facility in Harrison, N.J., is the new home of MLS's New York Red Bulls and is scheduled to open on March 27, 2010.
The Big East will hold its semifinal and championship games at the venue, along with team practices before each day of competition, beginning in 2010.
"The Big East is thrilled to announce the partnership with Red Bull New York and their new world-class facility," said Jim Siedliski, Big East Associate Commissioner for Olympic Sports. "We feel Red Bull Arena is the ideal location to hold our men's soccer championship, and will allow our student-athletes to play in a professional atmosphere and in a major metropolitan market that embraces the sport of soccer."
The Big East men's soccer championship began in 1982, when it was a four-team tournament. Currently, the top 12 of the league's 16 teams earn a berth to the championship. Selection and seeding are based on regular-season conference records. The top six teams in both the Blue and Red Divisions, seeded by conference point total, qualify for the league championship. The top two teams in each division earn first-round byes to the quarterfinals. The first-round and quarterfinal games are held on the campuses of the higher seeded teams.
