Penn State Fayette hosts USCAA National Championship
On Vince Capozzi’s desktop computer is a countdown clock that will conclude March 1.
Each morning the athletic director at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, knows he has until then to prepare for the campus’ third consecutive year as host of the USCAA National Championship Tournament, which will be held March 2-5.
“I’m so excited to be part of this again,” said Capozzi. “Last year, when it was over there was kind of a sadness about it walking out of a darken gym and thinking this might be it for a while. I feel very comfortable that we learned a lot from our past experiences and are ready for this year.”
Penn State Fayette was awarded the tournament for a two-year contract for 2011 and 2012. The school previously hosted the tournament in 2009 and 2010.
Dr. Francis Achampong, chancellor of Penn State Fayette, said that the USCAA approached the university about hosting the tournament again citing the unique ability for university to conduct both the men’s and women’s tournaments at the same location.
“Having the USCAA select Penn State Fayette as the site of its championship tournament is a testament to the excellent recreational facilities we have and the USCAA’s confidence in our ability to successfully host this event and boost the image of the conference,” said Achampong.
Brian Fernandes, director of Student and Enrollment Services at Penn State Fayette, said hosting the tournament is a real plus for the school
“Hosting a national tournament provides local residents the opportunity to attend games of the highest level of competition,” said Fernandes. “They get to interact with the teams through local hosts and to meet and learn from people from all over the country. And this event allows local kids to dream about the possibility of playing in a tournament of this magnitude as they grow up fans of the game.
“As the host school, it also gives our student-athletes – most of whom who have never left Pennsylvania – an opportunity to play against national talent and know at the beginning of the season that they have a 1-in-12 shot for the women’s basketball team and 1-in-10 shot for the men’s basketball team at winning a national championship.”
While Capozzi felt that the previous tournaments were very successful, he cited several new ideas they are working on to improve it.
Increasing the number of host families and volunteers for the hospitality table along with trying to boost overall attendance are on his list of objectives.
“We would like to increase the number of host families to make sure there is at least one if not two people per team,” said Capozzi. “We received so much favorable feedback about that program, and in some situations the volunteers and their teams stayed in touch. Also increasing the size of the hospitality table and attendance are on the list of things to do.”
Host families will act as guides and supporters to help show teams around the area and cheer for their respective teams.
With so many new ideas in the works, Capozzi said volunteers are vital for the tournament’s success
“We have been so fortunate to have people come forward and help,” said Capozzi. “We are going to have 500-600 participants come through here over the course of the tournament, and we still have needs for many volunteers for all types of work. Also, we have been fortunate that many businesses have helped out with tournament and some have made very important donations both this year and in the past.”
Capozzi said anyone interested in volunteering to help at the tournament can call him at 724-430-4100 ext. 4515.
Among the businesses that will be working with the tournament is Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa, where all the visiting teams will be staying.
“They really wanted to be involved,” said Capozzi. “What they offer, and what was so attractive to the USCAA, is the ability to host all the teams at once. I credit them because they’ll be handling such a large amount of individuals coming and going at different times. It’s also unique for the teams to be able to say they stayed at a four-star hotel.”
This year the tournament will begin March 1 with a skills competition at 2:30 p.m. at the Community Center’s Main Arena which will be free to the general public, and a private banquet at Nemacolin Woodlands at 7 p.m.
At the banquet, the USCAA National All-Americans and Academic All-American team will be honored.
The tournament will begin the morning of March 2 and will run until March 5 with games in both the Community Center’s Main Arena and the Maltho Gymnasium and admission $7 for a single all-day ticket.
The men’s teams will be broken down into two divisions with Division I comprised of eight larger scholarship teams, while Division II will feature 10 non-scholarship teams including Penn State Fayette.
The women’s bracket will have 12 teams.
Both the Roaring Lion’s men’s and women’s teams receive automatic bids as hosts, and the other teams will either qualify through conference champions or be selected as at-large teams with final determination by Feb. 19.