Thank You Richmond
This weekend, the Colonial
Athletic Association will be staging its 24th consecutive men's
basketball championship at the Richmond Coliseum before moving to Baltimore for
the 2014-16 tournaments. Through the
years, over 750,000 spectators have watched the electricity of 207 "March Madness"
tournament games with millions more watching the national television broadcasts
showcasing Richmond. Some of the most
memorable games in NCAA tournament history got their start at the CAA
tournament. Richmond's historic upset of
#2 Syracuse in 1991; Old Dominion's 3 overtime victory over #3 Villanova in
1995; VCU's victory over Duke in 2007; and the most memorable of all, the
captivating performances of our 2006 George Mason and 2011 VCU Final Four
teams!
The CAA has always believed
that the tournament should be a valuable motivational opportunity for the youth
in Richmond. The conference has had
annual "good behavior" partnerships with the public schools in Metro Richmond,
the Richmond Parks and Recreation programs, Police Athletic League, YMCA, Boys
and Girls Clubs, Special Olympics, Boy and Girl Scouts and many other youth
organizations. One of my personal
favorites occurred in 1992 when kids from the City's Parks & Rec programs
had a special, private breakfast with basketball legend Julius "Dr. J" Erving. In the past 24 years, thousands of kids have received
free tickets to the Championship for achieving Honor Roll status, participating
in reading programs or achieving perfect attendance at their school. Our coaches have conducted clinics where all
these things were stressed in order to follow the dream of playing college
basketball and beyond. We hope that in
some small way, the tournament made a positive difference for area youth.
Our success wouldn't have
been possible without the tremendous support from numerous tournament sponsors,
the City of Richmond and countless volunteers.
I would like to particularly thank Jim and Bobby Ukrop from Ukrop's and
First Market Bank and our original long-time title sponsor, Richfood whose
support beginning in 1990 provided the foundation that allowed the tournament
to prosper through all the years. The
City of Richmond, the SMG staff (operators of the Richmond Coliseum), the Richmond
Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Richmond SportsBackers have
all been tremendous partners and advocates for the CAA throughout, investing
time, effort and resources that is impossible to calculate and quantify.
A flood of "March Madness"
emotion and memories will be on display for a final time on Monday night at the
Coliseum as the championship team once again climbs the ladder to "cut down the
nets" realizing their dream of playing in the NCAA tournament as the CAA
Champion. Richmond has witnessed and
shared in that dream for a whole generation of young men. I hope that you will join us in the
celebration again this year.
I'd like to thank each and
every one who has been part of facilitating that dream through your support and
attendance. Thank you Richmond!
Tom Yeager
Commissioner
Colonial Athletic Association