Photo Courtesy of the American Athletic Conference
ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) – The 2021 and 2022 American Athletic Conference Championships will be held at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, as announced by The American Commissioner Mike Aresco on Tuesday.
The 2021 women's tournament will be held March 8-11 in conjunction with the men's championship, which is set to take place March 11-14 at Dickies Arena, marking the first time in conference history that both of The American basketball tournaments will be held in the same city and venue.
The 14,000-seat arena, which opened in the Fall of 2019, features two premium club spaces, 40 suites, 32 loge boxes and a warmup arena that can stage a full practice court. Dickies Arena is located adjacent to the Will Rogers Memorial Center campus in the city's Cultural District, just 10 minutes from downtown Fort Worth. Six of The American's 11 members are located within driving distance of Fort Worth, while the other five members have direct flight options to the metropolitan area.
The 2021 women's tournament will feature each of the league's 11 teams in a single-elimination tournament. Three first-round games will take place on Monday, March 8, followed by four quarterfinal matchups on Tuesday, March 9. The semifinal contests will be played on Wednesday, March 10, with the championship game slated for Thursday, March 11.
In her four seasons at the helm, UCF head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson has led the Black and Gold to four consecutive 20-win campaigns. The Knights earned a first-round bye in four straight tournament appearances, and were the second seed at both the 2019 and 2020 tournaments.
The Knights return four starters for the 2020-21 campaign, including third team all-conference selection Brittney Smith, rising seniors Masseny Kaba and Courtajia Sanders and rising junior Diamond Battles. In all, UCF returns seven Knights that saw action last season while welcoming a trio of freshmen in Colleen Bucknor, Maniya Custis and Ashton Verhulst.
