Hofstra vs Villanova - 12/22/17 (Nassau Coliseum)

[Wags]

FINALLY!

MBB: Hofstra To Face Jay Wright And Villanova At Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum In 2017

Hempstead, NY – One of the most anticipated games in Hofstra Men's Basketball history will come to fruition in 2017 as Hofstra University will take on former Head Coach Jay Wright and the Villanova University Wildcats at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Presented by New York Community Bank on Friday, December 22, 2017.

"What an incredible opportunity for the entire Hofstra University community" commented Hofstra Head Men's Basketball Coach Joe Mihalich. "We strive year in and year out to compete against the best teams in the nation, while giving our student-athletes the chance to play in world-class venues. This game against Villanova certainly checks all of those boxes. In addition, we know how much Jay Wright means to every Hofstra Basketball fan and the chance to face Coach Wright and his National Championship-winning Wildcats will be a memory that all Pride fans will never forget."

"This is truly another special day for Hofstra University," commented Hofstra Vice President and Director of Athletics Jeffrey A. Hathaway. "We are excited to have worked with the team at Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment and the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in scheduling this Villanova versus Hofstra game. It will be a fun day for our Hofstra fans as both head coaches have strong ties to the Pride and it will mark the first time that Hofstra will play in the newly-renovated, state-of-the-art Coliseum. Coach Wright is a prominent member of our Hofstra Pride family and we look forward to his return to Long Island for this exciting match-up with the Villanova Wildcats."

Over the course of his seven seasons at Hofstra, Wright steadily built the Pride into a force in the North Atlantic/America East Conference. During his final three seasons Hofstra was 72-22 (.766) with a pair of America East titles to its credit. The Pride appeared in the postseason in each of those campaigns, including the NCAA Tournament in 2000 and 2001. In seven seasons at the helm of the Pride, Wright compiled a 122-85 (.589) mark.

Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment (BSE) develops and operates state-of-the-art venues and manages premier sports franchises, delivering dynamic content and experiences for audiences. BSE oversees programming, marketing, sales, and operations for Barclays Center and Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Presented by New York Community Bank, and manages and controls the NBA's Brooklyn Nets and its Development League team, the Long Island Nets, as well as the business operations of the NHL's New York Islanders.

The New Coliseum Presented by New York Community Bank, scheduled to reopen April 5, 2017 after extensive renovation, will offer 13,000 seats for hockey, 13,500 for basketball, and 14,500 for standard concert configurations, with the ability to flex up. The bowl will have a theater seating option for 4,000 guests.

[cactus]

good job getting this on the schedule

[stuball888]

Long overdue

[Polito]

AMEN!!

This is FANTASTIC

Thank you Coach Wright for finally agreeing to a game with HU - this is going to be an incredible experience. Family is already talking about it. Next yrs schedule is looking excellent between this and the great tourney they'll be in - about time these improvements are being made.

Now, to make them worthwhile!

[Jordan]

I was quite disappointed when the supposed game against Kentucky was moved to the Barclays due to the coliseum not being opened in time, but now this is just AMAZING! Going to be a very meaningful game. Basically a home game, at what I can expect to be a beautiful new coliseum against a legendary coach, for what has been anticipated for years. Vey exciting. As Polito has pointed out, the schedule is looking great for next year. Truly love the way this staff has rebuilt this program!

[EvanJ]

It will be third time in nine seasons that Hofstra plays a team two seasons after that team won the championship (unless Villanova repeats to make it one season after they won the championship). Kansas won in 2008 and played Hofstra in 2009-2010. North Carolina won in 2009 and played Hofstra in 2010-2011.

[The Shadow]

This is along the lines of what Polito and I are posting on another thread about how HU has to be in control of its own future. HU should not depend on the success of the members of the CAA or its administration in Virginia to aid a New York college to improve the HU athletic programs

[Jojogunne]

Stony Brook will play the first collegiate men's basketball game at the coliseum when the Seawolves host Maryland on Nov. 11.

[ProudofPride]

Villanova's official press release: http://www.villanova.com/sports/m-baskb ... 16aab.html

[Jordan]

Joe Mihalich Jr. (Mihalich's son) will be getting his shots at Jay Wright tonight. He's an Assistant Coach at Penn who will be facing Villanova tonight at The Palestra.

[ProudofPride]

Of note, MAAC triple-header at Nassau Coliseum in 2018 and 19.

https://twitter.com/Joshua_Newman/statu ... 2314240001

[Polito]

Good - need as much college hoops promotion as possible on LI - only helps.

And this in no way shape or form overshadows a Hofstra vs Villanova matchup next season. Not even a blip on the radar as far as that's concerned.

But I like it, because LI really needs some shock and awe brain surgery done to help it understand the value of college hoops - bring it on new coliseum!!

[Jordan]

A little bit off topic from the game itself but thought this was a really neat innovative piece of technology that Villanova uses. Maybe this should go in the Ideas Thread. Nonetheless, I thought this was fun. Maybe Hofstra should invest if we ever pull some good crowds.

https://gigapixel.panoramas.com/villano ... /20170225/

Tip: You can zoom in with the mouse scroller to clearly view each person. I was quote impressed with the quality.

[ProudofPride]

The Grand Opening of the renovated Coliseum was today. Pictures look awesome!
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/na ... 1.13334191

[HofstraHockey]

Interesting that they included a Hofstra dancer on here. Rabinowitz was also front row for this event today- you can see him in all the pictures.

[Polito]

hopefully an indication of a real actual partnership between the coliseum and HU - there should be many many events coordinated there that require larger capacity than the Mack.

HU vs Nova should be just the beginning.

Looks nice to me, although many don't agree from the page comments. I'm looking forward to the game, and all of the great storylines - even better if HU can work their butts off in the offseason to improve and land the right pieces in this recruiting class to play a truly competitive game for a full 40.

[Flying Dutchmen]

HU vs Nova should be just the beginning.

Looks nice to me, although many don't agree from the page comments. I'm looking forward to the game, and all of the great storylines - even better if HU can work their butts off in the offseason to improve and land the right pieces in this recruiting class to play a truly competitive game for a full 40.

I agree, maybe it doesn't have all the amenities demanded by the modern big-4 sports team, but the new NC is a nice upgrade, perfect for Hofstra to leverage.

I wonder if that MAAC triple-header in January is an overture to possibly host the MAAC Tournament in the future, it would be a great neutral site for all but the Buffalo teams. It would be the perfect spot if we were in the MAAC... just sayin haha.

Honestly I think it's a great potential CAAT site as well. I can't imagine attendance numbers being any worse than in Baltimore, although a car is a necessity, whereas you could walk/cab in Baltimore and N.Charleston/Charleston.

[Polito]

I mean, it looks nice to me... really looking forward to HU hoops games there.

[garyg]

I enjoyed the game at Coliseum when we whipped St. Johns..I believe there were close to 9000 fans there...some great names from the past...Richardson, Gittens, Apodaca, Grubler, Springfield, etc...

[Jojogunne]

Billy Joel opened the coliseum last night. Parking cost $40. Yikes.