March Madness might stick around for a while.
The Atlantic 10 Conference Women’s Basketball Championship concluded its second year at the Henrico Sports & Events Center as the George Mason Patriots defeated the Saint Joseph’s Hawks 73-58 in Sunday’s final.
While attendance totals hadn’t been finalized as of Monday afternoon, thousands of fans were on hand throughout the five-day event, which saw the Patriots earn their first-ever bid to the NCAA tournament. Last year’s tournament attracted more than 16,000 fans and benefited from having the University of Richmond Spiders reach – and win – the championship.
After last year’s event, the A-10 announced it would remain in Henrico through 2026. Now, the conference is considering another extension, through 2028 and possibly 2029, A-10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade said. A decision by the member schools’ athletic directors could come as early as mid-March.
“The facility obviously has been really terrific, and it’s really a perfect size facility for this event, for this championship,” she said.
Dennis Bickmeier, executive director of the Henrico Sports & Entertainment Authority, said organizers learned last year how to operate the venue. This year, they were able to focus more on marketing and improving the experience for fans.
Sunday’s championship game attracted 2,713 attendees. Bickmeier said it was a “strong showing” for the 3,500-capacity arena, particularly because the final featured two nonlocal teams. He said organizers can’t expect the Richmond Spiders or Virginia Commonwealth University Rams to reach the championship game each year.
“We have to make it a community event,” Bickmeier said. “I feel like we took a step in that direction. Our task is to build a community of basketball fans who want to come out and enjoy some high-level women’s college basketball.”
McGlade said she was encouraged by this year’s marketing, which included billboards along Interstate 95 and a Terminal Takeover promotion that displayed a half court and hoop at Richmond International Airport. In addition, the event sought to capitalize on various special events, including a panel discussion and brunch for International Women’s Day. The Youth Education Through Sports Day brought in more than 1,000 elementary and middle school students on Thursday and Friday to enjoy the action.
“I think we have to all continue to really lock our arms together for the marketing,” McGlade said. “These student athletes want to play in front of the capacity crowds. We try to protect the house with the education day program, but at the end of the day we need to get the hardcore basketball fans here in this region – 30-mile radius – buying tickets and getting out here to watch these outstanding athletes.”
