Last Tuesday, Center Field set the field to find the best basketball arena in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Now that the staff voted on each bracket matchup, we can determine the MAAC’s best…
First Round:
No. 8 Manhattan vs No. 9 Canisius
Winner: Manhattan
A 200-meter indoor track circles Manhattan’s home court at Draddy Gymnasium in Riverdale, New York, distinguishing it from every other arena in the conference. In 2025-26, Jaspers’ men’s basketball drew 12,123 total fans, and the arena sold another 4,681 tickets for women’s home contests.
The multipurpose Koessler Athletic Center (KAC) hosts a multitude of events, including Canisius men’s and women’s basketball games. Despite a combined 18,535 attendees throughout the past basketball season, KAC fell short of the Draddy Gymnasium by five votes. Manhattan moves on to face top-seeded MVP Arena.
No. 4 Marist vs No. 13 Merrimack
Winner: Marist
Beyond the pool used for both water polo and swim & dive, the McCann Center contains multiple basketball courts, a turf area, two weight rooms and a media suite. Within it, the McCann Arena underwent a change to the court’s wood over the offseason, the most recent renovation in the conference.
Though Volpe Athletic Center’s Hammel Court holds the smallest capacity in the MAAC at 1,200 fans, it works to the Warriors’ advantage. Merrimack men’s basketball accumulated an undefeated, 11-0 home record in 2025-26; however, their arena received just 10% of the vote in a first-round loss to Marist.
No. 5 Mount St. Mary’s vs No. 12 Rider
Winner: Mount St. Mary’s
The third newest MAAC member’s home arena brings a storied past from 33 years in the Northeast Conference (NEC). Part of that history stems from The Mount’s decision to seat fans as close to the court as possible in order to create a favorable outcome for the Mountaineers.
Rider’s oldest campus building is their home arena that opened in 1958, Alumni Gymnasium. Jason Thompson, the 12th overall selection in the 2008 NBA draft, played on the court for the Broncs for four seasons. His No. 1 hangs in the rafters with Darrick Suber’s and Stella Johnson’s. This history, however, came up short against The Mount.
No. 7 Niagara vs No. 10 Sacred Heart
Winner: Sacred Heart
Just outside of Buffalo lies Niagara’s Gallagher Center, the oldest arena in the conference, with its opening in 1949. Another unique characteristic about the Gallagher Center is the purple outlining of the court, since Niagara is the only team in the MAAC with purple in its color scheme.
When Merrimack and Sacred Heart moved from the NEC to the MAAC ahead of the 2024-25 season, the William H. Pitt Center wasted no time in making renovations. These improvements include a multitude of video boards, including an 80-foot Jumbotron, better lighting and a VIP seating area. It took home the most lopsided victory of the opening round with just one vote against. They advance to face their fellow 203 school: Quinnipiac.
No. 6 Iona vs No. 11 Saint Peter’s
Winner: Iona
The James P. Hynes Athletic Center hosts arguably the conference’s most heated rivalry game once a year: Manhattan vs Iona. Gales Nation turns to the 2,578-seat arena with scoreboards in every corner for the annual home contest against the Jaspers. Fun fact: It may very well have the most elevated scorers and media tables in the MAAC (for those interested in working a Gales game).
Saint Peter’s historic Elite Eight run in 2022 and its unique name, Run Baby Run Arena, could not propel it past Iona in the opening round. The Hynes Center advances to face the bracket’s newest arena: Leo D. Mahoney Arena.
Round Two:
No. 1 Siena vs No. 8 Manhattan
Winner: Siena
The largest arena in the conference, by far, blew past the Draddy Gymnasium. MVP Arena gathered every vote, a perfect 100%. Our voters seemed to love the 17,500 fan capacity in Albany that outranks blueblood college basketball teams’ arenas, like Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium.
After a tight victory over Canisius in the opening round, Manhattan fell in the most lopsided matchup of the tournament. The track wrapped around the court could only take the Jaspers so far.
No. 4 Marist vs No. 5 Mount St. Mary’s
Winner: Marist
In a rematch of the 2025 MAAC women’s basketball quarterfinals, Marist did not need an emphatic comeback to beat The Mount. McCann clobbered the Knott Arena, earning all but one vote. A new court flooring cleared the path to victory for our voters.
Mount St. Mary’s comfortably won in the first round but ultimately fell short in the quarterfinals to the arena a decade older than theirs.
No. 2 Quinnipiac vs No. 10 Sacred Heart
Winner: Sacred Heart
In a near 50/50 split, M&T Bank Arena lost in its first matchup of the bracket. The arena doubles in purpose for both hockey and basketball, encompassing 185,000 square feet for the entire facility. A bigger facility is not always better for our voters.
Sacred Heart, on the other hand, split its basketball and hockey arenas. This kept the No. 10 seed alive after upsetting both Niagara and a fellow-203 school in Quinnipiac. With a Fairfield win, the Pitt Center would advance to face its rival located just six miles away.
No. 3 Fairfield vs No. 6 Iona
Winner: Fairfield
The $51 million addition to Fairfield’s campus, Leo D. Mahoney Arena, comfortably defeated Iona’s Hynes Center. The arenas with second-level seating areas tend to thrive in this tournament.
Iona gathered nearly 20% of the second-round vote but ultimately fell short after defeating Run Baby Run Arena in the first round. This leaves two pairs of rivals to square off against one another in the Final Four.
Final Four:
No. 10 Sacred Heart vs No. 3 Fairfield
Winner: Fairfield
After a pair of upsets, the Pitt Center fell to Mahoney Arena with just a quarter of the votes. Though Sacred Heart surpassed Quinnipiac’s large capacity, they could not keep up with Fairfield’s newer arena, which also holds 3,500 fans. The Stags move on to the championship game to face the winner of the Battle of I-87.
No. 1 Siena vs No. 4 Marist
Winner: Siena
In the Battle of I-87, Arena Edition, both teams enter after cruising their way to the Final Four. In their first two matchups, the McCann Arena collected 92% of total votes; on the other hand, Siena brought home the only unanimous victory in their lone matchup. Continuing the theme of dominant victories, Siena’s MVP Arena advanced to the championship matchup.
Championship:
No. 3 Fairfield vs No. 1 Siena
Winner: Fairfield
The MAAC women’s champion squares off with the conference’s victor on the men’s for the fifth annual MAAC Madness battle. On the Atlantic City hardwood, the Stags defeated Quinnipiac, and Siena topped Merrimack.
In MAAC Madness, Fairfield claimed another honor: its second victory in the past three years. In fact, a primary red school won in the past three years, and Fairfield became the only institution with multiple MAAC Madness championships.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore
Photos courtesy of Siena Athletics
For more coverage of Marist athletics, follow @cfmarist on Instagram, X, TikTok and Bluesky, and sign up to receive daily alerts here.