July 20, 2010

NAPERVILLE, Ill. -

Sites for championship competition during the 2010-11 season were approved by the Joint Council of the Great West Conference, commissioner Ed Grom announced today.

For the first time in three years, all seven full members will have the opportunity to host a championship event, giving each school the chance to showcase their campuses to the rest of the conference.

A return trip to Utah Valley University for the premier event of the year - the 2011 men's and women's basketball tournament - highlights the championship calendar this coming year. The University of South Dakota will look to repeat as the men's champion and the Wolverines of Utah Valley again look to take advantage of their own home court on the women's side as the tournament begins a four-day run on March 9, 2011 at the 8,500-seat Utah Valley Events Center. All seven men's and women's teams will compete in the postseason event, which will begin with three women's games on Wednesday, March 9 and then three men's quarterfinal games on March 10. Both semifinal rounds will be played on March 11, with both title games being held on Saturday, March 12. The men's tournament champion will once again earn a bid to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

The 2010-11 postseason championship schedule begins with the men's and women's Cross Country Championships on Saturday, October 30 at Texas-Pan American. Other 2010 fall championship sites will be Houston Baptist for women's soccer (Nov. 5-9) and Chicago State for volleyball (Nov. 18-20). The winter championship schedule begins with a trip to New York City for the 2011 Indoor Track and Field Championship, which will be held February 27-28 at the legendary Armory, home of world-class indoor events for the last several decades.

In the spring, Chicago State will be the location for the women's tennis championship on April 29-30, while Utah Valley will showcase its new on-campus track facility at the 2011 Great West Outdoor Championships, May 12-14. South Dakota will play host to softball May 15-16, and North Dakota will be the site for the baseball championship, which has moved from pool play to a double-elimination format, the week leading up to Memorial Day. Houston Baptist will play host to the women's golf championship April 25-27 at La Torretta Resort and Spa in Montgomery, Texas, while the men's teams will compete in the America Sky Men's Golf Conference championship May 2-4 at Troon North Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The Great West has expanded its women's tennis roster of teams to six with the addition of Seattle University.

"I believe we have a good mix of locations for our 2010-11 championships," said Commissioner Ed Grom. "We had a great deal of success in our first year of full championship competition in 2009-10, and we look to improve on the quality of our events this coming year."

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