About the Atlantic 10

An Introduction to the Atlantic 10 Conference

With its very name the Atlantic 10, A-10 for short, carries on a proud tradition in American sports: that of wildly inaccurately-named athletic divisions and conferences. Just as Major League Baseball, for years, insisted that Atlanta was in the West and the NFL continues to group Indianapolis in the South and Dallas in the East, the "Atlantic" 10 features schools in St. Louis and Ohio -- hundreds of miles from the ocean.

Oh... and the A "10" includes 14 teams for basketball.

Issues of geography -- and math -- aside, the A-10 is generally considered to be a notch or two below the real power conferences in college hoops. That said, several A-10 teams are highly respected nationally and have proven to be very tough "outs" in the NCAA Tournament. Massachusetts rose to national prominence under coach John Calipari in the early '90s. John Cheney's Temple teams drove the opposition nuts with their physical play and inscrutable matchup zone. More recently, Jameer Nelson (now with the Orlando Magic) and Delonte West (Seattle Supersonics) led coach Phil Martelli's Hawks of St. Joseph's to an undefeated 2003-04 regular season and trip to the Elite Eight. The Musketeers of Xavier reached the Elite Eight that year as well.

The A-10 Tournament

The top 12 teams in the conference qualify for the post-season tournament, with the top four seeds receiving a first-round "bye." The tournament is held at every year at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The 2008 tournament will begin on March 12 and run through March 15. Check the A-10 website for schedule and ticketing information.

Teams of the A-10

• Charlotte 49ers
• Dayton Flyers
• Duquesne Dukes
• Fordham Rams
• George Washington Colonials
• La Salle Explorers
• Massachusetts Minutemen
• Rhode Island Rams
• Richmond Spiders
• Saint Joseph's Hawks
• Saint Louis Billikens
• St. Bonaventure Bonnies
• Temple Owls
• Xavier Musketeers