Montclair State Loses Out Before NCAA Lifts Ban on Tournament, Championship Games

While the NCAA lifted a ban on New Jersey colleges from hosting tournament and championship games on Wednesday, it came too late for Montclair State University who missed out on several games on its home turf this year. 

Montclair State’s student athletes were a casualty of Gov. Chris Christie’s campaign to legalize sports betting in New Jersey, which was opposed by the NCAA and other major league organizations, including Major League Baseball, the NFL and NHL.  

The National Collegiate Athletic Association began the ban last November, and the fallout caused the state to lose its chance to host premiere college games, such as the 2014 and 2015 Men’s Basketball Championship East Regional at Newark’s Prudential Center, according to an nj.com article. 

Director of Sports Information at Montclair State Mike Scala said the university lost out on the community aspect of the tournaments, which far outweighed any monetary losses.  

“We lost out on an opportunity for the community ... to come to our campus and watch us play,” said Scala. “We lost out on an exposure that I don’t know if you can really quantify." 

Due to the ban, Montclair State could not host men and women’s soccer games, and field hockey games in the fall. The school’s undefeated women’s basketball team, 29-0, also could not host first- and second-round games on its way to making the Sweet 16 of the Division III tournament.  

In addition, the school was bypassed to host the Division II and III women's lacrosse championships in May. 

Scala said student athletes at Montclair State handled the ban “in stride” by focusing more on the games than what was going on with state politics. 

“They knew what was at stake,” said Scala. “It never really affected them, their motto was, ‘We’re going to go play wherever they tell us to go.’”

A federal judge struck down the state’s effort to legalize sports betting last week. The governor has said sports betting could help revive Atlantic City, according to an nj.com article. 

Although the ban has been lifted, the state is expected to appeal the court’s decision, according to nj.com. The NCAA ban could be reinstated if the state successfully appeals the ruling, something which Scala said Montclair State is keeping an eye on. 

"Now that the ban is lifted,” said Scala, “we are going forward and we’ll see. Looking forward to our spring teams, it’s a good thing for them.”