Dayton basketball: A-10’s next commissioner wants to find more permanent home for conference tournament

The A-10’s next commissioner, Dan Leibovitz, would like to change that.

“I do philosophically believe, wholeheartedly, that it’s to our advantage to plant a flag somewhere and grow roots and make it a tradition,” Leibovitz said Tuesday in his introductory press conference. “If you think about the Big East (tournament), you don’t have to ask where the Big East is.”

Leibovitz also used the Big 12 Conference tournament, which has been held annually in Kansas City since 2010, and the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, which calls St. Louis home, as examples.

“I want to find that for us,” Leibovitz said.

Leibovitz can start working on that May 4 when he takes over for Bernadette V. McGlade. McGlade announced in November she will retire after this academic year. She has held the position for 18 years.

The A-10 announced March 18 that Leibovitz, a former Temple assistant coach who spent the last three seasons as a senior associate commissioner for men’s basketball in the Big East Conference, will replace McGlade.

Leibovitz praised McGlade for making the A-10 tournament “a tremendous event in big NBA buildings” but said he wants to figure out if that’s the best thing for the league in the future.

The A-10 tournament has been held at the Barclays Center eight times since 2013 if you count the canceled tournament of 2020. It’s scheduled to return there in 2027 and 2028.

has been held twice each in Pittsburgh and Washington. It had a six-year run from 2007-12 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. It also has taken place in Dayton, Cincinnati and Philadelphia since 2000.

“There can be advantage to big markets,” Leibovitz said. “There can be advantage to small markets. When you think about college baseball, for example, in Omaha, immediately people know that you’re talking about the College World Series. I think we have to find our Omaha where everybody knows our fans, our players, our coaches, our stakeholders. They know what a great event it’s going to be and say, ‘I can’t wait to book my tickets and get there.”