Fairfield Stags basketball Total Mortgage Arena was home to the
Fairfield Stags men's and
women's college basketball teams until
Fairfield University opened the on-campus
Leo D. Mahoney Arena in November 2022. Fairfield is a member of the
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) where the Stags annually compete against perennial MAAC powers including the
Iona Gaels, the 1995 and 2004 NCAA Tournament Cinderella
Manhattan Jaspers, the
Niagara Purple Eagles, and the 2008 and 2009 NCAA Tournament Cinderella
Siena Saints. The arena was the site of the men's two postseason appearances in the
National Invitation Tournament. During the first round of the
2003 National Invitation Tournament, the Stags, led by the nation's blocked shots leader
Deng Gai and Nick Delfico played the
Boston College Eagles featuring future
NBA players
Troy Bell and
Craig Smith. During the second round of the
2011 National Invitation Tournament, the Stags, led by head coach
Ed Cooley and Derek Needham played the
Kent State Golden Flashes. In recent years, Fairfield has brought several perennial national college basketball powers to the arena including the
Georgetown Hoyas,
Providence Friars and
St. Joseph's Hawks.
Connecticut 6 Classic The Arena at Harbor Yard hosted the inaugural Connecticut 6 Classic, a men's
college basketball tripleheader featuring Connecticut's six
mid-major teams, on November 13, 2009. The
Sacred Heart Pioneers defeated the
Yale Bulldogs 92–86 in the tip-off game of the night. The
Fairfield Stags defeated the
Central Connecticut Blue Devils 67–58 in game two, and the night concluded with the Quinnipiac Bobcats defeating the
Hartford Hawks 85–74.
MAAC basketball tournaments The arena and
Fairfield University along with the
City of Bridgeport and the Fairfield County Sports Commission have hosted the
MAAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships two times. The
MAAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships features all 20 of the league's teams competing for an automatic berth in the
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship and the
NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship. In 2007, the
Niagara Purple Eagles defeated the
Siena Saints to win the 2007
MAAC Men's Basketball Championships and the
Marist Red Foxes defeated the
Iona Gaels to win the 2007 MAAC Women's Basketball Championship. And in 2011, the
St. Peter's Peacocks defeated the
Iona Gaels to win the 2011
MAAC Men's Basketball Championships and the
Marist Red Foxes defeated the
Loyola Greyhounds to win the 2011 MAAC Women's Basketball Championship. The
2004 tournament featured the
Auburn Tigers,
Connecticut Huskies,
Penn Quakers, and
North Carolina State Wolfpack. The
Connecticut Huskies defeated the
Auburn Tigers to win the 2004 Bridgeport Regional en route to winning the
2004 tournament and being crowned National Champions. The
2006 tournament featured the
Connecticut Huskies,
Duke Blue Devils, Georgia Bulldogs, and
Michigan State Spartans. The
Duke Blue Devils defeated the Connecticut Huskies to win the 2006 Bridgeport Regional before advancing to the Final Four of the
2006 tournament. And the
2008 tournament featured the
Connecticut Huskies,
Cornell Big Red,
Minnesota Gophers, and
Texas Longhorns. The
Connecticut Huskies defeated the
Texas Longhorns to win the 2008 Bridgeport Regional before advancing to the Final Four of the
2008 tournament. The arena was the site of the Bridgeport Subregional during the
2012 tournament and the Bridgeport Regional for the
2013 tournament,
2016 tournament, and
2017 tournament, and the
2022 tournament.
NCAA hockey tournaments The arena has joined
Fairfield University and
Yale University in co-hosting the East Regional of the
NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship three times. The
2009 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament featured the
Air Force Falcons,
Michigan Wolverines,
Vermont Catamounts, and
Yale Bulldogs. The
Vermont Catamounts won a dramatic double overtime game against the
Air Force Falcons to win the East Regional and advance to the 2009 Frozen Four. The
2011 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament featured the
Air Force Falcons,
Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs,
Union Dutchmen, and
Yale Bulldogs. The eventual 2011 National Champion
Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs upset the top seeded
Yale Bulldogs to win the East Regional and advance to the
2011 Frozen Four. In 2012, the Union Dutchmen defeated UMass Lowell Riverhawks to advance to the Frozen Four. The arena hosted again in 2014. Most recently, in
2018, the top-seeded
Notre Dame Fighting Irish beat the second-seeded
Providence Friars to win the East Regional; the
Michigan Tech Huskies and
Clarkson Golden Knights also participated. The arena would again host the East Regional in 2023 on March 24 and 26, which would feature the eventual 2023 NCAA champion
Quinnipiac Bobcats,
Ohio State Buckeyes,
Harvard Crimson, and
Merrimack Warriors.
Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey The arena served as the home venue for the
Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team from 2016 to 2022. Prior to the 2016–17 season, the Pioneers had hosted select games each year at the Arena since the 2010–11 season. During the 2019–20 season, the Pioneers were the hosts of the inaugural
Connecticut Ice college hockey tournament, an in-season weekend tournament played at the Arena featuring matchups between the four NCAA Division 1 Men's Ice Hockey programs in the State of
Connecticut: the
UConn Huskies men's ice hockey team, the
Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey team, the
Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey team, and the
Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey team. Sacred Heart would go on to win the championship game over Quinnipiac by a score of 4–1. The Pioneers relocated to
Martire Family Arena at the
Sacred Heart University West Campus in
Fairfield, CT starting with the 2022–23 season.
Park City SportsFest In conjunction with Webster Bank Arena hosting the MAAC and NCAA basketball and hockey tournaments, the Park City SportsFest has become an annual tradition in downtown Bridgeport. SportsFest is a free, multi-venue fan festival. During SportsFest, the City of Bridgeport closes off a portion of Main Street from its intersection with State Street to the arena in order to house the events. The SportsFest is organized by the Fairfield County Sports Commission and presented by
People's United Bank. ==Professional sports==