PITTSBURGH -- The Atlantic 10 Conference will host a 50^th Anniversary Celebration Luncheon in conjunction with its annual Men's and Women's Basketball Media Day on Tuesday, September 30 at PPG Paints Arena.
The luncheon will commemorate five decades of success for the conference, with a program that will feature special guests, video montages and a celebration of the Atlantic 10. Emmy Award-winning newscaster Mike Clark anchor of WTAE Action News 4 Pittsburgh will emcee the luncheon.

“Basketball Media Day is the perfect setting to host this celebratory luncheon as the Atlantic 10 was founded as a basketball league, but has grown into so much more,” stated A-10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade. “We have several notable guests, former players and coaches who will celebrate alongside our current student-athletes, coaches and athletic directors. This is an exciting time in the Atlantic 10 and we’re looking forward to ‘tipping off’ a year-long celebration of this historic milestone!”
The program will recognize former commissioners: Leland Byrd (posthumously), Charlie Theokas, Ron Bertovich and Linda Bruno. There will also be a look back at history as Clark visits with a former George Washington men’s basketball player Brian Butler, and former Olympian and Duquesne coach Suzie McConnell Serio. The luncheon will conclude with a celebratory toast.

The luncheon is part of the league’s annual Basketball Media Day, which showcases the head coach and a key player from each of the conference’s 28 programs (14 men’s, 14 women’s), who will also be in attendance at the luncheon.
Media day serves as the tip-off to the 2025-26 basketball season and includes press conference for each member institution which will be broadcast on ESPN+ along with additional studio analysis and on-site interviews. Mike Corey and Christy Winters Scott will serve as studio hosts for the event, while Seth Greenberg and Isis Young will be onsite to conduct interviews.
 
The Field of 68 will also produce A-10 Insider, the long-running podcast, live from on site with Rob Dauster and John Fanta hosting. The live broadcast will be available on the Field of 68’s YouTube channel.
Debbie Antonelli will producer her women’s basketball podcast on-site as well, with production for year-long episodes happening on media day at PPG Paints Arena. Additionally, A-10 beat writers and Pittsburgh media will be in attendance for media day and the luncheon.

The celebratory luncheon is party of a year-long recognition of the A-10’s 50^th Anniversary. Pittsburgh served as the home of the first league offices and was the site of foundational meetings at the birth of the league in 1975 and 1976. As part of this celebration, the Atlantic 10 has commissioned a featured website which will have new anniversary content throughout the year, and will be available from the Atlantic 10’s primary website. Feature videos and vignettes covering key moments in A-10 history will be available on the dedicated website. A conference timeline, stories and a photo gallery, including fan submitted photos, will also be available on the specialized site.

Conceived as a basketball conference on March 2, 1975, the league received approval from the NCAA on October 15, and began play in 1976 with eight schools, including founding and current members Duquesne and George Washington. Other founding institutions included Massachusetts, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Villanova and West Virginia. One year after the idea of a basketball-centric league was imagined, the A-10 held its first men’s basketball regular season and tournament, with Duquesne claiming the first-ever championship. Known then as the Eastern Eight, the conference began to grow with new members and in 1982 was renamed the Atlantic 10. Since then, the conference has expanded into a 14-institution, 23-sport league that is universally hailed as one of the best conferences in the country.