Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association national championships coming to P.E.I.

Eight teams from across Canada will be vying for the top spot in men's collegiate basketball this weekend on P.E.I.

Holland College is hosting the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association national championships.

Albert Roche, director of athletics and recreation for Holland College, hopes to fill the house every day during what he describes as P.E.I.'s version of March Madness.

The college is getting a lot of help from the community with the event, and that's going to cut the cost. Hosting can cost a school $50,000 to $100,000, but Holland College expect it will only cost $20,000.

"That's built on a lot of contra arrangements with our sponsors, our partners, a lot of projections related to gate receipts and so on. We'd like to ensure that we don't compromise on any experience by the athletes that are coming," said Roche.

"We have some wonderful partners internally, including the culinary institute, where we would host our banquets."

Holland College goes into the tournament seeded fourth.

The CCAA national championship begins Thursday and wraps up Saturday night.

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