Where is Hofstra University? Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton latest presidential candidates to debate at university

Hofstra University, located in Hempstead, New York about 7 miles outside of New York City, has hosted two previous presidential debates.

Hofstra University will play host tonight to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton in the first presidential debate.

The debate will take place tonight starting at 9 p.m. Eastern Time (8 p.m. Central Time) and airing on all major networks and cable channels. It will be 90 minutes long and presented without commercials.

Hofstra, a private university located in Hempstead, New York about 7 miles outside of New York City, has roughly 11,000 students. The school has a long history with presidential debates, hosting a meeting between candidates for the last three election cycles, starting in 2008.

Hofstra is the only university to host presidential debates in three consecutive campaign cycles.

In 2008, the university hosted the third and final presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. In 2012, Obama was back as he met Mitt Romney for the second debate in the cycle.

While Hofstra has a long debate tradition, it wasn't on this year's original list of host sites. The Commission on Presidential Debates had originally tapped Wright State University in Ohio, but the school announced during the summer it was withdrawing due to concerns about security and cost.

Hofstra had been named an alternate and stepped in to take over for Wright State.

"Hofstra University served very successfully as a presidential debate site in 2012," the Commission said in a statement at the change. "On Sept. 23, 2015, the Commission announced that Hofstra University had agreed to serve as an alternate site this debate cycle if needed. The Commission looks forward to working with Hofstra once again."

Hofstra students were entered into a lottery to receive a select number of tickets for the debate.

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