The Mid-American Conference announced on Tuesday that beginning with the 2021 season, eight of the conference’s postseason tournaments will be eliminated as a way of helping the conference navigate the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Toledo TV station WTOL, the eight sports whose postseason tournaments will be eliminated are:
-
Baseball
-
Softball
-
Men’s soccer
-
Women’s soccer
-
Men’s tennis
-
Women’s tennis
-
Women’s lacrosse
-
Field hockey
In addition, the conference’s men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will undergo adjustments, with first-round home games being eliminated. Instead, the top eight teams from the regular season will compete in a neutral-site tournament in Cleveland.
MAC basketball will also eliminate divisions, and move to playing 20 conference games per team instead of the 18 they would schedule in previous years.
According to USA Today, the conference will also adjust postseason tournaments in volleyball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, and men’s and women’s golf. Volleyball will contract to four teams, swimming and diving will go to three-day tournaments, and track and field and golf will go to two-day tournament formats.
“The pandemic and resulting financial issues play into that,” MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher told WTOL. “As the financial situation changes, it will give us a chance to re-evaluate.”
The newly unveiled tournament plan will reportedly span four years.
