I missed the announcement. So just in case there's anyone like me:

"The new format, which will start in May 2025, will be a six-day tournament featuring ALL the SEC teams. It removes the previous structure's double-elimination portion."

"The No. 9 through No. 16 seeds will play Tuesday in pairing based on regular-season standings, while seeds No. 5 through No. 8 will receive a bye through to Wednesday. The winners will advance to face seeds No. 1 through No. 4 either Thursday or Friday."

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/other-sports/2024/02/01/sec-baseball-tournament-format-expansion-texas-oklahoma/72341397007/#:~:text=The%20new%20format%2C%20which%20will,on%20Thursday%2C%20Friday%20and%20Saturday.

I know this would never happen...

But if we're just going to have a single-elimination tournament (so dumb for baseball), I'd much rather play a cross-division series of 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, etc. This would still give bubble teams the opportunity to play their way in, not over tax pitching staffs, and give fans a guarantee of games (rather than planning a whole trip just to see their team lose in round one).

Detective Jake Peralta said:

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I know this would never happen...

But if we're just going to have a single-elimination tournament (so dumb for baseball), I'd much rather play a cross-division series of 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, etc. This would still give bubble teams the opportunity to play their way in, not over tax pitching staffs, and give fans a guarantee of games (rather than planning a whole trip just to see their team lose in round one).

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I think they are moving away from divisions next year. At least for football. I don't know... they may still keep them for baseball.

Yes, except your day 3 is split into day 3 and day 4. Your day 4 becomes day 5 and your day 5 (championship) becomes day 6…so 2 games each day Days 3, 4, &5 instead of four games on days 1, 2, & 3

Edit to add: four games still on days 1 & 2

Tuesday
Game 1: Seed No. 9 vs. Seed No. 16
Game 2: Seed No. 12 vs. Seed No. 13
Game 3: Seed No. 10 vs. Seed No. 15
Game 4: Seed No. 11 vs. Seed No. 14

Wednesday
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Seed No. 8
Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. Seed No. 5
Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. Seed No. 7
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. Seed No. 6

Thursday
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Seed No. 1
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Seed No. 4

Friday
Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Seed No. 2
Game 12: Winner Game 8 vs. Seed No. 3

Saturday
Game 13: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10
Game 14: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12

Sunday
Game 15: Championship

Why not just do it March madness style and go 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15 and so on

tjack16 said:

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Why not just do it March madness style and go 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15 and so on

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It would force the top seeds to play an extra game and they already don't want to be in this tournament at all so they don't want to play an extra game.

Players want to play and win championships

Coaches do as well but want to manage work loads especially on pitching staff

The new format makes it a possible luckbox situation and makes me not want to attend in the future as an Aggie fan...as a college baseball fan yes but going to Hoover for potentially one game of the Aggies isnt worth it to me

To others yes it will be but not to me unless a part of something bigger

There will be a time when i take a few weeks off and tour the south for minor league games and I am sure it will coincide with either the SEC or ACC tourney

10Aggie10 said:

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Tuesday
Game 1: Seed No. 9 vs. Seed No. 16
Game 2: Seed No. 12 vs. Seed No. 13
Game 3: Seed No. 10 vs. Seed No. 15
Game 4: Seed No. 11 vs. Seed No. 14

Wednesday
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Seed No. 8
Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. Seed No. 5
Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. Seed No. 7
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. Seed No. 6

Thursday
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Seed No. 1
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Seed No. 4

Friday
Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Seed No. 2
Game 12: Winner Game 8 vs. Seed No. 3

Saturday
Game 13: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10
Game 14: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12

Sunday
Game 15: Championship

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This doesn't allow for rain.

This also would lead every season ending series to a Th-Sa start to get your #1 4 days rest.

I can see where teams could tank if they felt secure in where they stood, no matter where in the tourney.

12thMan9 said:

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10Aggie10 said:

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Tuesday
Game 1: Seed No. 9 vs. Seed No. 16
Game 2: Seed No. 12 vs. Seed No. 13
Game 3: Seed No. 10 vs. Seed No. 15
Game 4: Seed No. 11 vs. Seed No. 14

Wednesday
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Seed No. 8
Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. Seed No. 5
Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. Seed No. 7
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. Seed No. 6

Thursday
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Seed No. 1
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Seed No. 4

Friday
Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Seed No. 2
Game 12: Winner Game 8 vs. Seed No. 3

Saturday
Game 13: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10
Game 14: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12

Sunday
Game 15: Championship

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This doesn't allow for rain.

This also would lead every season ending series to a Th-Sa start to get your #1 4 days rest.

I can see where teams could tank if they felt secure in where they stood, no matter where in the tourney.

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The timing is essentially the same as the current tourney, and the last weeks games all run Th-Sat.

Sean98 said:

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tjack16 said:

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Why not just do it March madness style and go 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15 and so on

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It would force the top seeds to play an extra game and they already don't want to be in this tournament at all so they don't want to play an extra game.

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I mean they'd only play 4 games if they made it all the way. Thats less than the current format

(We played 5 in 2016 even with the bye, and 6 last year without it)

I get that, but for the top 4 teams their coaches don't care about this. They'd rather have a week of rest where they could play a very controlled sim game than have 4 games in 4 days.

And again, I'll throw out my bias against meaningless post season tourneys (in all sports) so that you can fully account for that.

Sean98 said:

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I get that, but for the top 4 teams their coaches don't care about this. They'd rather have a week of rest where they could play a very controlled sim game than have 4 games in 4 days.

And again, I'll throw out my bias against meaningless post season tourneys (in all sports) so that you can fully account for that.

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Oh I agree I do not care for the conference tournament if you're safely a host/national seed.

The only years I cared were 2018 when we needed the wins, and last year when it felt like we might need a couple of wins. I'd be completely okay if we beat Arkansas 2/3 and then immediately get eliminated from Hoover

So why not make a conference tourney for the bottom half or two-thirds of the conference? Those teams who won't get in without winning the tournament or those teams who are on the bubble? Let the top half rest at home.

I know this would never happen, but it seems like it would make things very interesting.

10Aggie10 said:

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Yes, except your day 3 is split into day 3 and day 4. Your day 4 becomes day 5 and your day 5 (championship) becomes day 6…so 2 games each day Days 3, 4, &5 instead of four games on days 1, 2, & 3

Edit to add: four games still on days 1 & 2

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Except for the inevitable rain delays that will happen with it being played in Hoover on days 1 and 2 to push the whole schedule back, there will end up being 3 or 4 games on days 3 and 4 anyway.

greg.w.h said:

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The additional teams is huge for attention and attendance. Losing the double elimination section of the tournament just means the tournament is a tuneup…it just means…less?!?

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This tournament doesn't mean anything to anyone except the teams battling to get in the NCAA tournament....

tjack16 said:

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Sean98 said:

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I get that, but for the top 4 teams their coaches don't care about this. They'd rather have a week of rest where they could play a very controlled sim game than have 4 games in 4 days.

And again, I'll throw out my bias against meaningless post season tourneys (in all sports) so that you can fully account for that.

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Oh I agree I do not care for the conference tournament if you're safely a host/national seed.

The only years I cared were 2018 when we needed the wins, and last year when it felt like we might need a couple of wins. I'd be completely okay if we beat Arkansas 2/3 and then immediately get eliminated from Hoover

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I mean, what is wrong with a team earning the right to be in the field over the first 14 weeks of the season? If you don't earn it over 14 weeks, why should you get the right to earn it over 5 days?

This is especially true in a league like the Horizon or the Summit or the ASun. You could DOMINATE the league all year long, have an RPI in the 80s through no fault of your own, have a bad day in the tournament played at 9am on a Wednesday in front of 6 people and be eliminated from consideration. All while some team that went 4-23 in the conference gets on a heater and ends up being cannon fodder for the #1 overall seed.

If the regular season doesn't matter let's just play a few months of exhibitions, then play conference tourneys.

And this isn't just a baseball problem. Conference football title games, basketball, softball, soccer... all post-season conference tourneys are just dumb.

ensign_beedrill said:

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So why not make a conference tourney for the bottom half or two-thirds of the conference? Those teams who won't get in without winning the tournament or those teams who are on the bubble? Let the top half rest at home.

I know this would never happen, but it seems like it would make things very interesting.

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Maybe a true "bubble tourney." 4 Regional tourneys. Bubble teams only as determined by TexAgs (I was going to say by me, but didn't want to be a total dictator). All AQs determined by Regular Season results.

4 Post-season Tournaments, 10 teams each; Top 4 from each advance as the final 16 teams. I'd watch the s*** out of this. Do or die. Let's gooooo!

South Tourney:

• Ole Miss

• LSU
• Vanderbilt
• East Tenn State
• UTSA
• Tulane
• SE Missouri
• Nicholls
• Texas Southern
• New Mexico

West/Midwest Tourney:

• Kansas State
• Kansas
• Michigan
• Cal Poly
• Hawaii
• Western Michigan
• Evansville
• St. Mary's
• Arizona St
• Cal Baptist

Northeast Tourney:

• Louisville
• Virginia Tech
• Xavier
• Maryland
• Kennesaw State
• Niagara
• Rider
• Long Island
• Wagner
• Georgetown

Southeast Tourney:

• Alabama
• Florida
• Georgia Tech
• Coastal
• UCF
• Stetson
• Samford
• Georgia Southern
• S. Carolina-Upstate
• Bethune-Cookman

Sean98 said:

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ensign_beedrill said:

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So why not make a conference tourney for the bottom half or two-thirds of the conference? Those teams who won't get in without winning the tournament or those teams who are on the bubble? Let the top half rest at home.

I know this would never happen, but it seems like it would make things very interesting.

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Maybe a true "bubble tourney." 4 Regional tourneys. Bubble teams only as determined by TexAgs (I was going to say by me, but didn't want to be a total dictator). All AQs determined by Regular Season results.

4 Post-season Tournaments, 10 teams each; Top 4 from each advance as the final 16 teams. I'd watch the s*** out of this. Do or die. Let's gooooo!

South Tourney:

• Ole Miss

• LSU
• Vanderbilt
• East Tenn State
• UTSA
• Tulane
• SE Missouri
• Nicholls
• Texas Southern
• New Mexico

West/Midwest Tourney:

• Kansas State
• Kansas
• Michigan
• Cal Poly
• Hawaii
• Western Michigan
• Evansville
• St. Mary's
• Arizona St
• Cal Baptist

Northeast Tourney:

• Louisville
• Virginia Tech
• Xavier
• Maryland
• Kennesaw State
• Niagara
• Rider
• Long Island
• Wagner
• Georgetown

Southeast Tourney:

• Alabama
• Florida
• Georgia Tech
• Coastal
• UCF
• Stetson
• Samford
• Georgia Southern
• S. Carolina-Upstate
• Bethune-Cookman

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If your goal is to heap shame on single elimination play-in tournaments, I think you succeeded…

Man, I'm really hurt that no one thought my "never-ever gonna happen in a million years" idea wasn't awesome, stupid, genius, ridiculous.