-- [ From: Kepler * EMC.Ver #2.5.02 ] --
 
Four 4-team regional two day tournies?  Two 8-team 3 day tournies ("...and
may the least tired team win").  Or chuck the regionals and go back to
campus sites for two weekends to winnow to a final four?
 
It gets rid of the bye, and that's nothing but good news.
 
Given the choice between the scenarios above, I'd lean towards having 4
regionals spread geographically (new england, new york, michigan, and
minnesota or colorado) and seed the best qualifying team from each "region"
to up attendance.  You could still jiggle the fields to split east 1, east 2
, west 1, and west 2 as the "star attraction" of each regional, and then mix
in the other qualifiers to minimize intra-conference matchups.  If the MAAC
rep really is lousy for the first few seasons, then it's a nice little bonus
for finishing #1 in the PWR and gives at least one region a two-day "home
team" guarantee (like a holiday tourny).  And even if all five conference
tourny winners are long-shots, you still get a minimum of the best 11 teams
in the country with a shot at the title.
 
I'm the resident purist, but to be fair to the idea, it could work.  And
with, what 51 teams in the field and the Niagara, etc... bunch talking about
a sixth conference next year, it seems warranted.
 
 
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*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
*  Greg Berge
*  Portland, Oregon
*  [log in to unmask]
*  www.spiritone.com/~kepler
*
 
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