> It was posted that the WCHA plans to extend its two automatic bids to
> the winners of the regular season and tourney championships.
>
> Does anyone know what will happen if the same team wins both?  Will
> the second bid go to the regular season runner-up, or the tourney
> runner-up - or no one?
>
> Last I heard, HE planned to do the same as the WCHA, but they also did
> not know what they would do in the situation I mentioned (I asked).
> What happens if BU wins both, and NU is the regular season runner-up
> but UNH gets to the championship game before losing to BU?  Both teams
> could make a case for getting that second automatic bid.
>
> My prediction is that having 2 bids will lead to at least as many
> headaches as 1...maybe more.
 
Hmmm. From this post I gather that all conferences will have two automatic
bids with the remaining four (or is ig going to eight now?) being at large.
 
Doesn't this give the conferences incentive to give the bids to lesser teams.
If all the other conferences giver their bids to their top two teams, and
you give them to your fourth and fivth, you are likely to wind up with five
teams in the tournament even if you don't deserve it.
 
If the NCAA has rules against this, then I would expect the conferences
to give the bids to the top two teams in the tournament for the same
reason. It increases the likelyhood of giving an automatic bid to a team
which otherwise would not get a bid.
 
Cheers,
 
JWS