The NCAA released the memo below in regards to teams that do not compete on certain days of the week which mostly affects BYU who does not play games on Sunday. The Cougars are currently right in the mix to make the tournament after an outstanding season. The memo states that the NCAA will adjust the schedule to the affected school. You can check it out below.
On behalf of the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee, I would like to provide you with information about a recent committee decision that may need to be implemented in conjunction with the upcoming 2016 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. As you may be aware, NCAA Bylaw 31.1.4.1 states that if a participating institution has a written policy against competition on a particular day for religious reasons, they may be excused from competing on that day. The championship schedule shall be adjusted to accommodate that institution.
Per this bylaw, the Division I Baseball Committee may need to adjust accordingly the competition schedule in order to accommodate an institution that has a written policy against competition on a particular day for religious reasons.
The Division I Baseball Committee decided that if a team has a policy against any competition on a Sunday and they were to make the 2016 championship field, that the championship schedule for that regional site in which the institution would be assigned shall be adjusted as follows:
Thursday, June 2 – two games
Friday, June 3 – two games
Saturday, June 4 – two games
Sunday, June 5 – no games (please note that the “if necessary” game would only be played on this day if the team being accommodated for religious reasons has already been eliminated from the championship)
Monday, June 6 – one game (if necessary)
The traditional regional format for the 2016 championship is from Friday, June 3 – Monday, June 6, and has two games on Friday, two games on Saturday, two games on Sunday, and one game on Monday (if necessary).
Please note that if the team being accommodated were to advance to a 2016 super regional, then the committee also decided that this institution would be assigned to a Friday-Sunday super regional site (June 10-12). If the “if necessary” game were needed on Sunday, then this game would just be delayed an additional day and would be played on Monday.
Once again, if this team being accommodated were to advance to the 2016 NCAA Men’s College World Series (CWS), they would be assigned to play their first game in Omaha on Saturday, June 18. As the schedule is currently configured, the second Sunday of the CWS is an off day for both teams participating in the CWS Finals (should the institution being accommodated be in the CWS Finals).
If your institution wishes to bid to host a regional and/or super regional, please take the aforementioned information into account when making tentative housing arrangements for each visiting team at your regional site (as the teams assigned to such a regional site may arrive on Tuesday, instead of a possible Wednesday arrival for a traditional Friday-Monday regional format). This potential change in the regional schedule also needs to be taken into consideration when making housing arrangements for the NCAA Site Representatives and the umpires. This information also should be taken into account related to stadium availability; staffing needs; etc.
If your institution is selected to participate in the 2016 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, this information should also be beneficial from a planning perspective because there could be a possibility that one regional site could begin on a Thursday instead of the traditional Friday format. Best wishes to your baseball team during the remainder of this season.
