Horizon League Changes Basketball Format
7/25/2002 12:00:00 PM | General
HORIZON LEAGUE ADOPTS NEW TOURNAMENT FORMAT
History Will Be Made at This Year's Horizon League Men's Basketball
Tournament
Indianapolis, IN---The Horizon League Executive Council passed a proposal
that will change its 23-year old Men's Basketball Championship Tournament
format from a single site to multiple sites for the first time since 1982
when the League was known as the Midwestern Cities Conference. The new
format also gives the top two teams in the field a bye into the semifinals
for the first time since 1994.
While the format change will not go into full effect until the 2004-05
season, gradual changes will begin immediately with UW-Milwaukee (2003) and
Butler (2004) still holding hosting rights should they finish among the top
three during their respective years as scheduled host. If either school
finishes in fourth place or below during the respective years in which they
are scheduled to host, then they will need to advance to the second round in
order to maintain hosting rights.
Under the Tournament's "pure" format, which will begin in 2004-05, the event
would begin on a Tuesday with three first round games matching teams seeded
four through nine with the fourth, fifth and sixth seeded teams hosting
their respective contests. Friday and Saturday games will feature the
second and semifinal rounds to be played at the site of the regular season
champion. Should that No. 1 seed advance to the championship game, it will
continue to serve as host. If the No. 1 seed is upset, then the
championship game moves to the site of the highest remaining seed.
"We are extremely excited about the change in our Men's Basketball
Tournament format," said Commissioner Jon LeCrone. "This was a proposal
that was met with wide acceptance throughout the League and everyone
involved from coaches to student-athletes to administrators."
"Not only is it rewarding teams for finishing in the top half of the
standings, but also gives those teams playing in the first round and the
championship game the opportunity to play in front of large crowds, which
will make the student-athlete experience much greater."
Originally scheduled for March 7-9 and 11, the 2002-03 Tournament will begin
Tuesday, March 4 with first round games being hosted by the fourth, fifth
and sixth seeds. The second and semifinal rounds will be played Friday,
March 7 and Saturday, March 8, respectively, at UW-Milwaukee should the
Panthers either finish first, second or third in the standings or advance to
the second round. The championship game will be played Tuesday, March 11 at
the home of the highest remaining seed, or by UWM should the Panthers
advance to the Final.
A similar scenario with Butler in the place of UW-Milwaukee will take place
in 2003-04.
A full brackett is available at www.horizonleague.org.
