2026 Bracketology: The Road to the Aud

[elbojpb]

I'll give them a saved flight in exchange for a mostly perfect bracket.

Can someone with insight explain to me why, after decades of the NC$$ avoiding flights like leprosy, now have potentially 5 flights PRIOR to the finals!? Why the sudden seismic shift in the D3 budget?? And is this "generosity" evident across the board in other D3 sports as well?? Has sanity actually arrived or has the exclusion of Adrian given them no options to stay < 500 mi?

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Can someone with insight explain to me why, after decades of the NC$$ avoiding flights like leprosy, now have potentially 5 flights PRIOR to the finals!? Why the sudden seismic shift in the D3 budget?? And is this "generosity" evident across the board in other D3 sports as well?? Has sanity actually arrived?

I've said it many times, this is a new policy across all D3 sports. I've posted many times when the football bracket came out in 2024, it was obvious they were really going to do this. And I've used the basketball brackets as examples that we should see the same thing in hockey.

Why? Like they said in Fiddler on the Roof, "When there's a miracle, don't ask why. Just enjoy it."

 

[PrezdeJohnson09]

Can someone with insight explain to me why, after decades of the NC$$ avoiding flights like leprosy, now have potentially 5 flights PRIOR to the finals!? Why the sudden seismic shift in the D3 budget?? And is this "generosity" evident across the board in other D3 sports as well?? Has sanity actually arrived or has the exclusion of Adrian given them no options to stay < 500 mi?

From what I understand, the NCAA has reallocated funds from different places in the championships budget to help pay for these bracket shifts that prioritize bracket integrity over least amount of money spent possible.

 

[Tom Coughlin]

Looking at the number of at-large bids in the women's tournament:

 

[Tom Coughlin]

With the way things shook out last weekend, it seems like conference tourneys are double edged swords in the NPI era.

For teams that win their conference tourney, other than the obvious benefit of the AQ bid, you get a major opportunity to boost your seeding by moving up in the NPI.

For teams that come up short, the importance of win % in NPI means that almost nobody is safe in terms of securing an at large bid. If you look at the "first four out", how many of those teams would have been better off being in Salve's shoes in not having an additional loss before hoping for at at large bid?

 

[Russell Jaslow]

With the way things shook out last weekend, it seems like conference tourneys are double edged swords in the NPI era.

For teams that win their conference tourney, other than the obvious benefit of the AQ bid, you get a major opportunity to boost your seeding by moving up in the NPI.

For teams that come up short, the importance of win % in NPI means that almost nobody is safe in terms of securing an at large bid. If you look at the "first four out", how many of those teams would have been better off being in Salve's shoes in not having an additional loss before hoping for at at large bid?

This was a conversation back in the PWR days. And even before that. It's the sole reason SUNYAC dropped the best of three final round and then eventually all the two-game series (with mini-game). Because, sometimes even for winning teams, it hurts your metrics and especially for losing teams, resulting in less chances of getting a second team from your conference in.