MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- The River States Conference Administrative Council on Tuesday (Jan. 26) approved a new format for the RSC Men's & Women's Basketball Championships for this year. The changes were made due to COVID-19 impacting the 2020-21 basketball seasons in conference.
The RSC will allow all teams that are able and desire to participate in the postseason basketball championship to do so this year. The RSC Men's & Women's Basketball Championships will be seeded using a double-blind draw, meaning that the first draw will be for a spot on the bracket, and the second draw will be for a team assigned to that spot. The draws will continue until the bracket is filled with all teams that elected to participate.
The championship winner and runner-up for both the men and women will receive the RSC's automatic qualifications to the NAIA Men's & Women's Basketball National Championships, respectively. During the course of the RSC championships, if a team must drop out, their opponent will move forward in the bracket.
Each game of the championship will be held at a campus location of a team involved in that matchup. A determination will be made at a later date about hosting responsibilities in the first round. In subsequent rounds, teams that were on the road will host and vice versa. Protocols related to fan attendance of each playoff game will be based on the protocols at that RSC member campus.
With at least 12 or 11 teams currently still participating in the men's and women's basketball seasons, the championships this year will require an extra round than in previous years. This year's championships will start on Monday, Feb. 22 for the first round and continue on Wednesday, Feb. 24 for the second round, Saturday, Feb. 27 for the semifinals and Tuesday, March 2 for the championship game.
2020-21 RIVER STATES CONFERENCE MEN'S & WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS Feb. 22-March 2 at Campus Sites (Bracket Selection Feb. 17) Monday, Feb. 22 -- First Round Wednesday, Feb. 24 -- Second Round Saturday, Feb. 27 -- Semifinals Tuesday, March 2 -- Championship*
*RSC Championship winner and runner-up for men and women earn automatic qualification to the NAIA National Championship.
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