Miscellaneous NCAA Tourney info

65 teams, 31 automatic conference qualifiers, 34 at large qualifiers

Conference qualifiers - America East Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Atlantic Sun Conference, Big 12 Conference, Big East Conference, Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Big Ten Conference, Big West Conference, Colonial Athletic Association, Conference USA, Horizon League, Ivy League, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Mid-American Conference, Mid-Continent Conference, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Missouri Valley Conference, Mountain West Conference, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Pacific-10 Conference, Patriot League, Southeastern Conference, Southern Conference, Southland Conference, Southwestern Athletic Conference, Sun Belt Conference, West Coast Conference, Western Athletic Conference

 

NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Selection Committee
Karl Benson, Commissioner, Western Atletic Conference
Bob Bowlsby, Director of Athletics, Univerity of Iowa
Floyd Kerr, Director of Athletics, Southern University
John Kvancz, Director of Athletics, George Washington University
Craig Littlepage, Director of Atletics, Univeristy of Virginia
Jim Livengood, Dorector of Athletics, University of Arizona
Les Robinson, Director of Athletics, The Citadel
Judy Rose, Director of Athketics, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Gary Walters, Director of Athletics, Princeton University
Kevin Weilberg, Commissioner, Big 12 Conference

 

NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Principles and Procedures for Establishing the Bracket

There are three steps in the bracketing process:
I. Select the at-large teams (a minimum of 34 teams);
II. Seed the teams; and
III. Place the teams into the championship bracket.

General Principles for Selection, Seeding and Bracketing
The basketball committee will utilize the following principles when implementing the procedures for each step:
1. At no point in the process shall a member vote for a team the individual represents as an athletics director or commissioner.
2. A member shall not be present in the meeting room during committee discussion regarding the selection or seeding of a team the individual represents as an athletics director. Nor may a director answer questions about the team the individual represents, except for factual questions (e.g., dates of injuries, status of injured players.)
3. A commissioner is permitted to answer general questions about teams in the conference the individual represents; however, this committee member must leave the room during any discussion regarding the selection or seeding of teams the individual represents.
4. An athletics director is permitted to discuss other teams in the individual's conference only when asked.
5. When 24 or fewer teams remain in a pool of teams under consideration, a member may not participate in "list X teams" votes if a team he or she represents as a commissioner or director is included. A director or commissioner may not participate in "cross country" votes that involve a team the individual represents.
6. When 20 or more teams are under consideration in "list X teams" ballots, each member shall list eight. When 14 to 19 teams are under consideration, each member shall list six. When 13 or fewer teams are under consideration, each member shall list four.
7. At any time during the process of selecting the at-large teams, the committee may elect to begin seeding the teams. This will permit the committee to move ahead and still consider the results of games played during selection weekend.
8. At any time during the process, the chair may designate a "quiet period", generally 15 minutes in length, to permit members to individually reflect on the way they will vote. These periods may be (a) prior to finalizing the vote on teams eligible for the last remaining at-large positions; (b) prior to the start of the seeding process, and (c) prior to the start of the bracketing process.
9. All votes will be by secret ballot.
10. At any time during the process, the chair may request a "nitty-gritty" report, which compares teams that are under consideration.
11. The elements of the "nitty-gritty" report are: Division I record;
Overall RPI; Non-conference record; Non-conference RPI; Conference record; Conference RPI; Road record; Record in last 10 games; Record against teams ranked 1-50 by RPI; Record against teams ranked 51-100 by RPI; Record against teams ranked 101-200 by RPI; Record against teams ranked below 200 by RPI; Record against other teams that are under consideration (i.e., "board teams").

I. Principles for Selecting At-Large Teams
1. The committee shall select the best available teams to fill the at-large berths, regardless of conference affiliation.
2. There is no limit on the number of teams the committee may select from one conference.

Procedures for Selecting At-Large Teams
First Ballots
1. On the Monday preceding the March meeting, the staff will forward to each committee member individual information sheets on all teams ranked 1-105 by the RPI and two ballots listing those teams. The information will be listed alphabetically by team, and will not include the RPI rank of any team.
2. Each committee member will submit the two ballots upon arrival at the meeting site.
a. On Ballot No. 1, each committee member shall identify not more than 34 teams that should be in the tournament based upon their successful play to date, even if they could eventually represent conferences as automatic qualifiers.
b. On Ballot No. 2, each committee member shall identify all other teams that should receive consideration for at-large berths.
3. Members are not limited to the 105 teams ranked by the RPI.
4. A member shall not vote for a team that has earned automatic qualification. A team that eventually could earn automatic qualification, but has not at the time of the initial voting, is eligible to receive votes.
5. The staff will collect the ballots by 10 p.m. on the committee's first meeting date.
6. Any team receiving all but two of the eligible votes on Ballot No. 1 shall be moved onto the at-large board.
7. The committee will form an "at-large nomination board" consisting of an alphabetical listing of all teams that:
a. Received more than one vote in either of the initial ballots but did not receive enough votes on Ballot No. 1 to move to the at-large board; b. Did not receive more than one vote in the initial balloting, but subsequently was recommended by more than one member prior to closing initial nominations, or c. Won or shared the regular-season conference championship or conference divisional championship.
8. After Step No. 7, the process for creating the initial "at-large nomination board" will be closed.
9. Once the "at-large nomination board" is closed, a team may be added to the nomination board at any time providing it receives more than two votes. Oral nominations are permitted.

Remaining Ballots
1. The committee will begin evaluating those teams on the at-large nomination board.
2. Each committee member will submit a listing of eight teams to be added to the at-large field.
3. Those teams receiving seven of the eligible votes shall be added to the at-large field.
4. From those teams not receiving seven votes in Step No. 2, the top four vote-getters will be held for the next ballot.
5. Each committee member next will submit a listing of four teams to be considered in the next at-large ballot. Those teams receiving the most votes will be included with the remaining teams from Step No. 4 to provide a pool of eight teams for the next at-large ballot.
6. Committee members rank the eight teams from Steps No. 4 and 5, utilizing a "cross-country" scoring system (e.g., first is valued at one point.)
7. The four teams receiving the least amount of points shall be added to the at-large field. The other four teams will be held for the next ballot.
8. Steps No. 5, 6 and 7 will be repeated until all at-large berths are filled.
9. If a team fails to be included among the four teams receiving the least amount of points (Step No. 7) for two consecutive ballots, it shall be returned to the nomination board.
10. A team may be removed from an at-large berth by a vote of seven eligible voters. Such a team would be returned to the nomination board.
11. At any time during the process, the chair may suggest that the committee begin considering teams that should be eliminated from consideration. The same voting procedures will be used.
12. At any time during the process, the chair may call for a "cross-country" vote of the teams under consideration.
13. The number of teams eligible to receive votes may be decreased by the chair if circumstances warrant. Further, when six or fewer at-large positions are open, the chair has the option to revise from four to two the number of teams to be moved into at-large berths per Procedure No. 7.

 

II. Principles for Seeding of Teams
1. An "S-curve" ranking will be established.
2. The "S-curve" is used as a reference to ensure balance.
3. Once the "S-curve" is established, it remains unchanged throughout the committee's deliberations in placing the teams into the championship bracket.
4. The bracket-placement principles adopted by the committee may preclude a team from being placed in its "true" seed (in accordance with the "S-curve").

Procedures for Seeding the Teams For the S-Curve Ranking
1. Each committee member votes for the top eight teams, not ranked in order, from the automatic qualification and/or at-large boards.
2. Committee members rank the top eight vote-getters from Step No. 1, utilizing a "cross-country" scoring system.
3. The four institutions receiving the least amount of points from the cross-country scoring are moved into the S-Curve ranking in order.
4. The remaining four teams are held for the next cross-country ballot.
5. Each committee member votes for four additional teams from the automatic qualification and/or at-large boards. The top four vote-getters will join the four remaining teams on the next cross-country ballot.
6. Committee members rank the eight teams from Steps No. 4 and No. 5, utilizing a "cross-country" scoring system.
7. The four teams receiving the least amount of points are moved into the S-Curve ranking in order.
8. Steps No. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are repeated until all the teams are seeded, 1 through 65, for the S-Curve ranking.
9. After a team has been voted into the S-Curve, it may be moved to a different position by a vote of seven or more committee members.

Additional Consideration
The committee is not obligated to seed the lines in chronological order. For example, any time during this process, the committee may use the procedures to determine the fourth quadrant of teams in the S-Curve.

III. Principles for Placing Teams into Championship Bracket
1. The top priority for the committee is to balance the bracket in each region across the country.
2. The teams seeded 64 and 65 will compete in an opening-round game the week of the first round. The winner of the opening-round game will play as a No. 16 seed in the first round at a site to be determined by the committee during selection weekend.
3. The committee will assign all four teams in each 'pod' (seeds 1, 16, 8, 9), (4, 13, 5, 12 ), (2, 15, 7, 10), (3, 14, 6, 11) to the same first-/second-round site. There will be two 'pods' at each first-/second-round site. The first-/second-round sites that feed into a regional site may be in different geographic areas from the regional. Also, the two 'pods' at a first-/second-round site may feed into different regional sites.
4. Sixteen levels are established (i.e., the seeds, 1 through 16) in the bracket that transcend each of the four regions, permitting evaluation of four teams simultaneously on the same level.
5. Each region is divided into four sections with four levels in each, permitting the evaluation of four different sections within each region against the complementing sections in every other region.
6. All seeds on each line (No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, etc.) should be as equal as possible.
7. If two teams from the same natural region are in contention for the same bracket position, the team higher-seeded in the "S-Curve" ranking shall remain in its natural region.
8. A team will not be permitted to play in any arena in which it has played more than three regular-season games, not including conference post-season tournaments.
9. A host institution's team shall not be permitted to play at the site where the institution is hosting. However, the team may play on the same days when the institution is hosting.
10. Each of the first three teams selected from a conference shall be placed in different regions.
11. No more than one team from a conference may be seeded in the same grouping of four (in line Nos. 1-4 and 13-16) in a region. (Note: The only possible exception would occur if a conference has five or more teams seeded in line Nos. 1-4. The other principles herein would apply in the exception case.)
12. In lines No. 5-12, two teams from the same conference may be placed in the same group of four providing that they would not meet until the regional championship game.
13. Conference teams shall not meet each other prior to the regional final unless a ninth team is selected from a conference. Two teams from the same conference within the same region, therefore, shall not be seeded together in either of the following groups: Nos. 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13 and 16; or Nos. 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14 and 15.
14. There shall not be more than two teams from a conference in one region unless a ninth team is selected from a conference.

Additional Considerations
1. An institution should not be moved more than one line from its true seed (S-Curve) when it is placed in the bracket.
2. To ensure equitable competitive opportunities, the committee shall not place teams seeded on the first five lines at a potential 'home-crowd disadvantage' in the first round.
a. The committee retains the flexibility to move a lower-seeded team from one seed line to another in an effort to create equitable competitive opportunities for the top five seeded teams in each region. b. This procedure will require teams to play away from their natural geographic areas.
3. Teams will remain in or as close to their areas of natural interest as possible without compromising the principles for seeding.
4. A team moved out of its natural area will be placed in the next closest region when possible.
5. If possible, rematches of regular-season games should be avoided in the first and second rounds.
6. If possible, rematches of previous years' tournament games should be avoided in the first and second rounds.
7. The committee will examine the previous five tournament brackets to determine the number of times a particular team or conference has been moved out of its natural region. The committee shall attempt to avoid moving a team or conference out of its natural region or geographic area an inordinate number of times.

Procedures for Placing the Teams into the Championship Bracket
1. Place the No. 1 seeds in each of the four regions (generally S-curve seeds 1-4), per the principles for placing teams into the bracket.
2. Place the Nos. 2 seeds in each region.
3. Place the Nos. 3 seeds in each region.
4. Place the Nos. 4 seeds in each region.
5. After each group of four teams is determined, check for conflicts with the principles for placing the teams into the bracket.
6. After the top four lines have been assigned, determine the relative strengths of the regions by adding the true seed numbers in each region to determine if any severe numerical imbalance has been created.
7. After the committee has placed the top four teams in each region, the committee will assign those teams (and, subsequently, the other teams in their pods) to first-/second-round sites. The committee will attempt to assign each to the most geographically compatible first-/second-round site, proceeding in S-Curve ranking order. When multiple teams are a similar distance from a site, the team with the higher S-Curve ranking will be assigned to the site.
8. Place seeds No. 13, 14, 15 and 16 in the bracket per the principles.
9. Repeat steps No. 5, 6 and 7.
10. The committee will assign teams placed on lines 5-12 a bracket line number (i.e., five through twelve) rather than an S-Curve seed number. All teams on a given line, therefore, will have the same numerical value. The committee will evaluate each region to ensure that no region includes all of the highest or lowest seeds from the S-Curve on each line within a region's group of four. Generally, no more than five points should separate the lowest and highest total.
11. Place seeds No. 5, 6, 7 and 8 in the bracket per the principles.
12. Repeat Steps No. 5, 7 and 10.
13. Place seeds No. 9, 10, 11 and 12 in the bracket per the principles.
14. Repeat Steps No. 5, 7 and 10.
15. Review the groups of fours to ensure adherence to the principles for seeding.
16. Review the principles (Section III) for placing teams in the championship bracket.

 

and finally...

Rating Percentage Index (RPI)
The Rating Percentage Index (RPI) was created in 1981 to provide supplemental data for the Division I Men's Basketball Committee in its evaluation of teams for at-large selection and seeding of the championship bracket.

The RPI is intended to be used as one of many valuable resources used by the committee in the selection, seeding and bracketing process. It never should be considered anything but an additional evaluation tool. No computer program that is based on pure numbers can take into account subjective concepts, e.g., how well a team is playing down the stretch, what the loss or return of a top player means to a team, or how emotional a specific conference game may be.

Several independent elements are combined to produce the RPI. These elements are a part of the statistical information that can be utilized by each member in an objective manner.

Each committee member independently evaluates a vast pool of information available during the process to develop individual preferences. It is these subjective opinions--developed after many hours of personal observations, discussion with coaches, directors of athletics and commissioners, and review and comparison of objective data--that dictate how each individual ultimately will vote on all issues related to the selection, seeding and bracketing process.

While the various elements of the RPI are important in the evaluation process, the tournament bracket each year is based on the subjectivity of each individual committee member to select the best at-large teams available and to create a nationally balanced championship.

SOURCE: NCAA