Coaches Warned Against RPI‑Driven Cancellations
The NCAA’s Division I baseball committee issued a stern reminder to all coaches on May 6, urging them not to cancel games solely to improve their RPI ahead of the upcoming tournament.
Recent weeks have seen a flurry of cancellations, including a two‑game series between No. 20 Oregon and No. 211 Grand Canyon, a contest that would have pitted No. 42 NC State against No. 279 N.C. AT&T, and a matchup of No. 39 Virginia Tech with No. 175 Marshall.
Other programs, such as No. 30 Kentucky, cited “extended delays” and difficult recovery after a series at Florida, while No. 34 Miami (FL) pointed to “unplayable” field conditions. Boston College, meanwhile, called off a game against No. 229 UMass Lowell to stay within the 56‑game regular‑season limit mandated by the NCAA.
A Boston College spokesperson explained that the Eagles had pre‑emptively scheduled 59 games to hedge against inclement weather, even though they had only experienced two weather‑related postponements up to that point.
Brian O’Connor, the longtime coach at Mississippi State, bluntly rejected the practice, saying, “I don’t believe in it. I believe in karma and I’m not judging anybody that does. We control our own program and the right thing to do is play the games.”
The NCAA’s letter emphasizes that RPI is only one of several metrics — alongside strength of schedule, results against common opponents and head‑to‑head records — used to evaluate teams, and it should never be the sole driver of scheduling decisions.
How RPI Is Calculated
RPI is calculated using a three‑part formula: 25 % reflects a team’s winning percentage, 50 % weighs the average winning percentage of its opponents, and the remaining 25 % measures the winning percentages of those opponents’ opponents.
The organization stresses that RPI should be viewed as an additional evaluation tool, not a decisive factor, as the selection committee also considers other criteria such as overall record, quality wins and conference performance.
With the NCAA tournament set to begin on May 29 and the Men’s College World Series slated for June 12, the governing body says it will continue to monitor cancellations and their stated reasons, reinforcing the message that games should be played on the field, not on spreadsheets.