The Mid-American Conference announced a revamped structure for its 2027 men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, aligning advancement opportunities more closely with teams’ regular‑season achievements.
Under the new arrangement, the conference’s top two seeds will skip the opening round, landing directly in the semifinals, while the third and fourth seeds receive a first‑round bye that propels them into the quarterfinals.
Byes Designed to Reward Consistency
Conference officials said the changes are intended to highlight squads that have sustained excellence throughout the full schedule, rather than allowing early‑round upsets to dictate progression.
First‑round games are slated for Wednesday, March 10, followed by quarterfinals on Thursday, March 11. Friday, March 12 will host the semifinals, and the championship finals will unfold on Saturday, March 13.
The format mirrors a version that was in place from 2012 through 2015, when the conference experimented with similar seeding incentives before reverting to a different model.
Victors in each round will secure automatic berths in the NCAA Division I Basketball Championships, ensuring that the conference’s champion and other top finishers move on to the national stage.