Bracket
Format
The tournament
bracket is designed as a single elimination bracket.
Ever wonder how
a bracket is completed? There are a few policies unique to the NAIA.
1. Teams that have
played in the regular season will not play each other in the first
round of the tournament.
2. Teams from the
same conference will not be placed in the same half of the bracket.
In the event there are three teams from the same conference, the
teams will be placed in different quarters.
3. Teams located
in the Eastern time zone can not play in the last game of the night
during the first round. Teams in the Mountain or Pacific time zones
will not play the first game of the day during the first round.
4. If possible,
each team is given 24 hours to rest between starting times of possible
games. If team A plays at noon on Thursday and wins, the preferred
game time for Friday's game would be noon.
5. Teams playing
each other in the second round must have both played on the same
day during the first round. In other words, if a team won on Wednesday,
it can only play another team that won on Wednesday. This is valid
for the second round only.
