by Adam Wodon/Managing Editor (@CHN_AdamWodon)
College hockey is currently having a discussion on what the best format is for NCAA Tournament Regionals.
This issue has been discussed every year, as far as I can remember. But for a long while, there was such an overwhelming consensus that neutral sites were best, that it never really went anywhere.
Thanks to many greasy wheels and continued problems over the years with the current format, the issue is back in full force. And nowadays, many coaches have switched sides, so to speak, in this discussion — or, at the very least, are open to change.
It’s already been discussed in this space many times recently, and we’ve devoted many podcast hours about it, in particular a lengthy chat with Denver coach David Carle, who is the most vocal proponent of on-campus Regionals.
So there’s not much left to be said, except I’d like to put forth my solutions. The proponents of giving higher seeds home games say that the current system has been tried, and it’s not working. I don’t necessarily agree that the current system is fully broken, but to the extent that it is, I’d say we still haven’t tried everything. We’ve ignored the problems in hopes that just some more marketing will make it better.
There are solutions out there that haven’t been tried, and just need for fortitude to do so.
1. The host team does not get to play in that Regional if it’s a 4 seed
This rule — that a team that bid to host a Regional, in whatever building — must be slotted into that Regional, causes problems way more often than not. I understand why this rule is in place — financially, a school puts up money to bid, and the hope is it will be there and reap some financial benefit. There’s also a logistical issue, in that the staff for the school would have to/want to be at the Regional where their team is playing.
But how often does a host school not even make the tournament? Quite a bit. Yet those teams still put in bids to host. Clearly they are still OK financially, even though this happens plenty. And those schools keep putting in bids despite the very real possibility their team won’t be there.
As for the staffing — I mean, there’s gotta be a way to solve that issue. Sure it’s an issue, but strikes me as very solveable.
Meanwhile, getting rid of this rule solves many…
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