The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be either a single game, a series of games, or a tournament, and may use a single-elimination system or one of several other different playoff formats. Playoff, in regard to international fixtures, is to qualify or progress to the next round of a competition or tournament.
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ten states, three additional public land-grant universities, and one private research university. The conference is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The SEC participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I in sports competitions; for football it is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A.
The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Baseball Championship tournament—featuring 64 teams in the first round—which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight participating teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets, with the winners of each bracket playing in a best-of-three championship series.
There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the single elimination, the best-of- series, the total points series more commonly known as on aggregate, and the round-robin tournament.
A wild card is a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that fails to qualify in the normal way; for example, by having a high ranking or winning a qualifying stage. In some events, wildcards are chosen freely by the organizers. Other events have fixed rules. Some North American professional sports leagues compare the records of teams which did not qualify directly by winning a division or conference.
The Southeastern Conference baseball tournament is the conference tournament in baseball for the Southeastern Conference (SEC). It is a partially double-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season conference records. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. The SEC Tournament champion is separate from the conference champion. The conference championship is determined solely by regular season record.
The Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament, sometimes referred to simply as the ACC tournament, is the conference championship tournament in baseball for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). In 2017, the event adopted a modified twelve-team pool play format. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
The War on I-4 is a college rivalry between the University of Central Florida Knights and University of South Florida Bulls. The rivalry is best known for its college football matchup which originated in a series of football games played from 2005 to 2008 and now takes place on Thanksgiving weekend, the de facto "rivalry weekend" for FBS football. From 2013 to 2023, when both schools were part of the American Athletic Conference, the schools began competing annually in all sports both schools sponsored. In 2016, the schools officially adopted the "War on I-4" as an official competition series. Each year, the team with the most wins across all sports receives a gold trophy styled after an Interstate 4 (I-4) road sign with the logos of each school. The winner of the annual football game also receives a similar trophy.
The Conference USA baseball tournament is the conference championship tournament in baseball for Conference USA (C-USA). The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. The tournament format, which has changed several times, currently consists of an eight-team double-elimination tournament format, in which the winners of two four-team brackets play in a single-game final. Rice, which has won the tournament seven times, is the most successful team in the tournament's history.
The Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament is the conference championship tournament in baseball for the Sun Belt Conference. The winner of the tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. After Coastal Carolina University hosts the competition in Conway, South Carolina, in 2019, the tournament will move to a neutral site, Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, AL, from 2020 to 2024.
The America East Conference baseball tournament, officially known as the America East Conference baseball championship, is the conference baseball championship of the NCAA Division I America East Conference. The top six finishers in the regular season of the conference's seven teams advance to the double-elimination tournament, which rotates among the home fields of each conference member. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. The format has changed over the years between a six-team and four-team formats. Beginning in 2009, the conference allowed schools to host the championship on fields without lights.
The 2013 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament was held from May 22 through 26 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina. The annual tournament determines the conference champion of the Division I Atlantic Coast Conference for college baseball. Top seeded North Carolina won the tournament and received the league's automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. It was North Carolina's sixth ACC Tournament win. This was the last of 19 athletic championship events held by the conference in the 2012–13 academic year. This was the sixth time the ACC hosted its baseball championship in Durham.
The 2013 Big East Conference baseball tournament was held at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida, from May 22 through 26. The event, held at the end of the conference regular season, determined the champion of the Big East Conference for the 2013 season. Eight seeded Connecticut won their third tournament championship to claim the conference's automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
The 2013 Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament was held beginning May 22 and ending on May 26. The top eight regular season finishers of the league's ten teams met in the round-robin tournament held at QuikTrip Park in Grand Prairie, Texas. UTSA won their first tournament championship and earned the Western Athletic Conference's automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. UTSA departed for Conference USA after the 2013 season, again leaving the conference with no team that had ever won the tournament for 2014.
The 2014 American Athletic Conference baseball tournament was held at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida, from May 21 through 25. The event, held at the end of the conference regular season, determined the champion of the American Athletic Conference for the 2014 season. Houston won the round-robin tournament and received the conference's automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
The 1986 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 1986. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1986 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the fortieth time in 1986, consisted of one team from each of eight regional competitions and was held in Omaha, Nebraska, at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. Arizona claimed the championship for the third time.
The 1991 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 1991. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1991 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the forty fifth time in 1991, consisted of one team from each of eight regional competitions and was held in Omaha, Nebraska, at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. LSU claimed the championship for the first time.
The 2015 American Athletic Conference baseball tournament was held at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida, from May 19 through 24. The event, held at the end of the conference regular season, determined the champion of the American Athletic Conference for the 2015 season. East Carolina claimed their first tournament championship and earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
The American Athletic Conference men's soccer tournament is the conference championship tournament in soccer for the American Athletic Conference. The tournament has been held every year since the split from the Big East Conference in 2013. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The winner, declared conference champion, receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I men's soccer championship.
The 2016 American Athletic Conference baseball tournament was held at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida, from May 24 through 29. The event, held at the end of the conference regular season, determined the champion of the American Athletic Conference for the 2016 season. The University of Connecticut won and received the conference's automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
