MAAC Set to Make Changes For 11-Team Structure

In moves that make perfect sense, the MAAC has made the necessary adjustments both to regular-season scheduling and its post-season tournament that reflect the change to an 11-team league for next season.

League athletic directors unanimously approved a 20-game double round-robing schedule (each league team plays every other one in a home-and-home series)..

That regular-season schedule gives each team an additional two league games, above the 18-game conference schedule while the MAAC had a 10-team structure.

For men's basketball, each school will play two league games during the early December weekend already allotted for MAAC games, followed by nine more weeks of conference play after Jan. 1. The women's teams will play all 20 conference games starting on Dec. 27 (2013). In both sports, each team will play two games per week.

While approval is needed for the proposal to restructure the MAAC tournament, that is expected to happen shortly after the holiday season.

The proposal would give first-round byes for teams that finish first-through-fifth in the final regular-season standings and have teams finishing sixth-through-11th play a preliminary round game.

The three winners of the preliminary round contests would advance to join the top five in the quarter-final round.

Here's what the MAAC's post-season schedule would look like, if it is approved:

Day	Round	Game Times
Thursday	Women’s Opening Round	9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m.
	Men’s Opening Round	5 p.m., 7 p.m., 9 p.m.
Friday	Women’s Quarterfinals	12 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m., 7:30 p.m.
Saturday	Men’s Quarterfinals	12 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 8:30 p.m.
Sunday	Women’s Semifinals	11 a.m., 1:30 p.m.
	Men’s Semifinals	4:30 p.m., 7 p.m.
Monday	Women’s Championship Final	12 p.m.
	Men’s Championship Final	7 or 9 p.m.