BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey stands firm on expanding the College Football Playoff to 16 teams. The Big Ten supports a 24-team bracket, so for now the CFP will go ahead at 12 teams. Sankey noted various scheduling challenges, including conference championship games, non-conference matchups and even the Army-Navy game.
UNDATED (AP) — The NCAA has issued what’s becoming an annual appeal to Division I baseball coaches to not cancel nonconference midweek games to protect their teams’ positioning for the national tournament. Scheduling hijinks allow teams to avoid no-win situations this time of year. So games against mid- or low-major opponents sometimes are called off because a win wouldn’t help the RPI and a loss would hurt it, perhaps badly. In a memo sent to coaches last week, the Division I Baseball Oversight Subcommittee said it was concerned with the practice of canceling games for reasons other than inclement weather.
UNDATED (AP) — The Southeastern Conference received six of the top eight seeds in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship when the 64-team field was revealed on Sunday, including Alabama at No. 1, defending national champion Texas at No. 2 and Oklahoma at No. 3. The SEC got 12 of its 15 teams into the field. Regional play begins Friday, with the top 16 seeds hosting. The eight teams advancing from super regionals will compete in the Women's College World Series starting May 28 in Oklahoma City. Texas returns pitcher Teagan Kavan, the most outstanding player in last year's Women's College World Series.
