NEW ORLEANS — Vanderbilt travels to the New Orleans suburb of Harahan for the first-ever Conference USA Tournament, held Thursday through Sunday at the Colonial Lanes.
Competing teams (national rank)
Conference USA is an incredible conference with the NCAA’s top four ranked teams and nine members ranked among the nation’s top 17.
Arkansas State (2), Jacksonville State (1), Louisiana Tech (7), Sam Houston State (10), Stephen F. Austin (11), Tulane (13), Valparaiso (17), Vanderbilt (4) and Youngstown State (3).
Seeding
Seeding for the Conference Championship is based on the NCAA RPI ranking. Vanderbilt has the No. 4 seed and will play No. 5-seeded Louisiana Tech in its first match.
Schedule of matches
Thursday, March 21
10:30 a.m. – Round 1: Play-In Match 1 (8-seed v. 9-seed)
Friday, March 22, 2024 – Double Elimination Play
9 a.m. – Round 2: Matches 2-5
2 p.m. – Round 3: Matches 6-9
Saturday, March 23, 2024
9:30 a.m. – Round 4: Matches 10-11
2:30 p.m. – Round 5: Matches 12-13
Sunday, March 24, 2024
9 a.m. – Round 6: Match 14
TBD Match 15 Championship Match
TBD Match 16 2nd Championship Match#
#If Necessary
Follow the matches on ESPN+
All matches will be streamed on ESPN+. There will not be individual school livestreams.
Official championship web page
Fans ca click HERE for more information on the 2024 Conference USA Championship.
FORMAT DIFFERS FROM REGULAR SEASON
The conference tournament is a double-elimination tournament using a best-of-three match format commonly called a mega-match. This is the system used at the NCAA Championship and not how regular season matches were determined.
- Match 1: Five-person traditional team match (1 point)
- Match 2: Five-game Baker match using total pin fall (1 point)
- Match 3: Best-of-seven Baker match play (Only if teams split first two matches)
Teams will first play a traditional team game followed by a five-game, total pin Baker game. Should one team win both and earn both points, the match is over. If they split, a best-of-seven Baker is played to determine the winner.
Commodore postseason success
Vanderbilt enjoyed considerable success in the years since the Southland Bowling League instituted its postseason tournament in 2015. The Commodores won the event four times, the most of any SBL member. Last year, Vanderbilt was eliminated in a tense marathon match by Youngstown State in the semifinals; Arkansas State then topped the Penguins for the title, but Vanderbilt would win its NCAA Regional and go on to win its third national championship.
