Big West Plans to Eliminate 3 Tournaments

The Big West Conference will drop postseason tournaments in baseball, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball beginning in the 1998-99 school year, pending approval by the university presidents in June.

“Economics were a major factor in the decision,” said Commissioner Dennis Farrell. He said the three tournaments cost the conference $65,000 last year.

The change was approved recently by the Big West Council, which is made up of the athletic directors, senior women administrators and faculty representatives from the conference’s 12 schools. The change is expected to be ratified by the presidents at their meeting June 9.

Farrell said current conference rules call for the championship and automatic NCAA bid in sports with divisions to be decided by a playoff between divisional winners. In baseball, that likely would be a best-of-three-game series.