CAC Announces Championship Sites for 2021-22 Season
The new Continental Athletic Conference has announced its first postseason tournament sites and formats for the upcoming 2021-22 athletic season.
The CAC conducts postseason tournaments in the following sports:
Fall: men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball
Winter: men's and women's basketball
Spring: baseball, men's and women's golf, and softball
Below are the tournament details for each postseason tournament as of July 15, 2021:
Cross Country
Date: November 6, 2021
Host School: Haskell Indian Nations University
Location: Lawrence, Kansas
Format: Top six teams for men's and women's cross country are mandated to compete, but all teams are invited and encouraged to participate in the championship meet.
The CAC receives two automatic team bids to the NAIA national championship meet if the second-place finishing team is among the NAIA's Top 30 rankings.
Volleyball
Date: November 12-13, 2021
Host School: Cottey College
Location: Nevada, Missouri
Format: Four-team tournament with matches on the first day being in a round-robin format to determine seeding for the rest of the tournament. The second day will feature two semifinal matches and the championship match.
The tournament champion and runner-up will receive the CAC's two automatic bids to the NAIA national tournament.
Soccer
Date: November 12-13, 2021
Host School: Georgia Gwinnett College
Location: Lawrenceville, Georgia
Format: Four men's and women's teams will advance to the tournaments that will have semifinal matches on the first day followed by championship matches the following day.
The tournament champion and runner-up from each tournament will receive the CAC's two automatic bids to the NAIA national tournament.
Basketball
Date: February 25-27, 2022
Host School: Iowa Wesleyan University
Location: Mt. Pleasant, Iowa
Format: Eight men's and women's teams will play in tournaments that will have quarterfinal games on the first day, semifinal games on the second day, and third-place and championship games on the third day.
The two tournament finalists will join the third-place game winner from each tournament in receiving the CAC's three automatic bids to the NAIA national tournament.
Golf
Date: May 2-3, 2022 (May 4 is the rain date)
Host School: Iowa Wesleyan University
Location: Blue Top Ridge Golf Course in Riverside, Iowa
Format: The top six men's and women's teams are mandated to compete, but all teams are invited and encouraged to participate.
The top two finishing women's golf teams will receive automatic bids to the NAIA national championship, if the tournament runner-up is among NAIA's Top 25 ranked teams. Meanwhile, the men's tournament champion receives the CAC's automatic bid to the NAIA tournament.
Softball
Date: May 5-7, 2022 (May 8 is a rain date)
Host School: Georgia Gwinnett College
Location: Lawrenceville, Georgia
Format: A four-team double-elimination tournament with play continuing until a champion is determined. The champion and runner-up receive the CAC's automatic bids to the NAIA national tournament.
Baseball
Date: May 7-9, 2022 (May 10 is a rain date)
Host School: Georgia Gwinnett College
Location: Lawrenceville, Georgia
Format: A four-team double-elimination tournament with play continuing until a champion is determined. The champion and runner-up receives the CAC's automatic bids to the NAIA national tournament.