Championship Format
The 2011 Conference USA Championship will feature the top eight teams in regular-season league play. Those six will be split into two four-team pools (or pods), with the winner of each pod playing in a single championship game. Teams would be assigned pods based on seed, which would be determined by the order of finish in regular-season conference play.
Each team will be guaranteed to play three games. Teams in each pod will play the other three teams in its pod. The team with the best composite record in each pod would advance to the championship game. Two-way ties in a pod would be broken by head-to-head play. In case of a three-way tie, the highest seed would advance.
The higher seed would be the home team in games on Days 1 and 3 and in the Championship Game; teams that were the visitors on Day 1 would be the home team on Day 2.
Games are played at 9 am, 12:30 pm, 4 pm and 7:30 pm the first three days of the Championship, with the championship game Saturday at 7 pm. Pairings with game times are announced after seeds are determined following the final league series of the season.
For the potential for increased ticket sales as well as competitive balance, the sponsoring agency will work cooperatively with the Conference on sequence of games on days 1, 2 and 3 of the Championship.
Makeup of the Pods and Schedule of Play
| Pod 1 (Seeds 1, 4, 5 and 8) |
Pod 2 (Seeds 2, 3, 6 and 7) |
| 1 vs. 4, 5 and 8 | 2 vs. 3, 6 and 7 |
| 4 vs. 1, 5 and 8 | 3 vs. 2, 6 and 7 |
| 5 vs. 1, 4 and 8 | 6 vs. 2, 3 and 7 |
| 8 vs. 1, 4 and 5 | 7 vs. 2, 3 and 6 |