Rethinking College Baseball's Postseason Structure [D1 Daily]

Mike Rooney and Burkie discuss recent NCAA tournament expansions in college basketball and the College Football Playoff, weighing how added teams might affect entertainment value, regular-season stakes, and bowl relevance. They then shift to college baseball, proposing an expanded field (e.g., 68 teams) with play-in games: the weakest recent auto-bid leagues playing at the top two national seeds and the “first four out” playing into regionals hosted by the top two-seeds that missed hosting, using five-year RPI and tournament results to determine leagues. They debate potential benefits like compelling Thursday-night TV and more on-campus postseason games versus concerns about empty stadiums, daytime start times, possible season-calendar shifts, and preserving a regional format they believe is thriving. 00:00 Welcome Back 00:06 Thank You AstroTurf! 00:34 Playoff Expansion Debate 01:34 Hoops First Four Thoughts 02:28 Quick Aside: Notre Dame-BYU Chaos 04:03 Does The Playoff Expansion Ruin CFB? 05:05 Burkie on Basketball's Field of 68 06:36 Burkie on Football's "Bowl Games" 09:57 Transition to Baseball Format 10:34 Baseball First Four Proposal 12:48 Fairness and Seeding Logic 15:43 Auto Bid Leagues and TV 17:21 How The 32 Hosts Would Work 20:23 Keep Regionals...or Expand? 22:08 Wrap Up and Takeaways For athletes and sports programs of all levels, AstroTurf has managed the entirety of the synthetic turf manufacturing process for decades. By focusing on quality, safety, and performance, AstroTurf continues to provide customized surfacing solutions for baseball and softball programs across the professional and collegiate ranks, including being the Official Synthetic Turf of MLB®. For more information, please visit https://astroturf.com/ Homefield is the industry leader in game day gear by and for true fans. Our friends at Homefield design and research EVERYTHING, from the fit and fabrics to the vintage logos, to make standout gear that defines Your Game Day. Shop the very best of Homefield, like:  • T-Shirts, hoodies, and crewnecks featuring unique designs for your school–they’ve got over 180 partner schools, which means there’s something for YOU   • Retro-style jackets for every part of the season   • Premium hats, with retro designs AND a fit for everyone   • And, just launched: The Homefield Stadium Polo, inspired by the bold, vibrant game day polos of the 90s.   You can shop the very best in game day apparel for your team NOW with Homefield. Take 15% off your first purchase with code D15 at checkout at www.homefieldapparel.com! Kerriston Coffee is proud to be the official coffee of D1Baseball. With over 30 years in the business, this family-owned roastery delivers fresh, small-batch coffee made for college baseball fans, coaches, and everyone in between. Kerriston Coffee ships nationwide, and as a listener to The D1Baseball Podcast, you can use code D1 at https://kerristoncoffee.com to receive 15% off your first order! SUBSCRIBE Apple: https://d1ba.se/Pod-Apple Spotify: https://d1ba.se/40Ne9Dq YouTube: https://d1ba.se/yt-sub Is your favorite team in the SEC? Make sure to check out our **Highway To Hoover** podcast with Joe Healy and Mark Etheridge on Apple Podcasts: https://d1ba.se/h2h-apple or Spotify: https://d1ba.se/41nyqSv Or maybe you're a fan of ACC baseball? Then you need to check out the **ACC Baseball Etc.** podcast with Daron Vaught and Bradley Smart on Apple Podcasts: https://d1ba.se/etc-apple or Spotify: https://d1ba.se/4tBUuF9 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.