NCAA warns baseball teams: Stop canceling games to protect postseason metrics

The NCAA Division I Baseball Oversight Committee has put college baseball programs on notice for non-weather related game cancellations.

In a letter to Division I baseball coaches on Wednesday, May 6, Michael Alford, the chair of the oversight committee, wrote that both the oversight committee and Division I Baseball Championship Subcommittee have expressed worries about the number of regular-season games canceled this season "for reasons other than inclement weather."

"It is not the intent or spirit of the game to adjust scheduled games in an attempt to strategically impact selection data or metrics," the letter wrote.

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The "impact selection data or metrics" that Alford mentions in the letter, which was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Cal State Bakersfield head coach Jordon Banfield, is likely referring to the NCAA's RPI Rankings system, which is heavily considered and weighed by the NCAA Selection Committee when putting together the NCAA Baseball Tournament bracket.

The RPI system — also known as the Rating Percentage Index — is a data-driven sorting system based on a team's strength of schedule. It uses three factors: a team's own winning percentage, its opponents' winning percentage and its opponents' opponents' winning percentage.

Boston College announced Monday, May 11 that it has canceled Tuesday’s non‑conference game against UMass Lowell, saying the cancellation was "to remain within the NCAA‑mandated limit for regular‑season competitions." The Eagles weren't the only recent Power Four program to cancel a non-conference game, though.