Mountain West Announces Pandemic Format For Baseball, Soccer, Volleyball

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Mountain West Conference, home of the Utah State Aggies, announced a regular-season format for baseball, soccer and volleyball. The format change comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These formats, which were approved by the MW directors of athletics, provide student-athletes with the opportunity to conduct a Conference season while managing the challenges of the COVID-19 virus,” read a release from the Mountain West.

Softball and tennis seasons remain unchanged, according to the conference.

Baseball

•  36-game Conference schedule in a double round-robin format taking place over 14 weeks (Feb. 27-May 29).
• 3-game series scheduled for Saturday (doubleheader) and Sunday, except for Easter weekend and the final weekend, which will be played on Friday (doubleheader) and Saturday.
• Each institution has two open dates.
• The regular-season champion will be the Mountain West’s NCAA tournament automatic qualifier.
• Each institution is permitted to play non-conference games.

Women’s Soccer

• A 10-match Conference-only schedule in a divisional double round-robin format taking place over a six-week period (March 5-April 11).
• Matches will be played on Friday and Sunday.
• A single match will take place on Sat., April 17, at a campus site between the two division winners to determine the Conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament.

Volleyball

• A 16-match Conference-only schedule taking place over nine weeks (Feb. 5-April 3).
• Each institution will play six opponents twice and four opponents once.
• Using a hybrid scheduling format, the first seven weeks will feature teams facing the same opponent twice in one weekend at one site. Travel partners will play the final two weeks of the season.
• The regular-season champion will be the Mountain West’s NCAA tournament automatic qualifier.

All of the schedules are subject to change depending on orders from local governments and health departments.