NCAA threatens action against teams canceling baseball games over RPI

Amid an epidemic of college baseball game cancellations, the NCAA is breaking its silence . The association warned coaches on Tuesday about canceling midweek games following several high-profile examples of what many consider to be RPI manipulation in a letter obtained by Front Office Sports. In college baseball, even blowout victories over teams with low RPI rankings can deal significant damage to an NCAA tournament bubble team's resume.

“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 NCAA said in the letter. “The subcommittee has kept, and will continue to keep, a watchful eye on team schedules and any known reasons for any cancellation. ” The NCAA also said that canceling games for RPI purposes could ultimately have a detrimental impact on how teams are evaluated by the tournament selection committee.

Front Office Sports compiled several recent examples of games that were seemingly canceled for resume-building purposes. The NCAA hasn't taken any formal action against programs that have canceled games, Front Office Sports reported. Per the same source, the phenomenon stems from a lack of understanding by coaches about how RPI is calculated and how it impacts NCAA tournament selection.

The 2026 NCAA baseball tournament field will be revealed on Monday, May 25. Contact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.