Can Anybody Explain This???

OK... looking at the bracket... there is an "orphan" pod, which I thought might happen given the rule about conference teams not being able to play each other in the first two rounds.

Check this out:

Virginia Tech v BYU
Boston U v #4 USC

Teams from all over the country... and where are they playing? At USC, right? The seeded team? No. At BYU.

WTF????? Seriously... it's got to be easier/cheaper to fly to LA than to freaking Provo, UT.

Honestly... I really want someone to come up with some kind of explanation as to how this makes sense. Does USC have a terrible field? Did they not submit paperwork to be a host? I'm honestly very curious as to how they would not let the seeded team host in this instance.

Stoney,
Let me make a stab at explaining this one.

USC's filed doesn't work well for tournament games to small. BYU just remodeled their field, it's pretty nice. Probably holds 3000-4000.

Cheaper to fly the other teams to Utah maybe and the same to fly USC to Utah as flying BYU to Calif.

I think USC has no field that meets NCAA standards. Mcalister field didn't cut the mustard last year, and the coliseum was so chewed up from football that it couldn't be used after the first round.

And BYU has a brand new facility -- very nice.

Plus its a lot cheaper to put everyone up in Utah than in LA.

stoney,
come on, are you seriously asking how the ncaa decides things after all the years u of p has had outstanding ratings an are sent out of region year after year?!! even when they are rated the #1 team in all of the country, an are still sent out?!! IT IS THE NCAA AN A L L OF THIER WISDOM!!!

Soccer politics. I don't really think they really crunch the numbers. I would guess they just pick a venue in the middle of the country (the further east the better) and just assume it will be more convenient and "fair"

Let that "orphan pod" suck high-altitude air in the Rockies -- at least this year the Pilots won't have to do so. I wonder how the proposed boycott of Utah by California's Proposition 8 foes will affect attendance.

I think it's more rational than some of you are thinking. First, USC has to have put in a bid for the game. Second, their regular field does not meet NCAA standards. Unless the Coliseum was available, they therefore could not put in a bid. Remember, last year, they were entitled to have the quarter-final game at home but instead traveled to West Virginia. This apparently was because their regular field is not acceptable and they could not get the Coliseum. Shame on USC, but it's their fault, not the NCAA's.

Ah... OK. Didn't realize that about their field.

Makes sense. If they can't meet the NCAA's required minimums, then it's their own stupid fault.

I had forgotten that about the USC/West Virginia game last year, but I remember it now. How sad is it that the defending national champs don't have a field adequate enough to host an NCAA tournament game?

Salt Lake City just might be cheaper to fly to than LA & Provo hotels - cheaper.

That said - too bad USC has a substandard field.

I am quite grateful that UP is at home from the start. Finally!