The First NCAA Tournament Ticket is Punched... Without a Conference Title?

(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

The first automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament has been awarded, yet it did not come at the conclusion of a conference tournament.

Liberty is officially the first team in the Big Dance after North Alabama upset Florida Gulf Coast in Atlantic Sun Tournament Semifinals. The Flames will be representing the ASUN in the NCAA Tournament, even if they do not defeat North Alabama in tomorrow’s ASUN Tournament Title. That’s because the Lions are not eligible to compete in the Big Dance. Like Bellarmine, North Alabama is still in the transition period after moving from D-II to D-I in 2018-19, prohibiting them from qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.

The NCAA rule is dumb. What is the purpose of a four-year tournament ban? I cannot tell you. What I can say is that it’s lame that the kids who have shouldered the burden of a transition cannot be rewarded for their immediate success by punching a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

Even though they can’t make the Big Dance, North Alabama can still take home a title. They’re having fun on their way to the ASUN Championship.

On to the Championship!

This is March‼️#StalkAndAmbush 🦁🔥 pic.twitter.com/S2nJKz7bMR

— North Alabama Men's Basketball (@UNA_Basketball) March 6, 2021

Liberty defeated North Alabama by 20 in each of their previous two meetings, but the tables could be turned Sunday at 2 pm ET.