As most of you know the decision was made a year agoto cut television for the upcoming Intercollegiate Team Championships.  Many believe that Collegiate bowling is the gem of our industry and as such; Im excited to announce that this industry has once again come together and secured funds to put the event back on TV under the Youth Education Services (YES) banner.  USBC, BPAA and new YES partner Strike Ten Entertainment are making donations into the fund to pay for the TV production which will be provided by our friends at the PBA.    We are excited to announce the 2011 Intercollegiate Team Championships will be broadcast on  ESPN2 on May 15.

Special thanks goes out to Steve Johnson (BPAA), Stu Upson(USBC), Frank Desocio(Strike Ten) and Fred Schreyer(PBA) for their efforts to make this a reality.  Please make sure to thank these individuals when you see them.  

As a result of this exciting announcement, we will need to make a format change.  The change is consistent to our standard format when the ITC has had Television.   Here is the rule for the format for those of you are who are not familiar with the television event format:

All 16 teams in each division will participate in the true double elimination competition within the assigned 8-team bracket, consisting of a best four-out-of-seven Baker System match. There will be no byes. Bracket assignments will be determined by Thursdays qualifying scores. No. 1 will bowl No. 16, No. 2 will bowl No. 15, No. 3 will bowl No. 14, No. 4 will bowl No. 13, No. 5 will bowl No. 12, No. 6 will bowl No. 11, No. 7 will bowl No. 10 and No. 8 will bowl No. 9 in the opening round of match play.

From the second round on, the winning teams of each match will remain in the winner bracket and the losing teams will move into the non-winner bracket. In order for a team in the non-winner bracket to advance in the tournament, they must keep winning. Once a team in the non-winner bracket incurs a second loss, that team is eliminated from the tournament.

The ITC televised finals format will be a single elimination best two-out-of-three Baker match between the two bracket champions in each division.