With the addition of the 5 DAC schools and the change in the conference tournament, how will the AII pan out this year? It should easily be the most competitive "conference" the AII has ever seen not? A team like Jamestown could end up representing the AII pretty well on the national level. Any other teams that could compete?

what is the change to the conference tournament?

http://www.aiisports.com/article/447.php

Conference tournament is now 5 teams and will be held in Madison, SD.

thanks for the info. how does the runner-up get an AUTOMATIC berth into the national tournament? the AII isn't exactly a strong conference.....

Getting two bids is all based on how many tournament-declaring teams you have in a conference. With the addition of the 5 former Dakota Athletic Conference schools, the A.I.I. increased its eligible teams to 12, which garners the second automatic bid, which in reality doesn't take one away from anyone that had one before, it is simply the bid the DAC occupied previously. You are correct in saying the A.I.I. isn't a strong conference, however it is no longer the stomping ground it used to be. Simply adding the 5 DAC schools arguably makes the A.I.I. a more competitive conference than some other conferences. Jamestown and Dickinson were both ranked in the top 25 at one point last year. Valley City State won the Dakota Athletic Conference two years ago and was ranked as high as 12th going back to 07-08. In 2007 Mayville state was the national runner-up. Although they may take their hits as the "traditionally weak A.I.I." this is a much improved scenario from what the A.I.I. has been for many years.