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Per CBSSports.com, BYU baseball granted Sunday exemption for NCAA Tournament

Hayden Rogers

For the first time in a long time BYU's baseball team is building a strong case for post-season play, which usually means NCAA Tournament games on Sunday.

Thanks to some scheduling help this won't keep the Cougars from competing in the NCAA Tournament.

According to a report from Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com, the NCAA will honor BYU's request to avoid Sunday play during the Division I baseball tournament.

Ron Prettyman, managing director of championships and alliances, confirmed the existence of a memo that has gone out to all 295 Division I baseball programs. Any school hosting a regional or super regional -- traditionally played Friday through Sunday -- will have to play a Thursday-through-Saturday competition if BYU is involved.

This isn't the first time that the NCAA has made a special accommodation for BYU, with similar schedule adjustments being made in the 1979 and 1994 tournaments.

According to the report, BYU isn't the only team that filed a request to avoid Sunday play. Ron Prettyman mentioned that there were two or three other schools that had requested religious exemption.

The issue of Sunday play has always been a topic of discussion in a variety of BYU sports. Any time the men's basketball team reaches the NCAA Tournament, they are limited to specific regions so they can play on the Thursday / Saturday schedule.

There are also those who argue that BYU's refusal to play games on Sunday limits their opportunity to join a power conference, all of which have Sunday games built into their schedules for various sports.

But if the NCAA can figure this stuff out, then why can't a Power 5 conference?