When the tournament began in 1987 , when the conference had eight members , it used a standard single - elimination bracket that was reseeded after the first round .
The highest and lowest remaining seeds played one another in the semifinals .
When the tournament began in 1987 , when the conference had eight members , it used a standard single - elimination bracket that was reseeded after the first round so that the highest and lowest remaining seeds played one another in the semifinals .