 For two years, eight teams qualified for the league tournament; however, the teams seeded fifth through eighth were forced into a single-elimination play-in round.The two winners of the play-in games advanced to the main bracket, which was a six-team, double-elimination format, same as the NCAA regional format used from 1987-1998.Starting in 1998, the SEC adopted the "Omaha" bracket, splitting the eight qualifying teams into two four-team double elimination brackets.