Regular-season tournaments: typically 54-72 hole stroke play; team scoring; Conference championship: same stroke-play format, with conference-defined scoring; NCAA Championship: 4-day stroke play (72 holes) reduces to top 8 teams + top individuals; the top 8 teams advance to match play bracket
Why people argue about this
People often assume that all NCAA golf tournaments use match play exclusively for their championships, so they're surprised when they hear about a stroke play format lasting four days before reducing it to just top 8 teams and players advancing. They miss the initial phase of competition which is crucial to understanding how the tournament structure works.
