BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (AP) — The Ohio Valley Conference is expanding its conference schedule and eliminating its divisional format for men’s basketball.

League officials approved these two changes at the conference’s spring meetings.

Each OVC member now will play 18 conference games, a change that applies to both men’s and women’s basketball. The OVC had played a 16-game schedule since 2011-12.

The OVC previously used an 18-game schedule from 2008-09 through 2010-11 and from 1996-97 through 1999-2000.

OVC men’s basketball had used East and West divisions since 2012-13. Without divisions, the league instead will determine conference tournament seeding by a team’s league winning percentage. Women’s basketball already had eliminated the divisional format before the 2014-15 season.

OVC officials also approved an extension to commissioner Beth DeBauche’s contract, which now runs through 2022-23.

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