There are currently 23 franchises that compete in the AAABA. Regionals and play-ins are used to reduce the field to 16 teams for the national tournament in Johnstown. Currently, Altoona, Pennsylvania and Zanesville, Ohio are the only two regional tournaments, and both are held the weekend prior to the national tournament.
Johnstown, Altoona, and Zanesville are all automatically qualified for the national tournament as tournament hosts. The remaining teams are rotated between automatic births and regionals each year. New franchises must play in a regional their first year. Like the national tournament, regionals are double-elimination.
For 2009, four teams will compete in the Zanesville Regional, five teams will compete in the Altoona Regional, and two teams will compete in a play-in series