through 1975, all teams competed in one bracket. that year, the tournament was held with only the teams from the u.s. regions. the international teams returned in 1976, when two brackets were established, one with u.s. teams, and the other with international teams. the u.s. bracket winner and the international bracket winner would then meet in the championship game, an arrangement that has continued to the present, independent of subsequent changes made to early rounds of the tournament.