Entering just its sixth year, the Brickyard Collegiate Championship has become one of college golf’s top tournaments.

And there are plenty of reasons for that.

• It’s as well-run a tournament as college golf teams are going to take part in, and each year, the players and coaches marvel at the tournament and how they are treated, along with taking notice of the community and volunteer involvement. That’s not always the case at college tournaments.

• From the start, the tournament has drawn top-ranked teams and deep fields. It helps that Georgia and Georgia Tech have played every year, and the Bulldogs have won the tournament three times. Georgia Tech won last year, and the other year the title went to Augusta State.

• The Brickyard at Riverside course is immaculate. The staff and leadership of the course have done a terrific job with the course each year and make it a challenge for these teams to play.

All of those factors keep bringing back strong teams to Middle Georgia each year, and that continues with this year’s tournament, which will be played Oct. 5-7. The teams actually will be in town Thursday for practice rounds to get ready for the three days of tournament play.

And this year’s field is just as strong as in past years.

Mercer is the tournament host and is once again in the field, and second-year head coach Steve Bradley continues to build the Bears program. Georgia, Georgia Tech and Augusta State are all playing again, and they will be joined by Georgia State to add to the state contingent in this year’s field.

The rest of the teams are Charleston Southern, North Florida, Colorado State, South Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma, Princeton, Virginia Tech, Air Force and Chattanooga.

That, once again, is a strong lineup of teams and will bring about plenty of excitement in Middle Georgia for four days with a competitive tournament that will be fun for the teams, players and fans.

But it’s really not a surprise. It has been that way since the tournament started in 2007.

Contact Daniel Shirley at 744-4227 or dshirley@macon.com