Trying to understand the new playoff system...

[jabbo]

To be released by the TSSAA the first week in August will be an online presentation discussing the new football format and sample district standings with explanation of how teams qualify.

 

Hopefully they understand it well enough now to explain it to thick-headed folks like me, but I bet when we get to the first week in November there's gonna be some angry folks with some legitimate gripes...a real "Trick or Treat" experience awaits us...especially if TSSAA issues clarifications then that contradict what they're gonna tell us next week.

 

I can hear Professor Chaos laughing....

[66in74]

To be released by the TSSAA the first week in August will be an online presentation discussing the new football format and sample district standings with explanation of how teams qualify.

 

Wouldn't you have thought they'd have it figured out before now?

[rick7425]

Wouldn't you have thought they'd have it figured out before now?

I'm pretty sure they've figured it out. But as this board reflects, it is new, different, and in some cases a bit complicated, so they are continuing to try to help school people figure it out. They also will be conducting the regular administrators' meetings in late August and early September, so they probably are trying to get something out in advance of those meetings so administrators can ask follow-up questions.

[jabbo]

Wouldn't you have thought they'd have it figured out before now?

I'm pretty sure they've figured it out. But as this board reflects, it is new, different, and in some cases a bit complicated, so they are continuing to try to help school people figure it out. They also will be conducting the regular administrators' meetings in late August and early September, so they probably are trying to get something out in advance of those meetings so administrators can ask follow-up questions.

 

Hopefully they will do a better job answering the administrators than they did the sportswriters.

[66in74]

Wouldn't you have thought they'd have it figured out before now?

I'm pretty sure they've figured it out. But as this board reflects, it is new, different, and in some cases a bit complicated, so they are continuing to try to help school people figure it out. They also will be conducting the regular administrators' meetings in late August and early September, so they probably are trying to get something out in advance of those meetings so administrators can ask follow-up questions.

 

The email I received back from the TSSAA on Monday indicated they are still working out the details.

Unless they figured it out over the last few days...............then they haven't.

[silverpie]

Right, they still have a few details to pin down such as the definition of a team's "own class" (which, it appears, will simply mean A/AA/AAA, not the football subclass, so that teams like Howard who have a lot of required games against the other subclass are not double-punished for them). But the basic outline seems pretty well set.

[66in74]

Right, they still have a few details to pin down such as the definition of a team's "own class" (which, it appears, will simply mean A/AA/AAA, not the football subclass, so that teams like Howard who have a lot of required games against the other subclass are not double-punished for them). But the basic outline seems pretty well set.

 

Do you know how the "Wildcard" spots using "Tie Breakers" works?

I think that's what is uncertain at this point.

[silverpie]

It's essentially the same way last year's 2A playoffs ran. Once the gold/silver/bronze qualifiers are identified, if any slots are left, they are filled in order of overall record, then wins over 50%+ teams, then opponents' wins, and so on and so forth. (If there are too many qualifiers under the previous rules, the same rules are used to decide which bronze teams get dropped. Note that gold-silver-bronze are my nicknames for the playoff criteria, not the official names.)

[66in74]

It's essentially the same way last year's 2A playoffs ran. Once the gold/silver/bronze qualifiers are identified, if any slots are left, they are filled in order of overall record, then wins over 50%+ teams, then opponents' wins, and so on and so forth. (If there are too many qualifiers under the previous rules, the same rules are used to decide which bronze teams get dropped. Note that gold-silver-bronze are my nicknames for the playoff criteria, not the official names.)

 

Guess I'll just have to wait for the "power point" presentation that's suppose to be out this week.

 

It won't be like 2A last year because only the top 2 in a Region are guaranteed spots not 3 .

Then it depends on how many of each playoff class there are in a Region.

[silverpie]

Um, I said "essentially the same," not "identical in every detail."

 

Having actually read the draft regulations, here's what it amounts to:

 

There are four lists of teams for each subclass:

1. [*:2m8eqkbv]District winners.
   [*:2m8eqkbv]District runners-up (may or may not include 16-A).
   [*:2m8eqkbv]Teams in the top half of the district within their subclass, but not on the first two lists.
   [*:2m8eqkbv]Everyone else.

Note: the term "district" in this context includes the three Class A regions that play as a regionwide league.

 

Within each list, order the teams by the criteria.

 

To select (and seed) the field, start at the top of list I, and continue to the bottom. Then do the same for list II, list III, and list IV, in that order. Stop when you have 24 or 32 teams, no matter which list you're on. If teams get in from list IV, those are the wild cards.

 

(Also to note: 1A, 3A, and 4A are guaranteed to at least accommodate all of list III. 5A and 6A probably will, but it's not mathematically guaranteed. And in 2A, there's a microscopic chance of the field filling before even list II is exhausted.)

[66in74]

Per the TSSAA website, an audio presentation about the "new football playoff format" will be out on Friday.

[66in74]

The presentation by the TSSAA on the "new playoff" format is now available on line at their website.