Expanded playoffs again??

[Reasoned]

The reason why the state wants to make it harder for teams to get into the playoffs is they only care about the traditional powerhouses. No sense in allowing kids on teams that aren't traditional power houses an opportunity to play.

That's nonsense, every team that takes the field has the same opportunity to make the PO's...just win more games. With 16 teams in, that makes an appx 38% chance in 4A and appx. 30% chance for 3A-1A, not a guarantee you're in but far from unattainable.

 

[Hwkfn1]

That's nonsense, every team that takes the field has the same opportunity to make the PO's...just win more games. With 16 teams in, that makes an appx 38% chance in 4A and appx. 30% chance for 3A-1A, not a guarantee you're in but far from unattainable.

The team I follow is 8-man. 65 teams, 16 spots. Less than 25% chance. And if you're in a district with Don Bosco...

Believe me, I wish it was that simple to just win more games. Every other team is trying to win as well. I go back to asking the question what is wrong with allowing more kids to enjoy the opportunity to play in the playoffs?

 

[Reasoned]

The team I follow is 8-man. 65 teams, 16 spots. Less than 25% chance. And if you're in a district with Don Bosco...

Believe me, I wish it was that simple to just win more games. Every other team is trying to win as well. I go back to asking the question what is wrong with allowing more kids to enjoy the opportunity to play in the playoffs?

Well, I'd prefer the expanded playoff scenario but as long as the state requires the championship games be played before Thanksgiving (think it has something to do with scheduling at UNI Dome?), the expanded field then requires the compressed PO schedule with short rest/preparation between games...and that's a worse prospect.

 

[DawgPoundGreat]

They don't even respectable answers to the RPI. One question was what happens if a game is canceled and can not be made up. They say it makes no difference of it happens. Wrong. The heaviest weight is your win %. Well 8-1 is a better win percent than 7-1. So in fact a canceled game can affect all 3 areas of the RPI.
So even they don't know what they have put in place.

What happens in the unlikely, but possible scenario of 4 districts having a 3 way tie with no head to head advantage? All of a sudden you have 17 teams qualified as district champions and only 16 spots?

 

[GOPANTHERS23]

Hwkfn1 because they didn’t earn it lol? The playoffs in football shouldn’t be diluted to make some kids feel good. If you want to make the playoffs put the work in and earn it. Glad it’s 16 need to quit giving these kids participation trophies.

 

[Hwkfn1]

Hwkfn1 because they didn’t earn it lol? The playoffs in football shouldn’t be diluted to make some kids feel good. If you want to make the playoffs put the work in and earn it. Glad it’s 16 need to quit giving these kids participation trophies.

You're entitled to your opinion. I don't agree. You won't change my mind as I won't change yours.

 

[Lenmaster]

I have a question, how are forfeits going to be handled in terms of issuing points? Are these points going to be used to seat team in the tournament?

 

[screwloose]

They don't even respectable answers to the RPI. One question was what happens if a game is canceled and can not be made up. They say it makes no difference of it happens. Wrong. The heaviest weight is your win %. Well 8-1 is a better win percent than 7-1. So in fact a canceled game can affect all 3 areas of the RPI.
So even they don't know what they have put in place.

What happens in the unlikely, but possible scenario of 4 districts having a 3 way tie with no head to head advantage? All of a sudden you have 17 teams qualified as district champions and only 16 spots?

I just ran the numbers in this scenario. Once you get to opponent's record and especially opponent's opponent's record, the miniscule advantage an 8-1 team would have over a 7-1 team in their own win percentage is all but negated. In fact, depending on the opponent missed, the extra opponent could be a bigger detriment than winning that extra game itself.

 

[roosterk]

Screwloose do you think only 2 non-district games in the A and 8-player are enough for the numbers to work.

Would a district with say 3 teams with 0, 1 & 2 wins have a chance of getting a WC.

 

[screwloose]

The number of non-district games are going to be of less importance than the winning of the district's total non-district games. If there are eight teams in a district and the group as a whole goes 4-12, those teams at the top are going to have a tough time qualifying as a wild card. That would be compounded if those top teams happen to get substandard non-district opponents.

This RPI qualifying is really going to instill a "district pride" factor, as long-time, heated and hated rivals could have an impact on whether you make the playoffs or not. Every team will be cheering for everyone on their schedule to win every game they play that isn't against themselves.

 

[KidSilverhair]

I have a question, how are forfeits going to be handled in terms of issuing points? Are these points going to be used to seat team in the tournament?

There are no playoff "points" anymore, simply wins and losses. A forfeit goes down as a win for one team and a loss for the other. That's it. There's no 17-point rule anymore, no points granted for beating a larger opponent, nothing like that.

If a program folds up prior to the season, the games they had turn into "open dates" on the opponents' schedules, and they can try to schedule a game with someone else or, more likely, just get credit for 8 games instead of 9. If a program folds after the season starts, any remaining games would be forfeits. The forfeits would count as losses and go against the winning percentage of the team that folded; their opponents would get wins added to their winning percentage. Simple as that.

 

[KidSilverhair]

This RPI qualifying is really going to instill a "district pride" factor, as long-time, heated and hated rivals could have an impact on whether you make the playoffs or not. Every team will be cheering for everyone on their schedule to win every game they play that isn't against themselves.

This is a really interesting point. Everybody should absolutely hope that their entire district cleans up in their non-district games. The better they all do in non-district, the better winning percentage overall and therefore the better RPI and chance at a wild card for those who don't win the district.

Regardless of that, too, if you can get your top 3 teams in the district to knock each other off and all tie for the title at 4-1, the way I read it all 3 teams are automatically in. Sounds like maybe an unintended consequence that could lead unscrupulous coaches to "make a deal" if the schedule played out right.

 

[atomic87]

How did they decide on the "correct" number of teams in each class?
Seems to me they could have stayed with 8 districts in a couple of ways and go with champ and runnerup qualify.
Either go to 56 teams per class in 3A-A (that way each class has 8 districts of 7 teams).
Or go to 48 teams in 3A (8 districts of 6 teams), 56 in 2A and 1A (8 districts of 7 teams) and 64 teams in A (8 districts of 8 teams).
You're talking about minimal differences in enrollment between the bottom of one class and the top of the next no matter where you draw that fictional line.

 

[warriors dad]

Does anybody know when schedules come out? Coaches have to really think about wanting to play against really bad teams in non dist. play and dont want to play really good teams and posssibly lose alot of nd games with new RPI system. A very fine line to cross!

 

[PNation]

Usually they come out in a month or so. I know that schools will give the state a list of schools that they would like to play in non-district. It will be interesting if the possibility of out of state schools slows down the process a bit.

 

[TresNorthwest]

I'd hope they change the revision that a 3-way tie will qualify all 3 teams automatically. Use the tiebreaker to discern a true champ and then throw the other 2 to the wildcards just like everyone else. Would just cause controversy if this policy is kept.

 

[KidSilverhair]

How did they decide on the "correct" number of teams in each class?
Seems to me they could have stayed with 8 districts in a couple of ways and go with champ and runnerup qualify.
Either go to 56 teams per class in 3A-A (that way each class has 8 districts of 7 teams).
Or go to 48 teams in 3A (8 districts of 6 teams), 56 in 2A and 1A (8 districts of 7 teams) and 64 teams in A (8 districts of 8 teams).
You're talking about minimal differences in enrollment between the bottom of one class and the top of the next no matter where you draw that fictional line.

They could have gone a lot of ways. The statement the IHSAA put out when they announced they were changing the numbers expressly said they were trying to reduce travel by increasing the possibility of non-district games with nearby schools, regardless of class. I suppose some of the districts in some classes were getting pretty far-flung ... by going from 7 required district games to 5, they can make the districts smaller (so less travel) and encourage schools to play closer-by opponents for twice the number of non-district games regardless of difference in Class size (also reducing travel).

That was the goal, anyway. The jury remains out until we see the schedules.