Big changes are coming to the way teams are selected for high school state tournaments in Colorado.
After a board of directors meeting, the Colorado High School Activities Association unanimously approved a change in the playoff selection process.
CHSAA President Eddie Hartnett announced the new format, which will become effective for the 2016-17 seasons, will use a Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) to determine the tournament fields.
“The Board, which met for its annual retreat last weekend, said that it is imperative that there be a similarity in all team sports formats for the benefit of schools, players, coaches and communities,” CHSAA Assistant Commissioner Bert Borgmann said in a news release. “Hartnett noted that schools had been seeking a more consistent approach to playoff formats for several years.”
RPI will determine the playoff fields, though seeding procedure is still up for discussion.
“For instance, the committees may allow for the league champion to be an automatic qualifier regardless of its RPI. Other criteria that could be added is the CHSAANow.com Coaches Polls and/or a weighting system on home, away or neutral site wins and losses,” the news release said.
RPI is a math equation that takes into count a team’s winning percentage, the winning percentage of the team’s opponents and the winning percentage of the team’s opponents’ opponents.
The new policies will apply to baseball, basketball, football, soccer, softball, field hockey, hockey, lacrosse and volleyball.
Baseball’s selection process came under fire last season. The wild-card points format allowed Durango High School to host a first-round playoff series despite a 6-13 regular season record.
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