Playoff Home/Away Game Discussion

[colin2229]

Totally agree. It is a weird, quirky, and unique system, but I really like the basic randomness to decide who hosts, as schedules are so different that seeding means little anyway.

Getting to see new venues, especially for a big time Saturday semifinal is a great part of the experience.

Would really like to see a revamp of seeding philosophy before any consideration of rewarding home field to the "better" seed.

Would love to see the current system used to determine the 256 qualifiers and 32 per class. But then go to a computer algorithm the IHSA contracts with to determine the order of the 32 seeds.

And even then, I prefer the alternating of hosting sites just for the enjoyment of seeing a big game somewhere new.

Could just have the coaches vote on the one through 32 seating. Don’t need an algorithm.

To that point, I see the biggest issue with the current set up is teams getting an easy road to the quarters mainly bc of CPS teams.

I like the idea of a new way to rank the playoff seeds.

 

[JCHillmen]

Could just have the coaches vote on the one through 32 seating. Don’t need an algorithm.

To that point, I see the biggest issue with the current set up is teams getting an easy road to the quarters mainly bc of CPS teams.

I like the idea of a new way to rank the playoff seeds.

I'd be ok with the coaches seeding, but don't think it would be as good as baseball and basketball coaches self seeding. They are more familiar with their local sectional foes in their class than most HS football coaches. A suburban 6A coach likely doesn't have much to go on when comparing schools in his area vs Chatham vs ESL, etc. There would be a lot of blatant guessing or local bias. I imagine the downstate schools would prefer the algorithm because they would likely feel slighted when coaches who are less familiar with their programs vote them down further than necessary.

Closed conferences or conferences with limited nonconference game opportunities also make it hard. But I would be happy with an algorithm or coaches vote compared to the current seeding system. But I am ok with the current system for how the 256 are chosen.

 

[cigaros]

Could just have the coaches vote on the one through 32 seating. Don’t need an algorithm.

To that point, I see the biggest issue with the current set up is teams getting an easy road to the quarters mainly bc of CPS teams.

I like the idea of a new way to rank the playoff seeds.

I like the current evaluation of teams based upon opponents wins, and defeated opponents wins along with the record. However, going one – 32 while using this formula is the best way to go, in my opinion. I wish the higher performing teams would have the easier path to the finals. It would eliminate the 9–0 teams which play no one. And allow teams that have been scheduling responsibly a better path through the playoffs.