News: VHSL Ad Hoc Playoff/Postseason Study Group Presents Ideas on How New Plan Would Work

(Feb. 23, 2012)- The Virginia High School League's proposed plan to move to six classifications and eliminate regions starting the 2013-15 two-year cycle has raised questions as to how postseason and state playoffs would work under such a plan. To that end, the VHSL AD Hoc Playoff/Postseason Study Group met Feb. 6-7 and put forth some ideas on how teams would qualify for the next level of competition after district play.

One of the big ideas to emerge is that regardless of how teams fare in regular season play, the VHSL could be adopting an "All In" solution which would advance all teams (except for football) to postseason at a new level (coined Conference level) followed then by Sectionals (in current system called Regionals) and then finally the VHSL state tournament with as many as six championships in each sport that has at least 50 percent of schools participating statewide.

Read the full minutes here, but here are some highlights:

Number of Championships: Among other ideas, the committee voted 12-0 to move forward with 50 percent + 1 in all six classifications to have a state championship. Combination state championships would be held for those classifications that do not have more than half the schools in the state participating in a particular sport.

Format of Tournaments/Playoffs: By a vote of 10-2 committee recommends to keep districts for regular season play. After regular season play is completed in all team sports, except for football, an "all in" format would be in effect. Schools would advance to playoffs in their class and could be seeded by a simplified rating system using Conferences format based on geography. From the Conference level, two schools would advance to Sectional (also called Regional) play with a total of 16 teams left,  with state split into two sections (either east/west or north/south). Two teams from each sectional advance to state tournament or Final Four.

Simplified Power Rating Scale: By a 12-0 vote football would continue to use a ratings system as recommended by the Football Ratings Committee. For other team sports, a simplified ratings system could be used as a starting point.