New ways to qualify: takeaways from new football playoff format

     Seven months have passed since the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) approved a series of significant changes to how high school football teams will qualify for postseason play beginning this fall.

     With the season beginning for Monticello Aug. 24 at Cascade (and for Midland, with a “Week Zero” game Aug. 17), it seems a good time for a refresher on the new format.

     The biggest takeaways:

     • Sixteen teams in each class will reach the postseason. In Class 2A, which includes Monticello, there are nine districts, so the postseason will include nine district champions and seven at-large selections.

     • Only district champions will automatically qualify for the postseason.

     • Only district games will count when determining a district champion. There are six teams in Monticello’s district, so each team will have five district games.

     • For the first time, ALL of a team’s games will count determining the at-large bids.

     • At-large teams will be selected using a new Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) formula. Each team will earn an RPI score based on its own winning percentage (counting for 37.5 percent of the RPI score), opponents’ winning percentage (37.5 percent) and opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage (25 percent). See related article on this page for more details on the RPI.

     • RPI rankings will be posted at iahsaa.com every Monday beginning with Week 4 of the season, so the first one should be posted Sept. 10.

     Coach reactions to the changes varied, but most were in favor of expanding the postseason to include 32 teams. There were also mixed reviews on what the RPI might mean in terms of scheduling.

     Monticello varsity football coach Wes Wilson offered these thoughts back in January:

     “I don't think anyone really knows what to expect with the RPI system the state is going to use. There are a lot of variables in this system that your team does not control. I think that is the thing that coaches are struggling with the most.

     “A lot of coaches are disappointed that the state did not take the coaches’ recommendation to move back to 32 teams in the playoffs. Football is the only sport that does not allow every team to play in the postseason. Most coaches feel 32 out of 54 teams would be sufficient and still make the regular season important. I think that if we want to grow the sport of football in Iowa and increase participation we need to give more players a chance to experience post season play.”

     How the format and the RPI will affect the 2018 season will be revealed as the games progress.