Coaches pointed out a number of flaws that they hope are addressed in the future, while others saw some positives in the change.
Out of 56 playoff teams:
— 40 are from Divisions 1-4
— Four are from Division 7, three of which are private schools
— 34 schools moved down from their base division
— 13 schools moved up from their base division
— Nine schools stayed in their base division
Varied reaction came from all corners of the North Coast Section when this year’s football playoff brackets were released Sunday.
Seven Division 2 teams in Division 4? Two Division 6 teams in the Open Division? Multiple teams making the playoffs with records of 4-6 or even 3-7? Only four Division 7 teams made it?
Welcome to the new era of competitive equity in the NCS.
In an effort to make the playoffs more competitive and give some new teams a chance at winning section titles, the NCS established a new playoff model starting this school year. Passed with a majority vote by member schools, it’s in effect for all team sports in the NCS.
Its impacts were widely felt in volleyball, but not entirely understood or analyzed as closely as they have been — and will continue to be — in football, where a few things have become glaringly clear.
This format largely hurts small schools, benefits bigger ones and, in many ways, rewards losing over winning.
Coaches from around the area, from schools big and small alike, weighed in on the new system this week. Many pointed out a number of flaws that they hope are addressed in the future, while others saw some positives in the change.
Most also were quick to point out that no one system will address every issues with inequity in high school sports, whether that be enrollment size or public vs. private schools.
Here’s a quick refresher on the new playoff format, which is similar to the one many other sections and the California Interscholastic Federation already use for the postseason.
The NCS made a move away from keeping teams in their enrollment-based divisions. Teams are initially separated in those divisions at the start of the year but are then reseeded for the playoffs based on their power rankings by CalPreps/MaxPreps.
If a team receives a higher ranking, it can move up from its base division, but no more than two divisions up. So the highest a Division 4 team can rise is Division 2 and the furthest it can fall is Division 6.
The exception is for the Open/Division 1 bracket, reserved for the top eight teams regardless of their base division.
Essentially, the way the NCS implemented this new system was by taking the top 56 playoff-eligible teams in the section and then seeding them out in descending order based on their ranking. It then takes into consideration the two-division movement cap. For example, a Division 1 team that was ranked in the 40s isn’t placed in Division 5 — where teams ranked in the 40s would fall — but instead in Division 3, because that is the lowest division to which it could drop.
Under this new system, far more large schools made the playoffs but were seeded in lower divisions, which bumped out many eligible smaller schools.
Of the 56 teams that made playoffs, 40 are from schools in Division 1-4. Additionally, 34 schools moved down from their base divisions, while just 13 moved up and nine stayed put.
Not surprisingly, some of the largest critics of this new system have been smaller schools, especially from the North Central League I. The league is composed mostly of Division 6 and 7 schools from Lake Napa and Mendocino counties.
Six of the nine schools in the league were eligible for the playoffs but just one, Kelseyville, was selected.
Among the NCL I snubs was Willits, which finished the year 8-2 and in second place in league play at 7-1. Under the old system, Willits would have assuredly been a high seed in its division. Under this new one, the Wolverines have now turned in their gear for the season.
The reaction from NCL I schools was immediate. In a text message to The Press Democrat shortly after the brackets were released Sunday, St. Helena Athletic Director Brandon Farrell said “this is really sad for our league” and called the new system a “complete failure of competitive equity.”
“An 8-2 NCL I team has to sit on the sideline while larger enrollment schools infiltrate smaller school divisions and feel good about their mediocre or under-.500 seasons,” Farrell said.
It’s clear to see what Farrell is talking about when examining the brackets. Division 3 has five Division 1 schools, Division 4 has seven Division 2 schools, Division 5 has six Division 3 schools and Division 6 has six Division 4 schools.
So why are small schools feeling the brunt of this system? Mainly because this new system heavily relies upon computer rankings. Larger schools usually play in leagues against other larger schools, and larger schools typically make up most of the top 20 schools in the NCS annually. By way of playing tougher competition, larger schools benefit — sometimes even from losses — due to the strength of their schedules, which is one primary component of the computer rankings.
Small schools, on the other hand, tend to play in leagues against other small schools. The NCL I only has smaller schools and has a twofold problem in that it has nine teams, leaving just two slots open on any given year for nonleague games. Theoretically, that’s where they could schedule tougher competition to help their rating, because once they start league play, their rating won’t increase as much, if at all, as the larger schools. But how much are two games really going to help?
Farrell expanded on his comments and issues with the system later in the week. He said he recognizes that the computer rankings do have a place in seeding out playoffs, but said it shouldn’t be the primary factor.
“I think in any competitive situation that you’re in, you want to promote the most important thing in terms of competitiveness, which is a team winning games,” Farrell told The Press Democrat earlier this week. “That’s why you have a regular season — the point of the regular season and league play is to compete to win games and then the point of the playoffs is to celebrate the teams that win the most games.
“And that really should be first and foremost. After that, then enrollment and MaxPreps combined can be thought of to be used in some way to create what (the NCS) wants to have happen, which is competitive divisions.
“To give the NCS people credit, I think that they are recognizing, from what I’ve discussed with them, that there are flaws and I think that they’re open to suggestions,” he added. “The problem is, if you’re Division 1, 2 or 3, why would you want to have something different than this?”
Farrell pointed out that Division 7 teams have far fewer divisions in which they could qualify for playoffs.
“Most of the time, Division 7 teams only have three divisions to access right now under this system,” he said. “A Division 3 team has five divisions to access. A Division 4 team has five divisions to access. Now, you could say the same thing about Division 1 (as Division 7), but they’re moving down to lower-level divisions and nobody feels bad for that.
“That, to me, needs to change.”
Two local programs are on the other end of the small-school spectrum: St. Vincent and Cardinal Newman, both of which got pulled up from their base divisions. St. Vincent (which would normally be in Division 7 based on its enrollment) is the top seed in Division 5 and Cardinal Newman (Division 6) is the No. 5 seed in the Open/Division 1 bracket.
“I think there are some things that definitely need to be looked at, especially for the smaller schools,” St. Vincent head coach Trent Herzog said. “I am happy with where we were put this year and the bracket that we are in. But in the long run, I’m not sure if this is the best system for us and the other small schools.”
Herzog said his solution would be to remove some of the minimum requirements for qualifying for the playoffs. In order to be considered eligible, teams in the NCS must have a .500-or-better record either overall, in league play or against teams in their base division. Ten teams in this year’s playoffs have an overall record under .500 but made it in under the other two requirements. Teams that win their league titles also earn an automatic spot in the playoffs, which is how Bethel (No. 88 in the NCS) made it.
“I’m not OK with a small-school team that wins eight games or even seven or six games and not making into the playoffs because they take a larger school that has three or four wins,” Herzog said. “I think that any team that makes the playoffs should have at least five wins overall to make the playoffs. I think they should eliminate the criteria of .500 in league and/or .500 vs. your division and go with you must be .500 overall. I think that would eliminate some of the problems.”
Cardinal Newman is feeling the effects of this system in a different way. The Cardinals have an enrollment of under 600 students and are seeding in a bracket with some of the largest schools in the section, like Pittsburg (3,500), De La Salle (2,000) and California (3,100). Newman has a historically strong team this year and finished the year ranked No. 4 in the NCS, but facing schools with six times the enrollment creates its own set of issues.
Farrell said he’s already begun having conversations with small schools across the section and with NCS officials about how to address some of the issues. There is no set end date for the new playoff format, so it will be in place until NCS schools vote to change it.
“I’m hoping that we can come to some agreements and make some changes, potentially. I’m hoping that that’s the idea,” Farrell said. “… I don’t know what kind of changes can happen right now because there’s obviously a bureaucratic process to this, but I’m hopeful that there’s something that can be done.”
You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @JustGusPD.
Out of 56 playoff teams:
— 40 are from Divisions 1-4
— Four are from Division 7, three of which are private schools
— 34 schools moved down from their base division
— 13 schools moved up from their base division
— Nine schools stayed in their base division
