FCS--playoffs help.

[darell1976]

Since me and my team are new to the FCS how does the playoff system work is it a ranking system by region like in D2? Or is there more to it. Also I hope to see UND in the playoffs fall of 2012!!

[HensRock]

It is not regional in the way that Div II is.
There is a playoff comittee that chosses the 16 team field.
The committee is regional having generally 2 members from each of 4 regions of the US. But their task is to select the most qualified 16 teams regardless of region. They are "experts" in their own region and can offer insight to the rest of the committee on local teams.
But there is no quota of teams coming from a certain region. (There may be unwritten giodelines in this regard however)

Once the 16 are picked, the Top 4 are seeded in the bracket. From there, the rest of the 12 are paired-up geographically. So, Yes - it is possible to get the #5 team matched up against the #1 team in the first round and that would be unfortunate. They also will not pair up teams from the same conference in the first round.

[grizband]

It is not regional in the way that Div II is.
There is a playoff comittee that chosses the 16 team field.
The committee is regional having generally 2 members from each of 4 regions of the US. But their task is to select the most qualified 16 teams regardless of region. They are "experts" in their own region and can offer insight to the rest of the committee on local teams.
But there is no quota of teams coming from a certain region. (There may be unwritten giodelines in this regard however)

Once the 16 are picked, the Top 4 are seeded in the bracket. From there, the rest of the 12 are paired-up geographically. So, Yes - it is possible to get the #5 team matched up against the #1 team in the first round and that would be unfortunate. They also will not pair up teams from the same conference in the first round.
This is correct, except the selection committee really only selects 8 teams. The first 8 bids are won through auto-bid conferences (Big Sky, CAA, Southern, Southland, OVC, Colonial, Patriot, MEAC).

[HensRock]

This is correct, except the selection committee really only selects 8 teams. The first 8 bids are won through auto-bid conferences (Big Sky, CAA, Southern, Southland, OVC, Colonial, Patriot, MEAC).

DOH!
You are right of course. Only 8 At-Large selections are up to the committee. They still have the task of picking the 4 seeds from the total 16 team field and making the bracket as descibed above.

[appfan2008]

all about the selection committee which of course can be good or bad depending on the year, compared to a rating system

[Syntax Error]

This year and next the champion of the Big South and Northeast Conferences can get an AQ if they meet certain criteria. In 2010 the playoffs expand to 20 teams and those two conferences get automatic qualification.

[appfan2008]

This year and next the champion of the Big South and Northeast Conferences can get an AQ if they meet certain criteria. In 2010 the playoffs expand to 20 teams and those two conferences get automatic qualification.

what is that criteria???

[Libertine]

what is that criteria???

1). Win the conference
2). Win at least 2 games vs. OOC opponents from autobid conferences
3). Be ranked an average of at least 16th in the three major polls at the end of the season

[grizband]

This year and next the champion of the Big South and Northeast Conferences can get an AQ if they meet certain criteria. In 2010 the playoffs expand to 20 teams and those two conferences get automatic qualification.
So if these conference champions, meet the criteria, it will mean the elimination of two at-large berths to make room in the playoffs in 2008 and 2009?

[grizband]

1). Win the conference
2). Win at least 2 games vs. OOC opponents from autobid conferences
3). Be ranked an average of at least 16th in the three major polls at the end of the season
What three major polls are considered for this criteria?

[UAalum72]

So if these conference champions, meet the criteria, it will mean the elimination of two at-large berths to make room in the playoffs in 2008 and 2009?
IF they finish in the top 16 in the polls, they'd arguably be deserving an at-large anyway - and they'd probably be ahead of one or two autobid winners.

[Syntax Error]

What three major polls are considered for this criteria?Two polls (Sports Network and the Coaches) and the GPI.

[darell1976]

That all sounds complicated. I guess i don't have to worry about this til 2012 maybe they will simpify this. Or if UND goes undefeated and win their conference there is nothing to worry about. Thanks gang for the info.

[JayJ79]

That all sounds complicated. I guess i don't have to worry about this til 2012 maybe they will simpify this. Or if UND goes undefeated and win their conference there is nothing to worry about. Thanks gang for the info.

much less complicated than the BCS BS of the FBS. :p

but yeah, half of the playoff spots are quite straightforward (win your conference if you're in an auto-bid league). But the at-larges can get messy. and there is always at least a few teams who feel they were unfairly left out of the playoffs.

And don't even get me started on how seeds and home games/playoff matchups are determined.....

[JMU DUUUKES]

What you do is you take the best teams, then send James Madison on the road every round even if it breaks the predetermined rules. Haha. JMU goes undefeated this year we'll end up 1st round @ Montana.

[TheValleyRaider]

That all sounds complicated. I guess i don't have to worry about this til 2012 maybe they will simpify this. Or if UND goes undefeated and win their conference there is nothing to worry about. Thanks gang for the info.

In one sense, it's really quite simple

16 spots

8 auto-bids

8 at-larges

To be eligible for an at-large, you must have at least 7 wins against Division I Competition

It gets complicated from there, but not really by too much (I think)

Given you will usually have more than 8 teams competing for those 8 spots that meet the 7 D-I wins requirement. They're selected by a committee, just like the basketball tournament

From there, seeding is based on records, and further home games are rewarded based on bids. The process of setting the field is not so much complicated as it is lengthy. As this season (and the next few) progresses, you'll start to see how it all sorts itself out by the 3rd weekend of November

As an additional note, the conditional autobids for the NEC and Big South are only a 2-year program, so they will be long out of the picture when NoDak becomes part of the playoff picture

To make a comparison you may be familiar with, it differs from Ice Hockey in that the actual bids themselves have a level of subjectiveness to them. Once the teams are set, there are a variety of internal criteria that makes even the Hockey tournament very difficult to predict. This, I think, is very similar

Hope that was helpful xpeacex

[McTailGator]

What three major polls are considered for this criteria?

NONE


ALL POLES ARE WORTHLESS IN THE VIEW OF THE SELECTION COMMITTEE.

They have their own super secret formula they use.


I just wish they would seed all teams 1-16 and send the 16 to the 1, they 15 to the 2, and so on and so on. Like they used to prior to 2001.

Hopefully they will bring back the overall seedings when they screw up the regular season for the expanded playoffs in 2010.

[danefan]

NONE


ALL POLES ARE WORTHLESS IN THE VIEW OF THE SELECTION COMMITTEE.

They have their own super secret formula they use.


I just wish they would seed all teams 1-16 and send the 16 to the 1, they 15 to the 2, and so on and so on. Like they used to prior to 2001.

Hopefully they will bring back the overall seedings when they screw up the regular season for the expanded playoffs in 2010.


I think he was referring to the polls used for the conditional auto-bids for this year and next. Which is the Coaches, TSN and the GPI. Although I've seen a few different wordings on what exactly it means.

Its all BS anyway because if you meet the criteria you'd likely be an at-large selection anyway.

[McTailGator]

I think he was referring to the polls used for the conditional auto-bids for this year and next. Which is the Coaches, TSN and the GPI. Although I've seen a few different wordings on what exactly it means.

Its all BS anyway because if you meet the criteria you'd likely be an at-large selection anyway.


I would have to think the NCAA selection committee will still use their same formula, or a slightly modified one.

I was talking to a member of the committee last year and he said they start tracking potential playoff teams and seeds about mid October, so it would probably work.

I would not want to get the media involved in this. They live in their own world.