[EKUAlum05]

NO! We need a points system. Each team gets points for each win. If the teams you beat, beat somebody, you get bonus points from them also. The tougher your compitetion, the more points you get. Teams get ranked from all their points. At the end of the year, you have 16 teams in each class. #1 plays #16, etc. It makes teams schedule tougher opponents to get a higher ranking. No watered down playoffs. You have to win to get in. No more 1-9 teams making the playoffs. Of course, everybody knows, it just boils down to making more money.

One MAJOR problem...
What if Mayfield is the #1 seed and Paintsville is the #16 seed? That's a nine hour trip for a playoff game that will probably be a blowout.

Even better, imagine Fulton County is the #8 seed, and Pikeville is the #9 seed. The Panthers would the make a nearly 10 hour trip because the computer's subjective formula decided that FUlton County was slightly better.

I am also going to use Phelps as an example to illustrate this flaw as well in another point below. Imagine you are Phelps, a team with little to no history to brag about, and somehow you piece together a solid season and reach the playoffs. You then are paired with a team that requires an 8 hour trip, you have to pay a ton of money in gas and travel expense, and your best case scenario is to get the split from the gates of a game that has a very tiny attendance. Where is the benefit here to reward teams who have historically struggled and suddenly try to tur their program around? It could eb argued that the financial impact of that agme would hurt Phelp's program more than help it.

Ohio uses a computer system to seed teams, but they break the pairings down regionally. FWIW, Ohio people are not completely sold on their system. To put it in perspective, we all know how horrible the Litkenhous ratings are, in essence you are depending ona system that would seed teams without ever seeing them play a snap of football.

Let's use Phelps again. After busting thier butts off and earning a 7-3 record they miss the playoffs because the computer views their 6 team district as one of the weakest in the state and penalizes them for games they are required to play (BTW, whether or not to do away with districts is a whole new arguement we will get into later). Suddenly, a program who has absolutely busted their tails to try to earna first round playoff game is denied because Team B, let's say a 5-5 Louisville Holy Cross, plays ina 4-team district and was able to schedule some big time opponents who wiped the floor with them.