The Florida High School Athletic Association revamped the football postseason.
During Monday’s meeting in Gainesville, the association’s board of directors voted to do away with the current playoff system and approve a new one hatched by Frank Beasley, the FHSAA’s director of athletics.
The measure passed by a vote of 14-2 and goes into effect in 2017.
The new rule does away with districts in Class 1A through 4A, allowing those teams to create their own schedules. Instead, 16 teams — four from each region — in each classification will make the postseason based on points.
Districts will remain in Classes 5A through 8A. Each of those classifications will feature a field of 32 playoff teams. Champions of each district will be awarded a playoff berth and will be seeded Nos. 1 through 4 in each region based on points. Four wild card teams, based on points, will qualify out of each region and will be seeded Nos. 5 through 8. The higher seed will host each round.
“We’re excited about where we’re going,” Beasley told reporters during Monday’s press conference that was broadcast on the FHSAA Facebook page. “We have the best high school football in the nation and this is only going to enhance that.”
Under the current format, the champion and runner-up from each district qualify for the playoffs across all eight classifications.
In the new format, teams will be awarded points based on strength of a team's schedule. A victory over a Category 1 team (eight wins or better) is worth 50 points; Category 2 teams (six wins or better) are worth 45 points; Category 3 teams (four wins or better) are worth 40 points; and Category 4 teams (between zero and three wins) are worth 35 points.
Losing against stronger teams helps, too: A loss to a Category 1 team is worth 35 points; a Category 2 team 30 points, a Category 3 team 25 points and a Category 4 team 20 points.
“By going to a seeding system, it’s going to reward teams who play a strong schedule,” Beasley said. “There’s going a l
ot of positives, there’s going to be some negatives along the road. We know that and we’re fully aware of that. And we’re going to continue to work and tweak as we move forward.”
Teams must play a minimum of eight games in order to be eligible for the postseason.
The FHSAA will release its updated districts and regions in December and schools will have until January to file an appeal. Teams must have their schedules submitted into C2CSchools.com by May 1. Only games scheduled prior to the season will count toward a team’s point total, and schedules will be declared final on the Monday of the first week of the regular season.
“Is any system perfect? No,” Beasley said. “But we feel we’ve created a better system than what we have now.”
In other news, the FHSAA announced the new pitch-count restrictions for the upcoming season. Pitchers ages 7 and 8 will be limited to 50 pitches; 9 and 10 will be limited to 75 pitches; 11 and 12 will be limited to 85 pitches; ages 13 through 16 will be limited to 95 pitches; ages 17 and 18 will be limited to 105 pitches; and ages 19 through 22 will be limited to 120 pitches. Pitchers will not be allowed to face a new batter once he or she has reached his allotment of pitches, and any pitcher who throws more than maximum number of pitches will not be allowed to pitch for seven days. Pitchers who exceed the maximum pitch count will be permitted to play other positions, however.
During Monday’s meeting in Gainesville, the association’s board of directors voted to do away with the current playoff system and approve a new one hatched by Frank Beasley, the FHSAA’s director of athletics.
The measure passed by a vote of 14-2 and goes into effect in 2017.
The new rule does away with districts in Class 1A through 4A, allowing those teams to create their own schedules. Instead, 16 teams — four from each region — in each classification will make the postseason based on points.
Districts will remain in Classes 5A through 8A. Each of those classifications will feature a field of 32 playoff teams. Champions of each district will be awarded a playoff berth and will be seeded Nos. 1 through 4 in each region based on points. Four wild card teams, based on points, will qualify out of each region and will be seeded Nos. 5 through 8. The higher seed will host each round.
“We’re excited about where we’re going,” Beasley told reporters during Monday’s press conference that was broadcast on the FHSAA Facebook page. “We have the best high school football in the nation and this is only going to enhance that.”
Under the current format, the champion and runner-up from each district qualify for the playoffs across all eight classifications.
In the new format, teams will be awarded points based on strength of a team's schedule. A victory over a Category 1 team (eight wins or better) is worth 50 points; Category 2 teams (six wins or better) are worth 45 points; Category 3 teams (four wins or better) are worth 40 points; and Category 4 teams (between zero and three wins) are worth 35 points.
Losing against stronger teams helps, too: A loss to a Category 1 team is worth 35 points; a Category 2 team 30 points, a Category 3 team 25 points and a Category 4 team 20 points.
“By going to a seeding system, it’s going to reward teams who play a strong schedule,” Beasley said. “There’s going a l
ot of positives, there’s going to be some negatives along the road. We know that and we’re fully aware of that. And we’re going to continue to work and tweak as we move forward.”
Teams must play a minimum of eight games in order to be eligible for the postseason.
The FHSAA will release its updated districts and regions in December and schools will have until January to file an appeal. Teams must have their schedules submitted into C2CSchools.com by May 1. Only games scheduled prior to the season will count toward a team’s point total, and schedules will be declared final on the Monday of the first week of the regular season.
“Is any system perfect? No,” Beasley said. “But we feel we’ve created a better system than what we have now.”
In other news, the FHSAA announced the new pitch-count restrictions for the upcoming season. Pitchers ages 7 and 8 will be limited to 50 pitches; 9 and 10 will be limited to 75 pitches; 11 and 12 will be limited to 85 pitches; ages 13 through 16 will be limited to 95 pitches; ages 17 and 18 will be limited to 105 pitches; and ages 19 through 22 will be limited to 120 pitches. Pitchers will not be allowed to face a new batter once he or she has reached his allotment of pitches, and any pitcher who throws more than maximum number of pitches will not be allowed to pitch for seven days. Pitchers who exceed the maximum pitch count will be permitted to play other positions, however.
