1. TAIAO Football Playoff

2. Location of teams schools
19 teams spread out over the state

3. The Goal for TAIAO football playoff system
Two divisional playoffs (D1 andD2)
Have at least EIGHT teams in each division for playoffs.
Create a fair and positive atmosphere
Have something that is consistent and clearly spelled

4. Current TAIAO currently uses
Hard numbers of current roster count as of September 15th for division placement in D1 and D2 for post season
Division 2 Six Man – A Roster Count of 6 – 15 football players
Division 1 Six Man – A Roster Count of  16 – 30 football players
Rolling 3 year average of roster for division placement (section 402)
Significant changes in roster can affect placement (section 444 )

5. 2016 playoffs (based on roster)

6. 2016 Playoff 4 teams in D1 playoff 8 teams in D2 (good)
resulting a two week bye
8 teams in D2 (good)
4 teams in D1 and 15 D2
This affected the All-Star selection process of players from both divisions.

7. 2016 playoffs if using rolling average (hypothetical)

8. Use the hard numbers based of rosters Use the rolling 3 year average
Playoff Options
Use the hard numbers based of rosters
Use the rolling 3 year average
Both 1 and 2 can work but TAIAO will always have the possibility of not having enough teams to field an eight team playoff structure for each division.
3. Come up with a new plan

9. 2017 Proposal
Divide TAIOA teams in to two zones (regardless of size of roster).  North / South or East / West. (what ever makes logical sense)
Example: Divide the league into North and South Zones with NYOS the dividing line. NYOS will be placed in the south zone.
Top eight teams from each zone will advance to playoffs (based off MaxPreps ranking).
From the 8 teams in each zone
The four teams with the largest roster will automatically be placed in the Division I bracket.
The remaining four teams with the smallest roster will be placed in the Division II bracket.
If there is a tie we will revert to three year rolling average
If still tied we will flip a coin to determine placement

10. With 8 teams in each zone 2017 Proposal Cont’
The four teams with the largest roster as of September 15 will automatically be placed in the Division I bracket.
The remaining four teams that are eligible for the playoffs with the smaller rosters will be placed in the Division II bracket.
If there is a tie we will revert to three year rolling average
If still tied we will flip a coin to determine placement

11. Playoff Seeding OPTION 1 (Cross Zones Round 1)
Playoff paring will be as followed (pairing is based off MaxPreps ranking)
For Division 1 and Division 2
#1 from the north zone would play #4 from the south zone.  
#2 from the north zone would play #3 from the south zone.
#3 from the north zone would play #2 from the south zone.  
#4 from the north zone would play #1 from the south zone.

12. Playoff Seeding OPTION 2 (Same Zones Round 1)
Playoff paring will be as followed (pairing is based off MaxPreps ranking)
For Division 1 and Division 2
The first round of playoff paring will be within the zones.
The second round of playoffs will cross zones.

13. 2016 playoffs if using zones (hypothetical)

14. Pro’s
When a new organization joins they will know immediately what zone they belong in.
We will always have 8 teams for each divisional playoff
Creates a district like structure for playoffs.
Creates a sense of competition between zones
As of ___________ date each team will know what division they will participate in for playoffs
Possibility of creating a structure that teams within each zone are mandated to play each other (like districts). Since roster size will determine placement into D1 or D2, a small team playing a larger team will have little bearing on playoff structure.
All-state selections and All-Star selections would come from the playoff scenario