MSHSL SECTION SEEDING PROCEDURE

The methods for seeding competition at the section level for advancement to state tournaments will be seeded one of three ways:

1. point system

2. face-to-face meetings of the coaches

3. an electronic process via computer, fax or telephone

Every administrative region oversees multiple sections of each activity, and the choice of seeding method may vary from section to section and sport to sport.

1. The Point System:

Minnesota-Scores.net, in collaboration with the MSHSL, designed the Quality Results Formula or QRF to be calculated utilizing three parameters:

Win or Lose the game Opponent’s Class Opponent’s Wins

• • • Ties will first be broken by head-to-head competition. The next option is to use section winning percentage, and then overall winning percentage. If all of those options don’t break a tie, a coin-flip will be used.

    • The first QRFs of the fall season will be released on or about Mid-September and will be subsequently calculated weekly for football and daily for all other sports.

2. Face-to-Face:

With the face-to-face method, coaches meet at one location, share information and then vote on placement.

The League has highly recommended (but not required) that each coach’s high and low rankings be discarded; that ties first be broken by head-to-head competition; and if necessary to break a tie, throw out the rankings given each other by the tied teams. As a last resort, it is recommended that a coin-flip be used to break a tie.

3. The Electronic Process:

With the electronic method, coaches share information about their teams via conference call, e-mail or fax. The ranking is then done online, with each coach ranking every team except his/her own. The highest and lowest ranking given to each team is discarded, and the lowest total ranking becomes the high seed, and so on. The tie-breaking procedures mentioned above as recommendations are mandatory for the electronic seeding process.

Note: The section consistency policy also includes a mandatory process of handling forfeits that occur both before and after the seeding process. Specific action is dependent on the exact circumstances of the forfeit.

MSHSL State Seeding Procedures

This process is very straight forward. Teams are seeded 1 through 5, with a blind draw determining the opponents for seeds 1, 2 and 3, and seeds 4 and 5 playing each other.