Why doesn't the NCHSAA just send the conference champions to the playoffs? It really makes no sense to me that if Rocky Mount beats Hunt for first place in the conference, they have to play again two weeks later in the first or second round of the playoffs. Tony hit it on the head - yuck. This system reduces the conference championship to just a #1 seed of a conference tournament between the first two or three teams.
I suppose these games will probably make money for each school. Playoff games (at least at Rocky Mount High) will make you some money. But if the point of the playoff system is to find the best team in the state, then just let each of the conference champions play one another. If that reduces the number of games, then add that week back you took away earlier in the year & push back the conference games by a week. What point is there to winning conference if you have to beat the same team again in the first round?
Attempting to put together a playoff system that saves money is OK, I suppose. Travel expenses are high. Did the NCHSAA do any studies on how many times a #16, #15 or #14 seed traveled and beat the #1, #2 or #3 seeds? I would think if they would have done their homework, they would have eliminated the first round games, as many of those teams had no chance to begin with. Instead of spending that money on traveling to a school who will beat you anyway, they could keep the money and stay home.
I would think that if the NCHSAA would have done their homework, they would not have eliminated one game on the regular season schedule, but eliminated that game from the playoff schedule. I wonder if they considered eliminating a hand full of teams, for example 12 teams in, instead of 16, and giving the top seeded teams a bye for the first week?
The Price of Athletics is going up. It just doesn't seem that the decisions being made to keep the price down are in the best interest of everyone involved.
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