The stupidest thing your state high school association allows to happen

I'm being serious - can you explain this one? It doesn't even make sense.

 

I'm guessing round-robin first round, double-elimination second round, then single elimination the rest of the way.

 

Simple. Quadruple elimination.

 

Was the poster from Kentucky?

They take the champion and runner-up from each level of the tournament, because there are so few schools. Unlike my short-sighted state, theirs is still single-class, though, which creates more drama than any other state tournament in the country (and Kentucky has a statewide small-school tourney during the year, too).

 

In Virginia, you can lose twice in the playoffs and win the state championship.

Three levels: Top two from the district go to the regional, so the runner-up advances. (Or the regular-season champion district champ gets an automatic regional berth, so if that team loses in anywhere in the district tournament, it still advances)

Regional: Top two from the region go to the state tournament, so the runner-up advances.

In our area, a team that runs the table has to win 10 post-season games to win state, but could go as little as 6-2, losing in the district quarterfinals and in the regional final.

 

All of Kentucky's schools (250+ I believe) are in one class divided into 16 regions. Each region has four districts, most of which have from 4-6 teams.

District tournament is single-elimination, but the district champ and the district runner-up advance to the eight-team, single-elimination region tournament.

Each region champ advances to State, which is held at Kentucky's Rupp Arena for boys (four-day tournament) or WKU's Diddle Arena (four-day tournament as well).

While you can lose in the postseason -- district final only -- you still have to win seven straight to become champion (only takes five in football to be 1-of-6 class champions, but takes seven in baseball (only one state champ) and six in soccer (only one state champ).

In softball, you can lose twice (district final, state tournament winner's bracket) in the postseason and still be the state champ. However, apparently Louisville has offered up its softball field for a four-day state tournament similar to basketball, volleyball, baseball, etc. Meaning it would become one-and-done once region starts instead of the 31-game double-elimination state tournament played at a public park with four fields like we have now.

In wrestling, you can lose four times in the postseason (early in region tournament, early in 32-man state tournament, state loser's bracket semifinals or final, then lose fifth or seventh-place match) and still place (top-eight podium) in one of the 14 weight classes at state.

 

Indiana's wrestling tournament is really screwed up.

Sectional: 10-14 teams, full wrestlebacks, top 4 in each weight class advance (plus the champion team advances to a dual-meet single-elimination team tournament).
Regional: 8 wrestlers (combines 2 sectionals). Single-elimination, but the top 3 advance. So, if you lose in the first round, you're done. If you win in the first round, you have two shots to win once and you move on.
Semistate: 12 wrestlers (combines 4 regionals), full single-elimination, top 4 advance. *No* wrestleback. If you lose in the first two rounds, you're done. If you win in the first two rounds (anyone who was a regional champion gets a bye and only has to win once), you go to state. The last two rounds are just for placement. The draw means everything, because a third-place wrestler from a strong regional can draw into the bracket of a regional champ from a weak one. With no wrestleback, that second-round match is it.

So, theoretically, you can lose five times -- twice at sectional, once at regional and twice at semistate -- and be a state champ. At the regional and semistate levels, *when* you lose is important to advancing, because there is no wrestleback as usually happens in a traditional meet.

The wrestling coaches in the state have whined, cried and moaned about it forever, but the IHSAA's only response was to restructure the *sectional* level with a wrestleback, and leave the rest of the tourney the same.

 

EDIT: I see my pal, CK, beat me to it.

 

South Carolina does some dumb things with their playoffs. Being a statisician for a HS team for two years, I've seen a lot happen. Letting 32 of 48 teams in the playoffs have let losing teams in for many years.

My HS was 3-8 in 2009, but made the playoffs. They got to go over 200 miles away to play a team and won by one in OT in a huge upset. Their reward? Getting to face the biggest prospect in the nation for the 2011 class. Got beat by over 40.

Being in the Lowcountry the playoffs are annoying. Volleyball and tennis teams have to go 200 or more miles roundtrip to play for an hour.

For example, our region in most sports is paired to play with schools in Sumter, Myrtle Beach, Florence, and until last year, Hartsville. Hartsville is a 300 mile round trip. My school had to play there twice in baseball in 5 days last year.

Certain levels have different playoffs. For example, there's only 7 teams in the 2A boys tennis Lower State, while it's the same setup as basketball for 4A boys and girls tennis.

My high school this year won something like 18 games, and did not even make the playoffs because they finished 4-4 and 4th in their region, with 3 of the 4 losses by less than 5 points. The problem was that they basically knew they wouldn't make it with two games left in the region schedule.

This was because some of the regions have 7 and 8 teams, and they let 5 teams go into the playoffs. One school made it with an 8-14 record because they finished 5th in a 8 team region.

 

Sorry to update this thread, but this year I'm sure you've got some tales about your area high schools. They changed the playoff system in our 2A regions so that every team in the state in that classification makes the playoffs, all 48 teams, split into two divisions. SC has more teams making the playoffs than any other state except Wyoming.

The contract for Williams-Brice also ran out, so they split the championships. Now 4A and 3A will be held at Clemson, on the other side of the state from the Lowcountry. All of the other games will be held at Benedict College.

As an example of the larger playoffs, in one of the 2A brackets, you have a 5-5 team that lost two region games 49-0 and 40-7 and lost a 3rd hosting a playoff game against a 2-8 team. 1A has a smaller playoffs with only 16 in each side, but still 32 teams out of that class make the playoffs. 3A has the top 4 teams in each region make the playoffs, while 4A has a points system which is hard to figure out.

Any stupid things for you guys?

 

How many teams total make the playoffs in SC?

 

Kentucky, which is divided into six classes, allows 192 teams (out of 228) into the football playoffs.