[JRutledge]

There is no perfect system. Not matter what the procedure is, someone will find a flaw or a problem with it. A representative from Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio all came to our state for our Officials Conference and explained their rating systems in detail. All of them had flaws and problems associated with them in my eyes. Some had one person deciding who received what games and what level. Some had certain people from a specific region decide. Some used local associations as there information gathering to decide who gets assignments. Some used coachesÂ’ ratings or state evaluators. All systems could pose problems to different people. No matter what you do, you will not make everyone happy.

Our system is a 30 point system based on official/coaches ratings, officialÂ’s rankings, Top 15 list percentiles, camp attendance and even test scores. We have plenty of people that do not like our current system, especially the old timers. Before this current system the coaches had to recommend you in "regional seeding meetings" to determine who is eligible for the playoffs. If no coaches mentioned an official in one of these meetings, the state could not consider you for playoffs. Many older officials hated the change because it required more accountability instead of some coach they were buddies with just mentioning their name in the seeding meeting.

Peace