Playoff Assignments

[William C]

Just curious how other states / associations handle playoff assignments.
--Do you have a ranking system and the top officials get one every week?
--Do you only get one game?
-- Do you stay with the same crews all year and playoffs ?
-- If you get the state championship one year - are you eligible the next year -- or the next?

Just curious on how other areas work the officials.
Our booking assoc. is rather large - and up until last year - the Class 1 and 2 officials could possibly get one game. Last year they expanded the playoffs and a number of off. were fortunate to get 2 games -- out of a possible 5.
Once we have had a championship game - that's pretty much it for a lifetime -- unless you somehow stay in it long enough and the 'rotation' comes back around to you.
We just have so many qualified officials - that honor gets spread around.

Thanks for the input.

[BoBo]

Well as with most states it seems to always be a big secret for the formula but here is what my experience has taught me.

1. All officials are elgible to work a playoff as long as they attend a rules meeting yearly and return a sportsmanship form at the end of the season. As officials we rate each teams players, coaches and fans each week at the varsity level only.

These above mentioned items are required by the assoc.

2. Now the coaches then give an end of the year recommendation card back to the assoc. They are asked to rate 2 crews who they would reccommend for playoffs. (These may be crews they have had that year or crews they know that are deserving) The political part!?!?

3. So according to the assoc. the crews with the top votes/recs will then work the playoffs.

4. For the number of games (16 teams qualify per class with 5 classes) that part still puzzles me.

5. Some crews may work 1, 2, 3 or 4 just varies I guess.

6. But basically whatever crew you work with throughout the year they will keep you together.

I know there is not really a rotation system set in place so you may work Championship games year in and year out.

These are my educated guesses, I hope they enlighten you how we do it in Iowa.

[bigwhistle]

In Texas the coaches have the ability to select the crews that work their playoff games. They can also use the option of allowing a particular chapter to send officials to the game if they don't know any of the crews. A third option is to turn the game over to the governing body for the state's athletics and allow them to select a chapter to cover the game.

There is no maximum number of games a crew may work. We have one crew in Houston that has already been selected to work 3 games the first weekend (Thur., Fri., Sat.).

Some areas of the state work as crews, while others have crews put together on a game by game basis.

[Warrenkicker]

In Kansas we use a system based on meeting requirements and receiving recommendations. First the official must attend a series of three meetings and acheive a score of 90 or better on the NF test. Then the coaches give recommendations for the officials who they see work. Based on the quantity of recommendations and proximity of the game officials get post-season assignments. The first rounds are based on crews. After that first week then each official is assigned based on his own recommendations and location. Some crews still work together on higher level games but it isn't required. Normally the maximum ammount of games a playoff official will work is 3. There are 4 rounds of games in Kansas and a very few do get 4 games. On average it is between 1 and 2 games per official.

[BktBallRef]

Bill, it was an ugly game. Sounds like yours was a little better. Good sportsmanship from A-town though!

[Edited by BktBallRef on Nov 7th, 2003 at 11:22 PM]

[Simbio]

In Utah, at the end of each season an official is given a ranking based upon his game evalutations (done by other officials), written test scores, and meeting attendance. The week prior to the playoffs, the state board meets and decides who the top officials have been for that year and assign the better officials to the better games. Only the higher ranked officials are allowed to do the 2nd round on up to the state championships. We have 5 divisions for the high schools and we work 5 man crews.

[cowbyfan1]

Not fully sure how it is done but generally the crew has to work at least 8 weeks, all have to be certified with the state (usually 5 years exp), all have to pass both test. The director of officials assigns the games.
Some crew will only work 1 or 2 weeks but supposedly 1 did work 3 weeks last year. Doing a Championship does not keep you from working another as I know some that have done a few Championships.

[sm_bbcoach]

The Indiana way is very messed up. Between week 4 & 5, coaches are sent out a rating sheet wiht all crews who registered to work the tourney. They are due back before week 6 games. They are rated based 0-6 (suspose to be how well they deserve to officiate in the tourney.) A score of 1 is more damaging than a score of 0. The 0 score is not averaged in. So coaches who think they are doing you a favor are not. Then scores are averaged and "ranked". Placement is made by crew to the games, and rounds based upon these rankings. The state contends there is a list of items used (such as strength of schedule????, ect..) It is all cover. 3 crews who ranked BELOW us last year worked into the third round while we were out after 1. Sour grapes, maybe. 1 crew was a good .5 point behind us and over 10 down the list.

There needs to be some changes to this, but IN is not wanting to change.

[Mike Simonds]

Here in Hawaii, we take the Part II NFHS football exam at the beginning of the season. For officials with 10 or more seasons of experience they have to score at least an 80. Officials with less than 10 years have to score 90 or higher. Then the state will send evaluators out to look at the officials. They use a rating system (I'm not sure about the exact criteria but I believe its a combination of mechanics, rules knowledge and application, appearance, communication, etc.) that comes out with a score between 0 (totally unacceptable) and 5 (excellent) (at increments of .25).

What I really enjoyed was the fact that this is the first time in 10 years that I was evaluated with a set of formal criteria; a "bench-mark" upon which further improvement can be gauged. And the evaluators give the good along with the bad, so its not all negative. Plus, their criteria is based on measurable things, so we are not left in the dark regarding how to improve, etc.

Hawaii is forming a state-wide official's association and their goal is to help every official improve their test score and field-evaluation rating. I was one of two officials who got selected from our association to do a game in Aloha Stadium on the new field turf there.

I began to realize that getting a play-off game would be nice, but its not my ultimate goal now (they told me this year I qualified and may be getting a call by next week; the tournament starts November 21 because we have warm weather over here).

My main goal is to take each season, one game at a time, keep learning and improving in all areas, and give the players, coaches, fans and my fellow officials the best game I have with a smile on my face. And its great for morale to spread the wealth: i.e., give each official an opportunity to experience a game in the big stadium, to help each other improve, and elevate our crews to a higher standard of excellence.

A play-off and/or championship assignment is simply a validation that each selected official has made a commitment to excellence to everyone associated with our great sport.

So don't get too wrapped-up in these play-off selections; remember to enjoy each game as a precious and unique experience. Over time, if the proper system is in place, and we keep our priorities in order, I'm sure every official will have an opportunity to get one of these assignments.

[William C]

The problem I see with coaches getting involved is -- you want a good rating from them - so you may not call the game exactly how it needs to be called. Unfortunately an official may say -'if I let this holding go -- maybe Coach______ will remember me and give me a favorable rating'. Maybe that doesn't happen - but I can't see how a coach needs to be in the decision making process at all.
Plus - if an official gets playoff games - he'll know that some coaches had a positive impact on him getting those games - and the next year - he may want to 'help them out' for their generosity. I would hope not but..........
Too many things can enter into it with coaches having a say in it - and I can't think of too many positives that can come from it.

[Simbio]

I agree with William C. I think evaluations and decisions who should officate post season should only be done by board members or other officials. I see the same problems as William C on this one.

[mabref1]

Schools are suppose to rate officials for every game. Only varsity ratings are factured in for playoffs. Officials are rated from 1-5 with one being best. If they are given a five the school must give a written explanation and send a copy to the official. So you don't see many fives given out because the schools are afraid of reprisal. An official cannot find out how a school rated them, unless it is a five. The MHSAA has assignment committees that factor in the officials ratings, schedule, location and letters of recommendation. Schools, conferences, officials associations can recommend officials/crews. Regular season crews are used for the first three rounds and crew are put together by the assignment committees for the semi-finals and finals.

[William C]

The only inout our schools have on his - all year -- is a 'mark-off' list - where they can mark off up to 10 officials. Not sure if many do anything.
I like the idea of a 'playoff committee'. That would be a fair way to do it - instead of leaving it up to one man.