Soccer committee recommends changing RPI percentages
AURORA — The soccer committee has recommended a change to the percentages in the RPI formula they use for the postseason, becoming the second sport committee to do so.
After a lengthy discussion that dominated most of the meeting on Wednesday, the committee voted 8-1 to move away from the standard 25/50/25 percentages. Their recommendation is to use 35 percent of a team’s winning percentage, 35 percent of the winning percentage of their opponents, and 30 percent of the winning percentage of their opponents’ opponents.
The recommendation needs to be approved by the Legislative Council at its next meeting in January. If approved, it would go into effect with the 2017-18 school year — meaning the upcoming 2017 girls season this spring would still use 25/50/25.
Baseball has also recommended moving to 35/35/30, but softball and volleyball have opted to stay at 25/50/25, at least through the end of a two-year cycle.
Many times on Wednesday, committee members expressed that they felt a team’s winning percentage was not weighted highly enough under the standard formula, and that the opponents’ winning percentage was weighted too much.
There was also feedback from the coaches association that they wanted to keep the percentages the same through the 2016-18 cycle. However, through continued discussion, the committee ultimately decided to make the recommendation to change to 35/35/30.
They also discussed changing immediately for the girls season in the spring, but opted to not recommend a change in the middle of a school year.
The only other major change made by the committee on Wednesday was a change to the state tournament dates in Class 3A. Starting next fall, the first and second rounds in that class will be spread out. They currently play on a Friday/Saturday schedule with four teams playing at one site.
In the fall of 2017, the boys will play their first round on a Thursday, and the second round that following Tuesday.
For the girls in the spring of 2018, they will play their first round on Wednesday, and the second round the following Saturday.
“That was big, it really was,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Bud Ozzello, who administers soccer. “We had tried to save them on some travel for our smaller schools, especially the ones in rural areas, so all four teams were (at one location). But we’ve had numerous contact to say that it’s pretty tough to play in an afternoon and turn around and come back and play the next day.”
Again, all recommendations need to be approved by the Legislative Council in January.
