Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Only district champs to make playoffs automatically

Will Webber

When the New Mexico Activities Association's board of directors met last month, it passed an important change to the method used for selecting teams for state tournament play in team sports.

The change is to the criteria used for determining postseason bids in all sports for classes 3A, 4A and 5A. Beginning this fall, the only automatic state tourney bids, with a few exceptions, will go to district champions rather than the top two teams.

The wrinkle comes in sports in which district tournaments are held. Should the regular-season champion and tournament champion not be the same team, both move on. If the regular season champ wins both titles, the district receives only one bid.

"What it does is leave more room for the at-large teams," NMAA associate director Mario Martinez said. "In 5A, you'll have seven at-large spots for a sport like football or soccer, where there were only two last year."

The measure heads off a possible firestorm in 4A, where Belen and Valencia will compete in 2008-09. Because the class will expand to six districts, the move guarantees a maximum of 10 at-large bids in basketball and baseball, and six in other sports.

What's more, the measure adds suspense to the seeding process. With more at-large bids to go around, the drama surrounding the closed-door meetings for state tournament brackets will be magnified.

"As long as they keep the number of teams getting in (to the playoffs) the same, I don't see a problem with it," said Eldorado baseball coach Jim Johns.

Also at the meeting, the board voted on a sport-specific action item defining the rules of coin flips for tiebreakers.

Now inscribed into the association's fine print are points of procedure that identify the coin's supplier (the NMAA), the flipper (the executive director or the given sport's event coordinator) and the party responsible for making the call of heads or tails (the higher seed, when possible).

"When I made this point two years ago it almost seemed funny," said Martinez. "At least now there's a procedure that we can follow, one that no one can argue."

Another proposal that met with the board's approval allows the NMAA to begin fining schools for not posting rosters, schedules, team photos and results on the association's Web site. Those materials are generally used in the seeding process. When they're not updated, the brackets can be adversely affected, Martinez said. Fines of $250 or more could be levied for each offense.

Other motions passed: