Sunday, August 1, 2021

NCHSAA Releases Playoff Bracketing Procedures for 2021 Season



An RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) formula will be used for all team bracketed playoffs. The formula will be as follows for all sports:

RPI = (0.3 x WP) + (0.4 x OWP) + (0.3 x OOWP)

• Winning Percentage (WP): Divide the number of wins by the number of total games played. A tie is worth half a win. If a win in an individual contest gives that contest a winning percentage of 1.00, a tie will give that individual contest a winning percentage of .500 for both teams.

• Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OWP): Average the winning percentages of a team’s opponents. (Note: This is not calculated via the opponents' combined record, instead of by averaging each winning percentage of the opponents.) All games involving the team whose RPI is being calculated are ignored in this process.

• Opponents’ Opponents Winning Percentage (OOWP): The same process as described above, except calculated for the opponents of a team’s opponents. (Note: There is an exception for out-of-state teams, which is addressed below.)

Out-of-State Opponents

Out-of-state opponents from the following states will be counted the same as in-state opponents provided they have a verified MaxPreps account and schedule:

• Georgia

• South Carolina

• Tennessee

• Virginia

All other out-of-state opponents will be handled in the following manner:

• Their direct winning percentage (for example, .750) will count toward the formula, but each of their opponents will have a .500 winning percentage assigned.

• The .500 figure was selected because it is the average value of opponents’ opponents winning percentages across all sports in data gathered from the states using RPI, such as Colorado, Utah, and Washington.

• Note: It is the NCHSAA member school's responsibility to ensure that the data from their out-of-state opponent is correctly listed on MaxPreps.

International Opponents

International opponents will not count toward the RPI calculation.

Non-Varsity Competition

Contests against the non-varsity competition will not count toward the RPI calculation.

In-State (Non-NCHSAA) Competition

Contests against in-state, non-NCHSAA schools will be handled in the following manner:

• Their direct winning percentage (for example, .750) will count toward the formula, but each of their opponents will have a .500 winning percentage assigned.

• The .500 figure was selected because it is the average value of opponents’ opponents winning percentages across all sports in data gathered from the states using RPI, such as Colorado, Utah, and Washington.

• Note: It is the responsibility of the NCHSAA member school to ensure that the data from their opponent is correctly listed on MaxPreps.