Playoff Ranking Procedures
The number of teams to make it to playoffs is determined by the number of teams registered for that sport.
Teams are seeded by their win-loss record. However, if there are two teams tied, a tie-breaker may be needed. Every league could be slightly different because of the number of teams and the number of games. If there are exceptions to these tie-breaking procedures, we will indicate that on the bottom of this webpage. All teams must maintain a 3.0 sportsmanship grade to qualify for the post-season. So here we go:
1. Overall record* : Subtract the number of losses from the number of wins.
2. Forfeits: Any team that has not forfeited any games will rank higher than a team that has forfeited a game.
3. Head-to-head: Look at all contests played between the teams. If one team has a better record in these games or matches, they get the higher seed. (For three-way ties or more, see below)
4. Sportsmanship Rating**: If teams are still tied, the team with the higher sportsmanship rating will be the higher seed.
5. Goal/Point Differential: If teams are still tied, subtract the total points allowed by the total points won.
6. Goals/Points Against: If teams are still tied, look at total goals/points against.
7a. Coin toss: In the unlikely event that two teams are still tied after all this, there will be a coin toss to determine seeding. This will only determine seeding within teams already making it to the playoffs (see 7b).
7b. Play-in game: A coin toss will not decide whether or not a team makes the playoffs, nor will point differential. In the case that two teams are tied through the first 4 tiebreakers, there will be a game played between the teams involved.
Three, four-way ties, etc: In the case that there are more than two teams tied after the win-loss record, use this procedure until a higher seed is determined, and then start over without that team in the mix to determine the seed for the rest of the teams involved. If a winning team cannot be determined through a certain tie-breaker in a multiple-team tie, we will look for a losing team and we'll eliminate that team and rerun the other teams through the criteria to find a higher seed. Once any higher seed is determined, we will start over with all other teams back in the equation until the final playoff spot has been determined. In the case of a multiple team tie, we can only use the head-to-head tiebreaker if any team has either swept or been swept by all the others.
* - Usually, overall record will be enough to determine a winner in this category, but in the case that one team plays more or less games than another, we determine our winner based on the win percentage rather than just the W-L (ex: if we're trying to determine an overall seeding between two teams in different leagues, one with 6 games and one with 5 games). In that case, we will subtract the number of losses from the number of wins and divide that by # of games played.
** - Sports without a sportsmanship rating will skip step #4.
The Intramural Staff has the right to add additional teams to the playoff bracket in extreme circumstances.