MileHigh Prep Report

How to Qualify for the State Tournament or Regionals (Football, Volleyball, and Softball)

We take a look at how to qualify for the State Tournament (Football) or Regionals (Volleyball & Softball). 

Football

The seeding committee will meet at the CHSAA office or online on the Sunday following the final week of the regular season.  Following the end of the regular season, the procedures listed below will be utilized to capture the playoff bracket and serve as the criteria used for seeding the bracket.              

The top 16 teams in 6Man-1A and top 24 in 2A-5A in the classification based on the CHSAA Rankings powered by MaxPreps will qualify for the post-season bracket.  Each league champion will automatically be placed in the playoff bracket (please see mixed class provisions).  League champions are determined by the conference Bylaws or policies.   If a conference champion is not ranked in the top 16 (24) based on the final CHSAA Rankings powered by MaxPreps, they will replace the lowest ranked team that is not a conference champion in the top 16 (24). 

Post-Season Qualifying provisions:

• If a league consists of multiple classifications, an AQ will be awarded to teams from the classification that has at least 2/3 or more teams within the league.

                4 out of 6 teams     5 out of 7 teams     6 out of 8 teams

• With the exception of:

                Any team in a mixed-classification league that competes against teams from a higher classification is eligible for an AQif it wins the league outright.

• 11-man Independent schools are not eligible for playoffs

Seeding Criteria (once qualifiers are determined)

The CHSAA Rankings powered by MaxPreps will be utilized to place teams on the 16(24)-team bracket.  Once in the bracket, teams can be moved one spot at maximum based upon a head-to-head regular season game, if they are consecutive seeds on the bracket. 

·         If the scenario exists where three or more consecutive seeded teams have all played one another, they will remain as originally placed on the bracket. 

·         A conference champion not ranked in the top 16(24) of the final rankings will be placed in the bracket.

·         When possible, conference opponents will not be paired against one another in the first round and geography will be a consideration in the first round.  These adjustments can be made for seeds #9-16/24.

Volleyball

With two/three teams in each regional, only one court is necessary. Those schools hosting regionals should have adequate seating capacity.  Standards without cables attached to the floor should be used for safety reasons. 

• All league champions (as long as there is a minimum of 5 teams in the league) will automatically earn a berth to regionals. 
• The remaining teams (up to 24: 1A and up to 36: 2A-5A) will be selected straight from the MaxPreps rankings powered by CHSAA published at the end of the regular season.  
• Teams will then be seeded based on MaxPreps rankings powered by CHSAA. 
• Once on the bracket, teams can be moved one spot at a maximum based upon trying to alleviate league opponent matchups only between the top 2 seeds in the region. Host teams will not be moved. 

Teams seeded No. 1 through 12 will host regionals.  All regional winners will automatically advance to the state championships.

Notes
Teams in mixed classification leagues must win their league outright in order to earn an automatic berth to regionals.  Teams who are independent will qualify solely based upon MaxPreps rankings powered by CHSAA. 

Softball

For 3A, a minimum of 17 games must be played for postseason eligibility. Thirty-two (32) teams advance to the regional bracket through league play and CHSAA Rankings powered by MaxPreps. All league champions are automatic qualifiers. In order to qualify as a league, the league must have a minimum of five teams. 

Schools in a multiple-class league may earn an automatic qualifier for their classification only if they win the league outright. This will mean that if a 3A or 5A school wins the multi-class league title, any 4A school in that league can only qualify for the 4A regionals through CHSAA Rankings powered by MaxPreps. The top 32 teams in the classification based on the final CHSAA Rankings powered by MaxPreps will qualify for the post-season bracket. Each conference champion will automatically be placed on the playoff bracket. Conference champions are determined by the conference Bylaws or policies. If a conference champion is not ranked in the top 32 based on the final CHSAA Rankings powered by MaxPreps, they will replace the lowest-ranked team that is not a conference champion in the top 32. 

Round of 32 Seeding: The regionals will be seeded by a committee of administrators appointed by the CHSAA assistant commissioner responsible for softball and will utilize the following process: 

All qualifying teams will be ranked using CHSAA Rankings powered by MaxPreps, with each holding equal value. Head-to-head will be included as a seeding protocol once the top 32 qualified teams are determined. Clear evidence would allow teams to be moved one spot at maximum based upon a head-to-head regular season game if they are consecutive seeds on the bracket.  If the scenario exists where three or more consecutive seeded teams have all played one another, they will remain as originally placed on the bracket.

The eight teams that rank highest by seeding criteria will host the round of 32 tournaments. The remaining teams will be placed on the bracket, using the same system as above, avoiding first round league match-up. The committee may elect to move the bottom eight teams for geographical purposes. 

3A State Qualification: The round of 32 teams shall play a single elimination regional tournament to determine the state  tournament qualifiers.