Insight to the Selection Process of the NCAA I-AA Playoff Field
Nov. 18, 2005
PLANO, Texas -
Following Saturday's final regular-season contests, the NCAA I-AA Football Committee will gather in Indianapolis, Ind., to establish the 2005 playoff field. Eight automatic berths are awarded to conference champions and eight at-large picks are made by the committee. Following is information used in the determination of competing institutions for the championship.
NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee
Tom Burman, director of athletics, Portland State University
Bobby Williams, director of athletics, Sam Houston State University
Roachel Laney, assistant professor, Appalachian State University
Lynn Thompson, director of athletics, Bethune-Cookman College
Don Kaverman, director of athletics, Southeast Missouri State University
Tim Van Alstine, director of athletics, Western Illinois University
John Hardt, director of athletics, Bucknell University
John McCutcheon, director of athletics, University of Massachusetts
Championship Structure
The Division I-AA Football Championship provides for a maximum field of 16 teams. Teams will play first-round games on the campuses of competing teams. Eight member conferences have been granted automatic qualification for the 2005 championship. The remaining eight teams will be selected at large by the Division IAA football committee. The top four teams in the 16-team bracket for the championship will be seeded. Team pairings will be determined by geographical proximity, with the exception that teams from the same conference may not be paired in the first round.
Championship Selection
At-large teams shall be selected by the Division I-AA football committee, assisted by four regional advisory committees that serve in an advisory capacity only. The following principles shall apply when selecting at-large teams:
1. The committee shall select the best teams available on a national at-large basis to complete the bracket;
2. There is no limit to the number of teams the committee may select from one conference;
3. The won-lost record of a team will be scrutinized to determine a team's strength of schedule; however, less than seven Division I wins may place a team in jeopardy of not being selected;
4. The committee may give more consideration to those teams that have played all Division I opponents; and
5. If the team of a committee member is under consideration, the member may not vote for the team being considered and will not be in the room when a vote is taken.
Automatic Qualifiers
The following conferences have been granted automatic-qualification privileges for the 2005 championship: Atlantic 10 Conference Big Sky Conference Gateway Football Conference Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Ohio Valley Conference Patriot League Southern Conference SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
Additional Football Criteria
Conferences must conduct regular-season, round-robin play among the members to determine the champion. The Division I-AA football committee may grant exceptions to the round-robin requirement subject to approval of the NCAA Executive Committee.
Pairings
All pairings will be made by the Division I-AA football committee. The following principles are applied when pairing teams:
1. The teams awarded the top four seeds are placed in the appropriate positions in the bracket (Nos. 1 and 4 in the upper half, and Nos. 2 and 3 in the lower half), and will be paired with teams that are in closest geographic proximity;
2. The remaining teams will be paired according to geographic proximity and placed in the bracket according to geographic proximity of the four pairings previously placed in the bracket.
3. Teams from the same conference will not be paired for first-round games;
4. Once the first-round pairings have been determined, there will be no adjustments to the bracket.
Semifinal Determination Procedure
The semifinal games during the 2005 Division I-AA Football Championship will be conducted on two different days. One semifinal game will occur Friday evening, December 9, while the other will occur Saturday afternoon, December 10. Both games will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2. The Division I-AA football committee has determined that the two remaining teams in the top half of the 16-team championship bracket will play Friday night, while the two remaining teams in the bottom half of the bracket will play Saturday afternoon. Please note, however, that the determination of which teams play on which dates is subject to change if issues arise (e.g., host facility specifications) that necessitate a change in the best interest of the championship. All eight teams participating in quarterfinal competition will be made aware before their games of the won-loss scenarios that will dictate which teams play Friday night or Saturday afternoon.
Southland Conference At-Large Selection History
The following teams have earned at-large entry into the NCAA I-AA Playoffs during the Southland's tenure within the I-AA subdivision (1982-present):
1984 Arkansas State
1987 North Texas
1988 Stephen F. Austin, North Texas
1991 Sam Houston State
1992 McNeese State
1993 Louisiana-Monroe, Stephen F. Austin
1994 McNeese State
1996 Nicholls State
1997 Northwestern State
1998 McNeese State, Troy State
2000 McNeese State
2001 McNeese State, Northwestern State
2002 Northwestern State
2004 Sam Houston State