(12-4-24) Due to a playoff qualifying error two Wisconsin High School teams missed the opportunity to play in this year’s state football playoffs.

Those two schools were Madison West and Greenfield.

Story from WSN by Travis Wilson with complete details – WIAA acknowledges errors in football playoff qualifying that left Madison West and Greenfield out

At meetings yesterday at Madison West High School and Greenfield High School that included coaches, players, and administrators, Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Executive Director Stephanie Hauser acknowledged that the association had erred in its application of tiebreakers for football playoff qualifying, improperly leaving out both teams.

Hauser told WisSports.net–

“I wanted to reiterate why this was important to them, and to me, as a mother of student-athletes, as a leader of a service organization, and as a former high school coach and administrator. It was important to make sure they understood that we admit if we are wrong, but also so we can take corrective action so we make sure this never happens again.”

WIAA Statement on Football Qualifying Errors

The WIAA is committed to fairness, accuracy, and transparency in all aspects of our athletic programs. Following a review of the 2024 WIAA 11-Player Football Playoffs qualification process, we acknowledge challenges occurred with the computer program, which was unable to process the full field of 224 teams. Staff manually finalized the qualifiers using the criteria outlined in the regulations.

Since the evening that the playoff field was determined, staff has collected data and historic information regarding the playoff qualifying language. In addition, corrective measures were taken to allow the program to complete its process. Based on the information that is now available to our staff, it has been determined Madison West and Greenfield should have been included in the playoff field of 224 teams.

We have already taken steps to address this issue. The qualification language will be reviewed at the Football Coaches Advisory Committee meeting in January to ensure clarity. Internal procedural improvements will follow a staff review this month, with a written procedure to enhance coordination and accountability. Additionally, our technology team is evaluating the current qualification software. If deemed unreliable, a new program will be developed.

We understand the importance of playoff qualification for schools, teams, and fans. We sincerely apologize for the issues and assure you that efforts are underway to strengthen our systems and prevent future errors.

WIAA director of communications Todd Clark (October 21st)

“The staff consistently applied the overall “combined won-lost percentage” of only the conference opponents they defeated. And these were added to the playoff field. The qualifying and seeding criteria has been developed with the football coaches. The Football Coaches Advisory Committee meets after each season and may review and recommend changes to the criteria at that time.“

QUALIFICATION

Wisconsin’s qualification is very detailed in what qualifies a team to compete in the playoffs. Those details seemed to have been the issue in how they were interpreted in the process.

Portions below….

SEEDING

The seeding process seemed to work quite well if you look at the results of top seeds winning state titles in the seven divisions.

2024 State Football Championships
Thursday & Friday, Nov. 21-22
Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wis. 

Thursday, Nov. 21
10 a.m. – Division 7:  #1 – Edgar (13-1) 19, #3 – Potosi/Cassville (13-1) 0 – Stats
1 p.m. – Division 6:  #2 – Lomira (12-2) 26, #2 – Grantsburg (12-2) 19 – Stats
4 p.m. – Division 5:  #1 – Stratford (14-0) 21, #1 – Wrightstown (12-2) 6 – Stats
7 p.m. – Division 4:  #1 – Racine St. Catherine’s (14-0) 26, #2 – Baldwin-Woodville (12-2) 22 – Stats

Friday, Nov. 22 
10 a.m. – Division 3:  #2 – Notre Dame (14-0) 49, #1 – Catholic Memorial (11-3) 28 – Stats
1 p.m. – Division 2:  #1 – Slinger (14-0) 31, #2 – Rice Lake (11-3) 30 – Stats
4 p.m. – Division 1:  #2 – Bay Port  (12-2) 25, #4 – Muskego (9-5) 18 – Stats

State Champion Seeds –

  • 4 – #1 seeds
  • 3 – #2 seeds

State Runner-Up Seeds –

  • 2 – #1 seeds
  • 3 – #2 seeds
  • 1 – #3 seed
  • 1 – #4 seed

How other states handle football playoffs —

Just a thought football coaches, educators and state association officials might want to consider contacting numbers people who understand how these systems could be corrected, streamlined and made to work.

Bringing in ‘numbers‘ people from the outside can help to give a new perspective and insight on the current process. In Ohio there are three sources who might be able to Joe Eitel, Samuel Houseworth and Martin RPI.