GAINESVILLE, FL – The Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors voted Monday to officially endorse the Football Advisory Committee’s Jan. 10 recommendation to use a Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) to rank football teams for the FHSAA State Series. Below you will find frequently asked questions explaining the new procedure.
DOES THAT MAKE IT OFFICIAL?
Yes. This new formula will be used for 2019 FHSAA Football Playoff Qualification.
WHO RECOMMENDED THIS CHANGE?
The FHSAA Football Advisory Committee. The FHSAA Athletic Directors Advisory Committee voted to endorse the recommendation Jan. 16.
WHAT IS THE RPI FORMULA?
RPI stands for Ratings Percentage Index. In short, it is a way to measure a team’s strength relative to other teams, based largely on the strength of their schedules.
WHY REPLACE THE PLAYOFF POINT SYSTEM?
The FHSAA Football Advisory Committee, made up of eight football coaches from each section of our state, along with one rep from the Florida Athletic Coaches Association, felt a move to a RPI ranking system was needed to create more accurate rankings for football playoff qualification and seeding. Furthermore, they felt the previous ranking system, which consisted of your own winning percentage and your opponents’ winning percentage, was shallow. Lastly, the committee cited bonus points specifically as creating scheduling havoc.
WHY USE RPI INSTEAD OF ANOTHER RATING SYSTEM?
A major advantage to the RPI is the transparency that comes along with its accuracy. The components of the formula are known, and its results can be easily replicated. The calculation of the ranking is three layers deep, leading to more accuracy.
WHAT DATA IS USED IN THE RPI FORMULA?
Regardless of when scheduled, all games played in the regular season would be counted toward the RPI calculation, with the exception of games against non-varsity opponents and preseason games.
HOW DO I RECEIVE MY RANKING?
Your ranking would be derived from three areas: • Your winning percentage (35%) • Your opponents’ winning percentage (35%) • Your opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage (30%)
WHAT IS THE FORMULA?
RPI = (0.35 × WP) + (0.35 × OWP) + (0.30 × OOWP)
WHAT DATA IS USED IN THE RPI FORMULA?
All games played in the regular season would be counted toward the RPI calculation, with the exception of games against non-varsity opponents and preseason games.
HOW ARE THE COMPONENTS OF THE RPI CALCULATED?
• 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 would 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 combined record of the opponents, instead 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.
HOW ARE OUT-OF-STATE OPPONENTS HANDLED?
Out-of-state opponents will be counted the same as in-state opponents:
CAN I EARN BONUS POINTS?
NO. Your ranking and earned values would be based solely on the values in the formula.
WHAT HAPPENS IF TWO TEAMS FINISH WITH THE SAME RPI?
The tiebreaker is as follows: 1. Head-to-head result between the two teams 2. Winning percentage 3. Opponents’ winning percentage 4. Opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage 5. Highest-rated win (according to the final RPI standings) 6. Next-highest rated win (exhaust all possibilities)
WHEN AND WHERE WILL THE RPI STANDINGS BE RELEASED?
Like the previous two years, the official FHSAA Rankings would be published on FHSAA.org every Tuesday at 2:00 p.m., beginning Week 6 of the regular season. Any ranking data published elsewhere is unofficial.
HOW SHOULD TEAMS BE SCHEDULING?
The main thing to remember with the RPI is it takes an entire body of work into account. Coaches should have a big picture attitude when scheduling – do not focus on one game.
DOES MARGIN OF VICTORY MATTER?
NO. There is zero factor for margin of victory in the RPI formula. A 3-2 win counts the same as a 77-0 victory.
