16 playoff teams are too much - 12 is plenty

In these columns, Idaho has long been known as the “No Team Left Behind” state when it came to state tournaments.

In recent years, it has especially gotten out of hand in the football playoffs.

This year, in the state 2A playoffs, 16 of the 21 football-playing schools participated in the first round.

One team, Nampa Christian, declined its state playoff berth, citing injuries and decreasing numbers. The Trojans (2-6) were scheduled to travel to Grangeville, a team they’d lost to 54-7 in the season opener.

In their place, Malad, another 2-6 team, headed to Grangeville and lost 50-12.

In the 12-team 1A Division II playoffs, Camas County (3-4) opted to forfeit its first-round game to Carey (8-0). A peek at the Idaho High School Activities Association website this week shows no sign of that matchup.

I GET it.

After years of seeing eight-team playoffs in most classifications, I get why schools have fought for expanded playoffs. Every now and then, a team that wouldn’t normally have qualified gets in through the expanded playoffs, and wins.

St. Maries did it last week. The Lumberjacks didn’t get either of the two automatic berths from the Central Idaho League, but received an at-large berth to the state 2A playoffs, and won big on the road last week at New Plymouth, 46-16.

So it pays off sometimes.

But it’s hard to justify so many teams with losing records making the playoffs — especially when some opt not to even play.

In 2A, four of the 16 playoff teams had sub-.500 records.

In 1A Division II, three out of 12 were below .500.

In 1A Division I — the only division with only eight teams in the playoffs — none were below .500.

In 3A, three of the 12 were below .500.

In 4A, five of the 16 — including both entrants from North Idaho — were below .500.

In 5A, only one of the 12 were below .500.

5A IEL coaches pushed to expand their playoffs from 8 to 12 teams in 2014 to ensure at least the second team in the four-team league gets in, and gives the third-place team, on a good year, at least a shot an an at-large berth. Some years in the past, just one of the four teams made the playoffs.

That first year of the 12-team playoffs, three of the four 5A IEL teams qualified. Lake City and Post Falls were the top two seeds. Coeur d’Alene earned the lone at-large berth and was the 12th seed — then won at Meridian in the first round before losing at Rocky Mountain.

The 4A playoffs expanded to 12 teams that year as well, giving the second-place team a berth as well. Usually, only the league champ advanced.

It does lead to some weird scenarios — in 2015, Lakeland started out 0-8, then beat Moscow in the regular season finale to not only make the playoffs, but play host to a first-round game.

ONE SOLUTION — if they must be “expanded” playoffs (remember, “No Team Left Behind”), make them 12-team playoffs, not 16.

That should weed out most (if not all) teams with losing records.

If a team felt like it was left out, well, so do teams 69-72 in the 68-team NCAA basketball tournament.

Or, if certain classifications insist on staying at 16, call the first round a “play-in” round — win that one, and you can call yourself a playoff team.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.