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eastbayaggie
October 26th, 2009, 07:45 PM
How the Selections Committee View the Any Given Saturday Poll

Hi guys,

I was under the impression that the Any Given Saturday poll has at least some weight when the Playoffs Selections Committee decides who gets the at-large berths. However, to the best of my limited knowledge, I can’t see where that is true.

According to this link:

http://www.championshipsubdivisionnews.com/index.php/2009/10/12/ncaa-d-i-fcs-to-officially-use-the-colle-2009?blog=5

The NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee for the first time named outside tools as a selection criteria in 2008 using the GPI, the Sports Network Poll, and the FCS Coaches Poll. All three are used only for evaluating the champion of a conference that does not receive automatic qualification into the championship on an at-large basis. In addition to other criteria, the specified conference champion must average in the top 16 in each ranking to be considered.

According to this link:

http://www.championshipsubdivisionnews.com/index.php/2008/11/13/the-caa-today-playoff-facts-review-and-i?blog=5

Question #2: I wanted to make sure that what they did each week was to come up with their own national ranking and here was his reply; “The national committee will take the regional advisory lists from their area and each national committee member kind of puts them together in a national ranking and we discuss that in the Tuesday call.” This thereby confirms that they do have their own “secret” ranking if you will, which is great news considering the insanity of the current polls, but more about that later.

Question #9: I asked him if he would consider the rankings the committee does to be significantly different then the current rankings that are out. He replied with; “I think our ranking at times vary from some of the polls that are out there just like some of the polls will vary from each other depending on how they are done. Some polls are weighted to just won lost records and don’t have the ability to look at strength of schedule [Really? Imagine that!] Others [people who vote] are on regional committees and some of the people who are voting may not have a good handle on what is going on in the other regions of the country because of the lack of inter-conference play for the most part. That is why we think the way we do it, having input from people from various regions who get to see some of those teams play is the best way for us to go.”

According to the 2009 handbook:

http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/champ_handbooks/football/2009/09_1AA_Football.pdf

6. For those conferences that qualify for automatic qualification but do not receive it, a guaranteed at-large position shall be awarded in any year in which its conference champion team meets all of the following conditions:

c. Team finishes the season ranked 16 or higher in an average of the last regular-season media, coaches and/or computer polls (which will be determined by the committee on an annual basis). For 2009, the media poll will be the Sports Network Poll, the coaches poll will be the FCS Coaches poll and the computer poll will be a variation of the Gridiron Power Index – using only the following computer rankings: The Massey Ratings, Wolfe Rankings, Ashburn Rankings, Self Rankings and the Laz Index.

So here are my comments:

1. The Any Given Saturday poll seems to have no weight whatsoever.
2. The national committee compiles their own national rankings based on their own regional lists.
3. I don’t understand the statement “conferences that qualify for automatic qualification but do not receive it.” I was under the impression that if you’re in a conference with an automatic qualifier, the conference automatically receives it.
4. The Wolfe Rankings are not used in the publicized Gridiron Power Index but is used in the variation of the Gridiron Power Index to determine guaranteed at-large positions in conferences that qualify for automatic qualification.

What’s your perspective?

agsadmin
October 26th, 2009, 08:05 PM
No poll or ranking has an "official" weight with the FCS playoff committee except their own. However, AGS-TSN-FCP has "unofficial" weight as has been said by the committee many times. Same as the GPI (except for the "official" non-MOV version they use).

So you know, the AGS Poll has been the best poll since we started.


3. I don’t understand the statement “conferences that qualify for automatic qualification but do not receive it.” I was under the impression that if you’re in a conference with an automatic qualifier, the conference automatically receives it.

Welcome to the FCS, the highest level of NCAA championship football! Conferences have to request to be eligible for an AQ (you do know that there are several conferences that do not request and/or are not eligible, right?).

Dblue
October 26th, 2009, 08:06 PM
You should click over to
http://www.anygivensaturday.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65422
to answer their questions.

bluehenbillk
October 26th, 2009, 08:22 PM
In reality the 8 at large teams get picked in a similar fashion to the at large teams in March Madness do, except the RPI carries more weight than the AGS, TSN or GPI.

blukeys
October 26th, 2009, 08:29 PM
Other than the impact the AGS poll has on the GPI, it has no official impact. You don't think the selection committee is going to give much official credence to a fan based poll?

I have stated on another thread that one must read the handbook carefully. The selection committee adds many qualifiers to their "criteria" for selectilon. In the end the Committee can pick any 8 teams they deem worthy. There are no real criteria or restrictions. Once you understand that you will not be shocked when teams are picked in November.

danefan
October 26th, 2009, 10:37 PM
How the Selections Committee View the Any Given Saturday Poll

Hi guys,

I was under the impression that the Any Given Saturday poll has at least some weight when the Playoffs Selections Committee decides who gets the at-large berths. However, to the best of my limited knowledge, I can’t see where that is true.

According to this link:

http://www.championshipsubdivisionnews.com/index.php/2009/10/12/ncaa-d-i-fcs-to-officially-use-the-colle-2009?blog=5

The NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee for the first time named outside tools as a selection criteria in 2008 using the GPI, the Sports Network Poll, and the FCS Coaches Poll. All three are used only for evaluating the champion of a conference that does not receive automatic qualification into the championship on an at-large basis. In addition to other criteria, the specified conference champion must average in the top 16 in each ranking to be considered.

According to this link:

http://www.championshipsubdivisionnews.com/index.php/2008/11/13/the-caa-today-playoff-facts-review-and-i?blog=5

Question #2: I wanted to make sure that what they did each week was to come up with their own national ranking and here was his reply; “The national committee will take the regional advisory lists from their area and each national committee member kind of puts them together in a national ranking and we discuss that in the Tuesday call.” This thereby confirms that they do have their own “secret” ranking if you will, which is great news considering the insanity of the current polls, but more about that later.

Question #9: I asked him if he would consider the rankings the committee does to be significantly different then the current rankings that are out. He replied with; “I think our ranking at times vary from some of the polls that are out there just like some of the polls will vary from each other depending on how they are done. Some polls are weighted to just won lost records and don’t have the ability to look at strength of schedule [Really? Imagine that!] Others [people who vote] are on regional committees and some of the people who are voting may not have a good handle on what is going on in the other regions of the country because of the lack of inter-conference play for the most part. That is why we think the way we do it, having input from people from various regions who get to see some of those teams play is the best way for us to go.”

According to the 2009 handbook:

http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/champ_handbooks/football/2009/09_1AA_Football.pdf

6. For those conferences that qualify for automatic qualification but do not receive it, a guaranteed at-large position shall be awarded in any year in which its conference champion team meets all of the following conditions:

c. Team finishes the season ranked 16 or higher in an average of the last regular-season media, coaches and/or computer polls (which will be determined by the committee on an annual basis). For 2009, the media poll will be the Sports Network Poll, the coaches poll will be the FCS Coaches poll and the computer poll will be a variation of the Gridiron Power Index – using only the following computer rankings: The Massey Ratings, Wolfe Rankings, Ashburn Rankings, Self Rankings and the Laz Index.

So here are my comments:

1. The Any Given Saturday poll seems to have no weight whatsoever.
2. The national committee compiles their own national rankings based on their own regional lists.
3. I don’t understand the statement “conferences that qualify for automatic qualification but do not receive it.” I was under the impression that if you’re in a conference with an automatic qualifier, the conference automatically receives it.
4. The Wolfe Rankings are not used in the publicized Gridiron Power Index but is used in the variation of the Gridiron Power Index to determine guaranteed at-large positions in conferences that qualify for automatic qualification.

What’s your perspective?

Good questions and here are my answers:

1. The AGS poll is widely regarded by knowledgeable fans as one of the most accurate. Belief it or not, some people actually have more time to do research and compare results. Some people on here spend a lot of time preparing their polls on a weekly basis. But, of course, some do not.

2. Absolutely correct. The head of the Committee went on record in a 2008 and said that they have their own ranking system which gets updated on a weekly conference call the committee has.

3. The NEC has requested an auto qualifier and is, according to all set NCAA criteria, eligible. However, the current playoff system does not logistically allow for an additional auto qualifier because the field has to be 50% at larges. So until the logistical issues could be worked out, the NCAA granted the NEC (and any other qualifying conference (e.g. the PFL)) a "bridge AQ". The Modified GPI is a relatively small part of the criteria (8 DI wins, 2 wins over AQ conferences and an average ranking of 16 or greater in the Coaches, Sportsnetwork and Modified GPI). So in essence, the Modified GPI can be looked at as 1/6 of the Bridge AQ.

4. No clue. I'm not a computer ranking guy.