PSR totals are wrong for 300+ football teams. GHSA is tweaking reporting.
The GHSA is amending its process for reporting scores to improve the timeliness of accurate Post Season Rankings standings.
The PSR system, which serves as the GHSA’s playoff seeding model across all classifications and team sports this year, aims to seed the top 32 teams in each classification based on their winning percentage, their opponents’ winning percentage and their opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage.
Many schools’ athletic directors have been reporting all scores by themselves, leading to delayed — and sometimes inaccurate — reporting.
For example, only 44 of the 399 playoff-eligible GHSA football teams had accurate and updated PSR totals as of 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to an audit by AJC Varsity and the Maxwell Ratings. Win-loss records are incorrect for 42 teams, leading to 32 incorrect winning percentages, 150 incorrect opponents’ winning percentages and 335 incorrect opponents’ opponents’ winning percentages.
Yesterday, AJC Varsity reported the Maxwell-calculated PSR standings, which include updated scores and win-loss records.
So far, only two individuals per school have been allowed to report scores to the GHSA for playoff seeding. GHSA executive director Tim Scott said the organization capped the number at two because they “were a little worried about too many people having their hands in changing scores.”
Now, the organization is working on giving coaches the ability to report scores, taking some of the workload off athletic directors.
“A lot of schools don’t even use the two they have,” Scott said. “Our (athletic directors) have talked to us, and they talked to us again this weekend, and they feel like if we let the coaches do it, then the (athletic director) can monitor.”
The GHSA is also requesting that scores are reported within 24 hours after a game finishes. The only exception is the last day of the regular season, when schools will be asked to report scores by midnight that day so the postseason bracket can be formed.
“This year, the last day for softball is (Thursday),” Scott said. “Friday morning, we’ve got to meet with all the teams and roll out the brackets because we start playing on Monday, and schools need to get bus transportation, and if they need to get hotel rooms and stuff like that, we need to get going.”
Scott said improvements are being made on the GHSA’s side, too. If scores aren’t reported on time, a reminder will also be emailed to the corresponding athletic director.