Post by DiamondThief on Mar 5, 2014 15:49:24 GMT -8
From the AFL's official website:
CHICAGO – After two straight neutral site championship games, the ArenaBowl will return to a ‘home field advantage’ format in 2014, as ArenaBowl XXVII will be hosted by the highest remaining playoff seed, the Arena Football League office announced today.
“We listened to our fans and our fans wanted ArenaBowl to be a home game,” AFL Commissioner Jerry B. Kurz said. “We’ve also added a bye week in between the Conference Championships and ArenaBowl, which will give our fans and teams an additional week to prepare and ensure that ArenaBowl XXVII on ESPN is the best ArenaBowl yet.”
ArenaBowl XXVII will kick off at 8:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, August 23 live on ESPN.
The League has also announced revised tiebreaking procedures to account for the new conference alignment in 2014. Four teams from each conference will clinch playoff berths, with the four division winners claiming the top two seeds in their respective conferences.
“We listened to our fans and our fans wanted ArenaBowl to be a home game,” AFL Commissioner Jerry B. Kurz said. “We’ve also added a bye week in between the Conference Championships and ArenaBowl, which will give our fans and teams an additional week to prepare and ensure that ArenaBowl XXVII on ESPN is the best ArenaBowl yet.”
ArenaBowl XXVII will kick off at 8:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, August 23 live on ESPN.
The League has also announced revised tiebreaking procedures to account for the new conference alignment in 2014. Four teams from each conference will clinch playoff berths, with the four division winners claiming the top two seeds in their respective conferences.
Here are the tiebreakers that were referenced in the article:
Eight teams qualify for the playoffs, four from each conference consist of the two division champions and two Wildcards, determined by best overall record. Seeding in each conference is based on overall record, with the top two seeds in each conference reserved for the division champions, regardless of record. In the First Round, August 2-3, the first two seeds in each conference are the two division winners. The next two teams are seeded by next best two overall records. Teams ranked 1 and 2 earn home playoff games with 1 hosting 4 and 2 hosting 3. In the Conference Championship Round, August 9-10, the winner of the 1-4 game plays the winner of the 2-3 game. The home team is decided by the team with the higher seed. The winners of the Second Round will face off in ArenaBowl XXVII on August 23rd, with the highest remaining seed hosting the championship game.
Tiebreaking Procedures
DEFINITIONS
Strength of Schedule - Combined winning percentage of opponents played.
Best net points in all games - Difference of points scored and points scored against. (Includes all points: offense, defense and special teams.)
Winning percentage - Total number of wins divided by total number of games.
DIVISION CHAMPIONS - TWO TEAMS
If two teams are tied for Division Championship:
1 .Head-to-head (best winning percentage in games between the clubs)
2. Point differential in head-to-head games
3. Best winning percentage in division games
4. Best net points in all games
5. Strength of Schedule
6. Coin toss
DIVISION CHAMPIONS - THREE OR MORE TEAMS
(Note: If three or more teams are tied, follow steps until one team is eliminated. Once two teams remain, revert back to Step 1 of the two team tiebreaker to determine which team advances.)
1. Head-to-head (best winning percentage in games among the clubs)
2. Best winning percentage in division games
3. Best net points in all games
4. Strength of Schedule
5. Coin toss
WILDCARD - TWO TEAMS
If it is necessary to break ties to determine the two Wildcard teams from each conference, the following steps will be taken:
1. Head-to-head (best winning percentage in games between the clubs)
2. Point differential in head-to-head games
3. Best net points in all games
4. Strength of schedule
5. Best winning percentage in division games
6. Coin toss
WILDCARD - THREE OR MORE TEAMS
(Note: If three or more teams are tied, follow steps until one team is eliminated. Once two teams remain, revert back to Step 1 of the two team tiebreaker to determine who advances)
1. Head-to-head (best winning percentage in games between the clubs)
2. Best net points in all games
3. Strength of schedule
4. Best winning percentage in division games
5. Coin toss
OTHER TIE-BREAKING PROCEDURES
Only one team advances to the playoffs in any tie-breaking step. Remaining tied teams revert to the first step of the applicable two team division or Wildcard tie-breakers. As an example, if two teams remain tied in any tie-breaker step after all other teams have been eliminated, the procedure reverts to Step 1 of the two-team format to determine the winner. When one team wins the tiebreaker, all other teams revert to Step 1 of the applicable two-team or three-team format.
In comparing records within the division among tied teams, the best winning percentage is the deciding factor, since teams may have played an unequal number of games.
CONFERENCE SEEDING TIE-BREAK PROCEDURE
If both division winners in the same conference finish with the same record, the following will break the tie for seeding purposes:
1. Head-to-head, best winning percentage in games between clubs
2. Point differential in head to head games
3. Total net points in all games
4. Strength of schedule
5. Best winning percentage in division games
6. Coin toss.
ARENABOWL TIE-BREAK PROCEDURE
1. Highest Playoff Seed
2. Overall record (Best winning percentage)
3. Head-to-head, best winning percentage in games between clubs (if applicable)
4. Point differential in head-to-head games
5. Total net points in all games
6. Strength of schedule
7. Coin toss
QUALIFICATION ORDER
Qualifications for Playoff Position:
1 .Four Division Winners
2. Next 2 best records from each Conference
Seeding for each conference:
1. Best record of Division Winners
2. 2nd best record of Division Winners
3. Best record for Non-Division Winners
4. 2nd best record for Non-Division Winners