MSHSAA Football History Question

[Craig Hull]

For some reason, I should know the answer to this but I guess my memory is starting to lose items I should know so I need a refresher of sorts.

I'm continuing to work on several football history projects and for some reason the 1981 was caused me to stop and look over a few things.

We know MSHSAA began the football playoff system in 1968. In one of my record books, from 1982-2011 the final three games of the regular season were district games and determined who made the postseason before the change to the current system in place since 2012.

In 1981, I found a note that said MSHSAA limited teams to nine games in the fall of 1981, but a vote in the spring of 1981 reinstated the 10-game schedule for the fall of 1982.

So the question is this ... from 1968-1981, what was the system in place for teams to qualify for the postseason? Was it the same district playoff format of the final three games of the season? Or was there another system in place? I know my former co-workers at the Joplin Globe sports staff explained it to me before, but I have since forgot.

Any help refreshing my memory would be appreciated.

 

[revno]

There was a point system that was calculated using the margin of victory, opponent's class size and their record. There were originally 4 teams in each of the four classes from four different sections of the state that qualified (BFE was gerrymandered in). That went to 8 teams in each of the four classes in 76. I thought the district scenario was later than 82?

 

[Craig Hull]

I was able to find four-team districts in 1982.

I’ll try doing some digging through old newspapers Sunday to see if I can find more history.

Thank you for the information.

 

[KHSDOGS]

There was a point system that is very similar to the system they use now to seed the district. The major difference was that you were penalized for playing schools in a smaller class. So if your conference had schools that were in a class smaller than yours, it was extremely hard to win you district. It was common for a team that had an undefeated record to not win their district. Districts could have as many as 15 or more teams.

 

[kaching]

I’m thinking the four-team districts didn’t happen until the late 1980’s.