Big changes are coming to the seeding process for high school boys’ post season tournament basketball. The Quad City Times reports the Iowa High School Athletic Association board of control has approved a change that will allow the coaches to seed their district or sub-state. In recent years a team’s record during a portion of the season determined its seed. Matt Coss reported on the story for the Times.

He says “Now it’s gonna be in the coaches hands. They’re going to have seeding meetings the first part of February each year, for basketball, where they’ll take win/loss record into account. But I think you’ll also see strength of schedule play a bigger role into it as well. A lot of other states have gone to this format, such as Illinois and Missouri, so Iowa is just kinda jumping on-board with this now.”

Coss says way the state tournament is seeded will also change. “Now, the eight coaches that make the state tournament will rank the seven other teams (in their class). They won’t rank their own team. From there, the Association will take those rankings and determine the seeding of the eight teams. Then they’ll turn it into a “pairing show,” and things like that, so definitely some major changes from what’s taken place in the past.”

Previously, a team’s win-loss record was used to seed the state tournament and Coss says that system drew a number of complaints from coaches. “Especially in the lower classes. It seemed in 1-A and 2-A, you had a lot of teams that maybe were seeded 6th or 7th that ended-up in a State Championship game, just because maybe they were a little more ‘battle tested’ than some of the other teams. So I think now maybe we’ll get some better match-ups right out of the gate at the State Tournament, and it could make the State Tournament more competitive throughout the week.”

The changes will go into effect for next season.

(Radio Iowa Sports)