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OSAA Rankings Frequently Asked Questions

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For a complete description of the OSAA’s ranking system, see Board Policy #75 State Championships – Rankings in the OSAA Handbook.

What sports are being ranked by the OSAA?

The OSAA is ranking schools in the following team sports: football, boys soccer, girls soccer, volleyball, boys basketball, girls basketball, baseball and softball.

What system is the OSAA using for its rankings?

The OSAA is using a Rating Percentage Index (RPI) system for its rankings. Factors included are wins, losses, ties and location of the contest (home, neutral, away). Score differential, coaches/media polls and rewards/penalties for playing teams outside one’s classification are not a part of the OSAA’s RPI system.

What is the formula?

The basic formula factors a team’s Weighted Winning Percentage (WWP) (25%), a team’s Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OWP) (50%), and a team’s Opponents’ Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OOWP) (25%) to create a team’s RPI ranking.

Why does a team’s strength of schedule have three times the impact on its RPI than the team’s winning percentage? Doesn’t that seem too high?

At first glance, it appears that this is true, but in effect about half of the rating is based on winning percentage and the other half on strength of schedule. Although Weighted Winning Percentage (WWP) only receives a 25% weighting, its real strength is larger. This is because there is always a wider gap in the rankings between the top and bottom teams in Weighted Winning Percentage (WWP) than between the top and bottom teams in Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OWP) and Opponents’ Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OOWP). Since Weighted Winning Percentage (WWP) looks at only one team’s record the range can go from undefeated (1.0) to winless (.0) for a maximum spread of 1.0. With the sample size being larger for the Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OWP) nearly all of the teams are going to have some wins and some losses so the high should be less than 1.0 and low should be higher than .0. The inclusion of a large number of teams’ results when looking at Opponents’ Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OOWP) produces numbers with an even smaller maximum spread. This means that the system has an effective impact closer to 50% for Weighted Winning Percentage (WWP), 40% for Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OWP) and 10% for Opponents’ Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OOWP).

What is a team’s Weighted Winning Percentage (WWP)?

The weight of a particular contest is determined by its location.

Home Win – .8 of .8 Road Win – 1.2 of 1.2 Neutral Site Win – 1.0 of 1.0
Home Tie – .4 of .8 Road Tie – .6 of 1.2 Neutral Site Tie - .5 of 1.0
Home Loss – 0 of 1.2 Road Loss – 0 of .8 Neutral Site Loss – 0 of 1.0

For example, a team that is 3-0 at home and 1-4 on the road has a Weighted Winning Percentage (WWP) of 3.6 wins (.8 * 3 home wins + 1.2 * 1 road win) and 3.2 losses (.8 * 4 road losses). That means that even though the team’s record is 4-4, for RPI purposes it is above .500 (3.6-3.2).

This weighted record is only used for the 25% of the formula that is each team’s Weighted Winning Percentage (WWP). The regular team records are used to calculate a team’s Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OWP) and a team’s Opponents’ Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OOWP).

Is the Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OWP) adjusted to account for the fact that they have played the team in question?

Yes, all contests against the team in question are ignored in the Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OWP).

Are all contests included in the rankings?

Wins, losses and ties are included for all team sports, including Endowment Contests, contests vs. independent status teams and forfeits. Contests not included are volleyball pool play matches, contests vs. JV teams, contests vs. alumni teams, jamborees and cancellations.

How are forfeits counted in the rankings?

Forfeits count as a loss for the forfeiting team and a win for the team receiving the forfeit victory. Additionally, a team’s OWP has any forfeits removed from that opponent’s record beginning with the 2011-12 school year.

How are contests vs. out-of-state teams counted?

Results from contests against out of state teams shall be included in a team’s Weighted Winning Percentage (WWP) and Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OWP) only. Beginning with the 2011-12 school year, schools will be required to track the winning percentage of out of state opponents. Schools are not required to track an out of state team’s Opponents’ Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OOWP).

Are the records of teams scheduled in the future included in the rankings?

No. An opponent is included in the rankings calculations only after the contest is played, not before.

Is the record used for an opponent their record at the time the contest is played or at the time the rankings are calculated?

The RPI is always calculated based on current records, not date-of-contest records.

If a team plays an opponent more than once, is their winning percentage included more than once?

Yes, it is included once for each time a team plays that opponent. And all contests against the team in question are removed from each occurrence of that opponent’s record when calculating Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OWP).

How soon at the start of the season will rankings appear on the website?

Rankings will be available on the website beginning with the first contest date of each sports season.

Why do the rankings look weird early in the season?

The RPI system is primarily a measurement of strength of schedule and how the team did against that schedule. There are no preseason expectations or polls included so every team starts from scratch each season. Consequently the numbers can be skewed early in the season because teams have played so few contests. The data begins to take shape as more contests are played. The more contests played, the better the data gets.

Why does my team’s Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OWP) appear as .500 when we haven’t played anyone yet?

At the start of the season there will be many teams with an Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OWP) that is incalculable. These will be filled in with a 0.500 before calculating the Opponents’ Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OOWP). Once a team has a calculable Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OWP), it will be used instead of .500.

Why doesn’t my team appear in the rankings?

A team will not appear on the rankings until they have completed a contest that counts. For example, a team may play a JV team in the first contest (not counted) and would then have an incalculable win percent and Weighted Winning Percentage (WWP).

Why is my team ranked behind another team that we beat?

The RPI system is primarily a measurement of strength of schedule and how the team did against that ENTIRE schedule. To look at only one contest ignores the "any given day" aspect of sports.

Why did my team move up after a loss (or down after a win)? Why did my team move up (or down) when they didn’t play?

There could be several reasons. One is that since RPI factors in strength of schedule, it is possible to have a higher RPI after playing a good team, win or lose. Also, a team could move up or down by playing a bad team, win or lose. A team’s RPI can also change when they don’t even play if one of the teams on their schedule has played. Keep in mind that these rankings are relative, meaning that a team’s ranking is affected by the results of teams around them in the rankings.

Why are the rankings on the OSAA website different than what I see on other websites or in my newspaper?

We only control the rankings on the OSAA website. We have no control over what rankings are being displayed by other websites or newspapers.

Do the OSAA rankings take into account where my team finished in state last year?

No, the OSAA rankings start from scratch each year.

Do the OSAA rankings factor in coaches’ or media polls?

No, there are no coaches’ or media polls of any kind included in the OSAA ranking system.

How are ties counted in the rankings?

Ties are counted as half the weight of a win for that team based on the location of the contest. A road team would receive .6 out of 1.2 for a tie, while the home team would receive .4 out of .8 for a tie. Ties at neutral location are worth .5 out of 1.0 for both teams.

How do schools determine home/away designation for a contest?

Since the RPI system factors in where a contest is played, it is important that schools correctly designate this information when reporting schedules and results, especially for tournaments. Teams may be considered to be playing a home contest even if the contest isn’t played on the schools’ campus (i.e. Century HS playing football at Hillsboro Stadium is a home contest for Century). Tournament play shall be considered a neutral site, except for contests played by the tournament host at its home venue. Baseball and softball contests, even those played as part of a tournament, shall not be listed as neutral due to the fundamental difference associated with being the home team in those sports (advantage of batting last).

At what point in the season will the OSAA use the rankings to place teams on OSAA State Championship brackets?

The rankings for each team sport shall be available to the public through the OSAA website beginning with the first contest date of each sports season. The rankings shall be frozen on the cutoff date for the 3A, 2A and 1A classifications in each team sport (except for 1A schools in volleyball and basketball where rankings won’t be frozen until the Round of 16 has been completed). Rankings for the 6A, 5A and 4A classifications in each team sport shall be frozen on the following dates:

Sport – 2011-12 Rankings Freeze Dates 4A 5A 6A
Volleyball - Rankings Freeze Date (midnight) Tues, Oct. 25 Sat, Oct. 29 Thurs, Oct. 27
Soccer - Rankings Freeze Date (midnight) Mon, Oct. 31 Wed, Nov. 2 Sat, Oct. 29
Football - Rankings Freeze Date (midnight) Sat, Oct. 29 Sat, Oct. 29 Sat, Oct. 29
Basketball (Girls) - Rankings Freeze Date (midnight) Tues, Feb. 21 Tues, Feb. 21 Wed, Feb. 22
Basketball (Boys) - Rankings Freeze Date (midnight) Tues, Feb. 21 Wed, Feb. 22 Thurs, Feb. 23
Baseball/Softball - Rankings Freeze Date (midnight) Sun, May 13 Mon, May 14 Sat, May 12

Are the rankings being used to select which teams qualify for the OSAA State Championships?

No. The rankings won’t determine which teams qualify for the OSAA State Championships, they will only be used to place teams on the OSAA State Championship brackets once all teams have qualified.

Are the rankings updated in real-time once a team submits a result?

No, the rankings are set to update hourly. It would be great to have them in real-time but the sheer number of computations being done takes too long.

How often will the entire ranking system be evaluated by the OSAA?

The OSAA Executive Board included an annual review when creating the board policy regarding rankings. The ranking system shall be reviewed annually by OSAA Staff and other interested parties to allow for a re-assessment of practical realities and any unexpected issues.

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