KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association held its annual Football Media Day on Tuesday when Mike Racy, the league commissioner, spoke at length previewing the upcoming season and what he hopes to accomplish.
During his 15-minute address, Racy called for the expansion of the NCAA Division II football playoff format.
It currently features a 28-team playoff structure broken down by four geographic super regions. There are no automatic qualifiers as each team is selected at large. This postseason format has been in effect since 2015.
“There is a proposal that’s kind of been stuck with the Division II Planning and Financing Committee that would expand the playoffs from 28 to 32 teams,” Racy explained. “It would put an extra team in each of the regions to get into the playoffs. It would eliminate the first-round bye that we have now. I am a proponent of that.”
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Racy hopes for 36-team playoff expansion
The MIAA is a part of Super Region 3 and is considered one of the most difficult regions with the past three national champions coming out of this group. Racy, a Washburn University graduate, said he would enjoy expanding even further than the suggested 32 teams.
“I would love to see 36 teams, but we will take 32,” Racy said to the Capital-Journal. “That’s been stuck in the bureaucracy of Division II because it was forwarded outside the budget approval cycle.”
Racy continued by saying the football committee of Division II athletics is behind the change of expanding the playoffs. There has been money set aside for the expansion, but the deadline was not met to be submitted according to the Commissioner.
“The next step is that the Planning and Financing Committee is meeting this summer,” Racy, the former Vice President of NCAA Division II, said. “They have the authority to make some exceptions and push it through. If they don’t, it probably won’t be in place until the fall of 2027.”
Racy knows it is unlikely that the expanded bracket would occur this season, but it is possible for the 2025 or 2026 campaigns. He shared it will get done by 2027, but why the wait? He wants to see the expansion accelerate and happen as soon as possible.
It’s not just the commissioner who wants an expanded playoff. Washburn coach Craig Schurig echoed Racy’s sentiment hoping an expansion can come so the MIAA can earn three or four bids in the postseason rather than the normal two.
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Why the D-II playoffs are 'broken'
“The D-II playoffs is broken,” Schurig said. “It is regional based and we happen to be in the strongest region and the strongest conference. The way that they pick the teams isn’t fair. We usually have four teams that are as good as any teams that make the playoffs.”
Postseason regionalization is not something that Racy wants to dismantle. He understands the costs of airplane travel and many other expenses can add up for D-II Institutions.
“What needs to change is the whole process of how teams are selected and how they are bracketed,” Racy said. “I think we could have regionalization for the automatic qualifier, but when it comes to at-large teams. We should be comparing regions with other regions.
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Schurig also agrees, but the Washburn coach is hoping for expansion in a way that takes location into consideration.
“If you truly have a national tournament, maybe you can’t match the teams one through 32, but you take regional consideration in how you pair so you can bus travel instead of flights,” Schurig said. “If you can cross-regionalize the playoff system now you can see teams that you haven’t played.”
Racy added to Schurig’s idea when it came to seeding at-large bids while still allowing for teams to travel via bus.
“You can still bracket with teams going out of their region that is not costing the division more money for its championship expenses,” Racy said. “I think regions play a part in how we schedule, but I think the way that we select teams for the playoffs and the way that we bracket are things that could change.”
Liam Keating covers high school sports for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@ g annett.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: MIAA pushes for football postseason expansion to fix 'broken' Division II playoff system
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