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United Football League Announces Tiebreakers For Teams Seeking Championship Game Berth

November 3, 2010 - United Football League (UFL 1) News Release


JACKSONVILLE, FL - Wednesday, November 3, 2010 - The United Football League today announced the tiebreaker procedure that will determine as necessary which two teams earn a berth at the 2010 Championship Game.

As the UFL enters the final three weeks of regular season action, each game is effectively a playoff game with a win more precious than at any point to date in the campaign and a defeat potentially fatal to a team's championship dreams.

While continuing to embrace innovation and fan interaction, the UFL enhanced the traditional tiebreaker methods by asking fans visiting Fanhouse.com to suggest means by which teams tied in the end of regular season standings could be separated. The most suitable suggestions were considered by the UFL Competitions Committee and will be implemented at the conclusion of the current 2010 season.

If, at the end of the season, two or more clubs finish with the best won-lost-tied percentage, the following steps will be taken to determine which two teams will play for the UFL Championship:

Head to head among tied teams

Strength of victory over all opponents at the conclusion of the season

Most points scored at the conclusion of the season

Points differential at the conclusion of the season

Fewest points conceded at the conclusion of the season

Best record on the road in all games

"We believe we have developed a fair and competitive system that encompasses the view of the fans and also rewards teams for their performances on the field of play," said UFL Head of Officiating LARRY UPSON, "Head to head is the most common and rational separator, while the tiebreakers that follow are also fair and truly reflect the competitive nature of the United Football League.

"We received suggestions from those that were very deliberately and carefully thought out, giving us a wide spectrum of options, to the bizarre and humorous that made us smile but were not seriously considered."

In the event of a three-way tie the head to head tiebreaker will first be used to eliminate a team. For example, if three teams finish tied with a 4-4 record, they will be measured head to head within that group of three teams. If two teams were to post a 2-2 record and a third post 1-3, the 1-3 team will be eliminated from the tiebreaker. The two surviving teams will then again be compared head to head and will then move on to the next tiebreakers as necessary.

The strength of victory tiebreaker will be evaluated at the conclusion of the regular season. It will take into account combined winning percentage of the opponents a team has beaten. The team whose opponents have the higher winning percentage wins the tiebreaker. After seven weeks of play, the Florida Tuskers hold the advantage of being the only team that has beaten the 5-1 Las Vegas Locos, while Omaha's three victories so far have come against teams with 2-4 records.

The most points scored tiebreaker will include all games during the regular season. Highest points totals after seven weeks of play are: Las Vegas 136, Hartford 135, Florida 114, Sacramento 101 and Omaha 86.

The points differential component will take into account points for and against from all games during the regular season. Points differential totals after seven weeks of play are: Las Vegas +48, Florida +9, Hartford -4, Omaha -17, Sacramento -36.

The fewest points conceded tiebreaker will include all games during the regular season when settling multiple tiebreakers or points allowed head to head when settling a two-team tiebreaker. Fewest points totals after seven weeks of play are: Las Vegas 88, Omaha 103, Florida 105, Sacramento 137 and Hartford 139.

Some fans made a case for the first tiebreaker to be teams conceding the fewest points, while others felt that scoring more points than opponents was of greater merit, but the majority voted for the head to head rule. Some suggested fan attendance, merchandise sales and even the prettiest cheerleaders as ideas on how to separate tied teams.

The Las Vegas Locos (5-1) have qualified to play in the UFL Championship Game in Omaha on November 27 and while none of the other four teams can join them as a result of upcoming Week 8 games, some teams do face the threat of elimination based on the results scenarios listed below and the first head to head tiebreaker.

"There are no bigger games than those that remain to be played," said UFL VP of Football Administration BRENDAN ROWE. "Every game matters, as all teams are still in the hunt for a Championship Game appearance.

"With the fan input, we have complete confidence in the decision our Competition Committee and League Office made on these tiebreakers. We weighed each category evenly and while we don't know how the season finale is going to turn out, we do know we have some great football ahead."

Week 8StandingsNotesOmaha win and Las Vegas win

LAS 6-1

OMA 4-2

FLA 2-4

HAR 2-4

SAC 2-5

Las Vegas has advanced.

Florida leads Hartford in standings by nature of head to head (1-0).

Hartford eliminated by virtue of losing head-to-head tiebreaker with Omaha (0-2) if both teams were to finish 4-4.

Sacramento eliminated as they cannot equal wins posted by either Las Vegas or Omaha.Omaha win and Sacramento win

LAS 5-2

OMA 4-2

SAC 3-4

FLA 2-4

HAR 2-4

Las Vegas has advanced.

Florida leads Hartford in standings by nature of head to head (1-0).

No teams eliminated.

Florida win and Las Vegas win

LAS 6-1

FLA 3-3

OMA 3-3

HAR 2-4

SAC 2-5

Las Vegas has advanced.

Florida leads Omaha in standings by nature of head to head (1-0).

Sacramento eliminated as they cannot equal wins posted by either Las Vegas or Omaha.Florida win and Sacramento win

LAS 5-2

FLA 3-3

OMA 3-3

SAC 3-4

HAR 2-4

Las Vegas has advanced.

Florida leads Omaha in standings by nature of head to head (1-0).

No teams eliminated.



United Football League Stories from November 3, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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