CIS Championship Seedings Explained

Since the schedules and draws were released by the CIS/SIC for the men's and women's championships this year, there have been a number of questions raised as to why certain teams appear to get easier draws than others, despite their lower ranking or finish in conference playoffs.

After several readings of the relevant policies and a lot of time playing around on a white board, I think that I've managed to figure things out and felt that I should share with the rest of you, as I cannot be the only one out there who was confused at certain draws.

On the men's side, eight teams are involved, two from each conference. (Full preview)

The basic gist of the men's seeding works something as follows:

• The #1 seeds from each conference are kept separate in the Quarter-Finals.
• The top conference team from previous year plays lowest ranked conference.
• The host, assigned OUA berth, and two alternate assigned berths are put into opposite Semi-Final brackets as the #1 ranked team from each conference, with the exception that the OUA host is put into the same Semi-Final bracket as OUA Champion, but opposite Quarter-Finals.
• The host team cannot play the top seeded conference team, and would face the #4 conference seed if forced into that side of the Semi-Final bracket.
• Where possible, teams from one conference will not play the same teams as the other team from the conference (CW1 plays RSEQ2, therefore CW2 cannot play RSEQ1)

At last year's CIS Championship, the title was won by the York Lions (OUA) over the UBC Thunderbirds (CW). The Saint Mary's Huskies (AUS) won the bronze medal over the Toronto Varsity Blues (OUA). And in the 5th place match, the Western Mustangs (OUA) defeated the Laval Rouge et Or (RSEQ). So, removing any duplicates along the way, we end up with a men's conference ranking of:

1. OUA
2. CW
3. AUS
4. RSEQ

That gives the following Quarter-Final games:

QF1: OUA1 (McMaster)
QF2: RSEQ1 (Montreal)
QF3: AUS1 (Saint Mary's)
QF4: CW1 (Alberta)

This means that OUA2 (Toronto) and RSEQ2 (McGill) must go into QF3 and QF4, while AUS2 (Cape Breton) and CW2 (Victoria - host) must go into QF1 and QF2. Since the host cannot face the top ranked conference team, they must play in QF2. This gives us:

QF1: OUA1 (McMaster) v AUS2 (Cape Breton)
QF2: RSEQ1 (Montreal) v CW2 (Victoria - host)
QF3: AUS1 (Saint Mary's)
QF4: CW1 (Alberta)

The final teams left over are OUA2 (Toronto) and RSEQ2 (McGill). Since OUA1 (McMaster) is facing AUS2 (Cape Breton), OUA2 cannot face AUS1 (Saint Mary's), and thus must face CW1 (Alberta). That final choice gives us:

QF1: OUA1 (McMaster) v AUS2 (Cape Breton)
QF2: RSEQ1 (Montreal) v CW2 (Victoria - host)
QF3: AUS1 (Saint Mary's) v RSEQ2 (McGill)
QF4: CW1 (Alberta) v OUA2 (Toronto)

All of this is controlled by policies 4.2.2, 4.2.3, and 4.2.4 in the Men's Soccer Playing Regulations.

The women's CIS Championship is being hosted by McGill this year. (Full preview)

The basic gist of the women's seeding works in a similar way to the men's, such that:

• The #1 seeds from each conference are kept separate in the Quarter-Finals.
• The top conference team from previous year plays lowest ranked conference.
• OUA1 and OUA2 are placed into opposite Semi-Final brackets.
• The host team is seeded as #7 so that they cannot play the top seeded conference team.

So, for the 2011 CIS Championships, the rankings coming in were:

1. OUA (first and second place)
2. CW (third place)
3. RSEQ (fourth place)
4. AUS (tied for seventh)

That gives the following Quarter-Final games:

QF1: OUA1 (Queen's)
QF2: AUS1 (Dalhousie)
QF3: CW1 (Trinity Western)
QF4: RSEQ1 (Montreal)

The host team is automatically seeded as the #7 team, since they cannot play against the #1 seed. That puts RSEQ2 (McGill) into that slot, and has them face the 2nd seeded team, CW1 (Trinity Western). Since OUA2 (Laurier) must go into the other Semi-Final bracket from OUA1 (Queen's), they get to face up against RSEQ1 (Montreal) in QF4. That gives us:

QF1: OUA1 (Queen's)
QF2: AUS1 (Dalhousie)
QF3: CW1 (Trinity Western) v RSEQ2 (McGill - host)
QF4: RSEQ1 (Montreal) v OUA2 (Laurier)

The two remaining teams are CW2 (Alberta) and OUA3 (Ottawa). As the OUA1 and OUA3 teams cannot play each other in a Quarter-Final game, OUA3 (Ottawa) must face AUS1 (Dalhousie), and thus CW2 must play in QF1. Which gives us:

QF1: OUA1 (Queen's) v CW2 (Alberta)
QF2: AUS1 (Dalhousie) v OUA3 (Ottawa)
QF3: CW1 (Trinity Western) v RSEQ2 (McGill - host)
QF4: RSEQ1 (Montreal) v OUA2 (Laurier)

And there you go. Complicated, but... it works.

All of this is controlled by policies 4.2.2, 4.2.3, and 4.2.4 in the Women's Soccer Playing Regulations.