The calculation
MIAA ratings combine a team's average scoring margin with its opponents' ratings. Every sport on this site uses the same formula; only the margin cap changes.
- Average margin
- Each result counts at no more than a 14-point win or loss.
- Opponent rating
- The average rating of the teams played. Opponent strength is calculated from the connected statewide schedule, including games against teams from other divisions.
- Power rating
- The two values combined. A higher rating means a stronger set of results after adjusting for schedule strength.
- Change
- The difference from that team's latest official MIAA rating after newer results and your scores are included. Every team moves slightly when any result is added, even without playing, because MIAA's scale shifts as a whole; this calculator follows that shift the way MIAA's numbers do.
Forfeits
A forfeit counts in the team's win/loss record and capped average margin. For opponent-strength calculations, MIAA instead uses a separate forfeit-adjusted rating that excludes the forfeited game's margin. The standings rank the team using its regular rating, not its forfeit-adjusted rating. This distinction is applied in this calculator.
What the calculator uses
The baseline is MIAA's Arbiter export as of October 30, 2026: 919 completed results and the official rating of all 262 Massachusetts football teams in 8 divisions, along with out-of-state opponents. Every team starts from that official rating. The model recomputes the entire statewide opponent network whenever a result changes, and adds those changes to the published rating.
Two confirmed Thursday finals that missed MIAA's 4 a.m. cutoff (South Shore–Upper Cape and Winthrop–Salem) are applied to the live projections until MIAA's own release includes them.
Accuracy and playoff rankings
This is an independent projection, not MIAA's official calculator. A high-precision solver calculates the interconnected power ratings; against MIAA's published ratings the independently computed results differ by a few thousandths of a rating point at most and keep MIAA's order for all but a handful of nearly tied teams. The default official numbers are imported exactly, but scenario results are estimates and especially close rankings can change.
The bracket takes the highest-rated 16 eligible schools, not necessarily the first 16 raw power-rating positions. For 2026 football, schools must have at least three wins and seven competed games; any ineligible school is skipped and the next eligible team moves into the playoff field. Raw rating ranks stay visible separately from postseason seed numbers.In field hockey, soccer and volleyball, lower-ranked teams with a .500 record or better can generally still qualify for a preliminary round. Official bracket decisions and other exceptions are not determined by this page.
Using scenarios
Pick a division to see its standings and Week 8 matchups side by side on desktop, or stacked on phones. Enter both scores on a matchup card to recalculate immediately. Predict Week 8 fills unentered games with estimates based on team ratings, points scored and allowed, and results against common opponents. A 🔒 marks a played game that cannot be edited.
Upcoming games for these sports come from MIAA's scoreboard under Games; add any that are missing. Enter both scores to recalculate immediately, or select Predict all games to estimate them from team ratings, scoring and common opponents. Volleyball scores are sets won.
MAX gives the selected team a 14–0 win, the largest margin that counts. Predictions are automated statistical estimates, not predictions from an external AI service, and are not guaranteed outcomes. Scores you type are never overwritten; Clear predictions removes only the estimates.
Brackets seed the top 16 teams in each division by rating, the top seed against the last, and so on. Later rounds show the higher seed advancing.
Select a team's name or open Teams to view all its games and opponents. Results you enter are saved in this browser and can be cleared under Entered; they do not sync between devices.
SourcesMIAA official rankings MIAA rating explanation Forfeit adjustment rules