Heal points are the standard in Maine, but what do other New England states do?

In the 1949-50 season, Maine high schools turned to a new system invented by a local principal to seed teams not just by their record, but by the quality of the teams they played and beat, in the hopes of more fairly ranking the best teams in a playoff region

More than 70 years later, the Heal points, named after Durward Heal, remain Maine’s weighted formula of choice. But across New England, other states have found their own systems to try to solve the seeding dilemma and create the most fair, accurate matchups.

Here is how other states go about it:

Vermont uses an index system that since the 2015-16 season has reflected strength of schedule. Like in Maine, teams get points based on the level of the opponent they’re defeating, but Vermont schools also get more points for winning on the road. Home and away doesn’t factor into Maine’s Heals.

Teams beating higher division teams get five points for home wins and six points for road wins, four and five for home and road wins against teams in the same division, 3.5 and 4.5 for wins against teams a division below, and two and three against teams two divisions below. Teams get half those points for ties.

The total amount of points, divided by the amount of games played, is the team’s point index.

Massachusetts split its state tournaments into sectionals — the equivalent of regions — until 2021, and seeded its teams by winning percentage. This led to numerous instances of lower seeds that played in tougher conferences beating higher seeds, and even reaching state finals.

Since the fall of 2021, however, Massachusetts has ditched sectionals for statewide tournaments, and instituted a weighted formula to seed teams within a division.

Teams are rewarded for margin of victory (capped at a specific amount); their average margin added to their average opponent’s rating results in their overall rating, with teams slotted according to that overall number.

Rhode Island used win-loss records to seed teams until 2024, when it opened up scheduling to allow teams to play out of division.

The state then instituted a rating percentage index formula similar to the one used in college basketball. A team’s winning percentage (multiplied by 10) makes up 60% of the number, and its opponents’ winning percentage makes up 40%.

Connecticut handles its seeding systems on a sport-by-sport basis.

Soccer just this fall moved to a formula that factors in multipliers for interdivision games, strength of schedule and winning percentage.

Volleyball, meanwhile, gives teams points for every win an opponent has, then divides that total by the number of games for a final point value.

Not all rankings are done in house. Lacrosse, for instance, uses calculations from LaxNumbers.com to put together its playoff fields.

New Hampshire, which adopted Maine’s Heal points formula on a trial basis in 2009, now uses a modified version that assigns a point figure for each win (more points for beating a team in a higher division).

All points are added up, then divided by the number of games played, and teams are sorted based on those ratings.

Drew Bonifant covers sports for the Press Herald, with beats in high school football, basketball and baseball. He was previously part of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel sports team. A New Hampshire... More by Drew Bonifant