[kevinw]

This is a great idea. The breakdown backup rule could be a serious problem, though - any time it's used, people will question the legitimacy.

Also, think how much better off you'd be to be the last seeded team in an odd field than the second to last seeded team.

Perhaps it should be the lowest seeded team in the tournament to be eliminated that pairs up with the lowest seeded undrafted team in order to be more fair and to encourage high qualification rankings.

What happens if a team is rejected by all teams below it? Perhaps you should only be allowed to indicate teams you want to pick that are below you, and not who you would accept an invitation to play with. Any teams that are unpicked at the end are automatically paired based on qualification ranking, regardless of preference?

I do agree that some time would be necessary to properly consult scouting data and prepare a draft list.

This year, there were two fields that were not used for FRC play during division matches. If the championship were expanded to 8 divisions, then everyone would have more qualification matches. Likewise, if a regional had more than X teams, then they would have two divisions within the regional (more than Y teams, then they would have four divisions.. etc.)