document_title: Thriller (Michael Jackson album)

question_text: who produced michael jackson thriller album in 1982

text: Thriller (Michael Jackson album)

text: Background[edit]

text: Jackson's previous album Off the Wall (1979) received critical acclaim[13][14] and was a commercial success, selling over 20 million copies worldwide.[15] The years between Off the Wall and Thriller were a transitional period for Jackson, a time of increased independence.[16] The period saw him become deeply unhappy; Jackson said, "Even at home, I'm lonely. I sit in my room sometimes and cry. It's so hard to make friends ... I sometimes walk around the neighborhood at night, just hoping to find someone to talk to. But I just end up coming home."[17]

text: When Jackson turned 21 in August 1979, he hired John Branca as his manager.[18] Jackson confided in Branca that he wanted to be the biggest and wealthiest star in show business. He was upset about what he perceived to be the under-performance of Off the Wall, saying: "It was totally unfair that it didn't get Record of the Year and it can never happen again."[19] He also felt undervalued by the music industry; in 1980, when Rolling Stone declined to run a cover story on him, Jackson responded: "I've been told over and over that black people on the cover of magazines doesn't sell copies ... Just wait. Someday those magazines are going to be begging me for an interview. Maybe I'll give them one, and maybe I won't."[19]

text: Recording[edit]

text: Jackson reunited with Off the Wall producer Quincy Jones to record his sixth studio album, his second under the Epic label. The pair worked together on 30 songs, nine of which were included on the album.[20] Thriller was recorded at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, with a production budget of $750,000 (US$1,926,319.15 in 2017 dollars[21]). The recording commenced on April 14, 1982 at noon with Jackson and Paul McCartney recording "The Girl Is Mine; it was completed on the final day of mixing, November 8, 1982.[22] Several members of the band Toto were involved in the album's recording and production.[20] Jackson wrote four songs for the record: "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", "The Girl Is Mine", "Beat It" and "Billie Jean".[23] Unlike many artists, Jackson did not write these songs on paper. Instead, he dictated into a sound recorder; when recording he would sing from memory.[24][25]

text: The relationship between Jackson and Jones became strained during the recording. Jackson spent much of his time rehearsing dance steps alone.[25] When the album was completed, both Jones and Jackson were unhappy with the result and remixed every song, spending a week on each.[25]

text: Jackson was inspired to create an album where "every song was a killer" and developed Thriller with that in mind.[26][27] Jones and songwriter Rod Temperton gave detailed accounts of what occurred for the 2001 reissue of the album. Jones discussed "Billie Jean" and why it was so personal to Jackson, who struggled with obsessed fans. Jones wanted to shorten the long introduction, but Jackson insisted that it remain because it made him want to dance.[23] The ongoing backlash against disco made it necessary to move in a different musical direction from the disco-heavy Off the Wall.[27] Jones and Jackson were determined to make a rock song that would appeal to all tastes and spent weeks looking for a suitable guitarist for the song "Beat It". Eventually, they found Steve Lukather of Toto to play the rhythm guitar parts and Eddie Van Halen of the rock band Van Halen to play the solo.[23][25]

text: When Rod Temperton wrote the song "Thriller", he wanted to call it "Starlight" or "Midnight Man", but settled on "Thriller" because he felt the name had merchandising potential.[25] Wanting a notable person to recite the closing lyrics, Jones brought in actor Vincent Price, an acquaintance of Jones' wife; Price completed his part in two takes. Temperton wrote the spoken portion in a taxi on the way to the recording studio. Jones and Temperton said that some recordings were left off the final cut because they did not have the "edginess" of other album tracks.[23]

text: Songs recorded by Jackson for consideration included "Carousel" (written by Michael Sembello), "Got the Hots" (written by Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones), "Nite Line" (written by Glen Ballard), "Trouble" (aka "She's Trouble", written by Terry Britten, Bill Livsey and Sue Shifrin) and "Hot Street" (written by Rod Temperton), also known as "Slapstick". Jackson also cut a version of "Starlight". Demos of all these songs exist and have leaked onto the internet. "Carousel", "Got the Hots" and "Hot Street" were completed, but left off the final version of the album. A short clip of "Carousel" appeared as a bonus track on the 2001 reissue of the album; the full version was later released on iTunes in 2013 as part of The Ultimate Fan Extras Collection.

text: Music and lyrics[edit]

text:
"Thriller"

Excerpt of the album's title track and one of Jackson's signature pieces, "Thriller", released as a single in 1984. Jackson uses cinematic sound effects, horror film motifs and vocal trickery to convey a sense of danger.[28]

"Human Nature"

"Human Nature", a top ten hit single in the US. It is the most notable ballad on the album, praised for its moody, introspective lyrics and sound.

"Billie Jean"

"Billie Jean", a number one hit single in many countries. The song was written and co-produced by Jackson. The track mixed uptempo funk and disco with the somber themes of paranoia and obsession.[29]

Problems playing these files? See media help.

text: Thriller explores genres including pop, post-disco, rock and funk.[30][31][32] According to Steve Huey of AllMusic, it refined the strengths of Off the Wall; the dance and rock tracks are more aggressive, while the pop tunes and ballads are softer and more soulful.[33] The album includes the ballads "The Lady in My Life", "Human Nature" and "The Girl Is Mine". The funk tracks "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Something'", and the disco songs "Baby Be Mine" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"[29][30][33][34] have a similar sound to Off the Wall.

text: "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" climaxes in an African-inspired chant (often misidentified as Swahili, but actually syllables based on Duala),[35] giving the song an international flavor.[36] "The Girl Is Mine" tells of two friends' fight over a woman, arguing over who loves her more, and concludes with a rap.[25][36] The album's songs have a tempo ranging from 80 beats per minute on "The Girl is Mine", to 138 on "Beat It".[37]

text: Thriller foreshadows the contradictory themes of Jackson's later works.[38] With Thriller, Jackson began using a motif of paranoia and darker themes including supernatural imagery in the title track.[29] This is evident on the songs "Billie Jean", "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and "Thriller".[30] In "Billie Jean", Jackson sings about an obsessive fan who alleges he fathered her child; in "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" he argues against media gossip.[29][33] For "Billie Jean", Jones had Jackson sing overdubs through a six-foot cardboard tube and brought in jazz saxophonist Tom Scott to play the lyricon, a wind-controlled synthesizer. Bassist Louis Johnson ran through his part on a Yamaha bass guitar. The song opens with a long bass-and-drums introduction.[39] "Thriller" includes sound effects such as creaking doors, thunder, footsteps, wind, and howling dogs.[25]

text: The anti-gang-violence "Beat It" became a homage to West Side Story and was Jackson's first successful rock cross-over piece.[33][40] Jackson later said of "Beat It", "the point is no one has to be the tough guy, you can walk away from a fight and still be a man. You don't have to die to prove you're a man".[36] "Human Nature", co-written by Steve Porcaro of the band Toto,[41] is moody and introspective, as conveyed in lyrics such as, "Looking out, across the morning, the City's heart begins to beat, reaching out, I touch her shoulder, I'm dreaming of the street".[36]

text: By the late 1970s, Jackson's abilities as a vocalist were well regarded; AllMusic described him as a "blindingly gifted vocalist".[13] Rolling Stone critic Stephen Holden likened his vocals to the "breathless, dreamy stutter" of Stevie Wonder, and wrote that "Jackson's feathery-timbred tenor is extraordinarily beautiful. It slides smoothly into a startling falsetto that's used very daringly."[14] With the release of Thriller, Jackson could sing low—down to a basso low C—but he preferred to sing higher because pop tenors have more range to create style.[42] Rolling Stone critic Christopher Connely wrote that Jackson was now singing in a "fully adult voice" that was "tinged by sadness".[29]

text: "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)", credited to James Ingram and Quincy Jones and "The Lady in My Life" by Rod Temperton, both gave the album a stronger R&B direction; the latter song was described as "the closest Jackson has come to crooning a sexy, soulful ballad after his Motown years" by J. Randy Taraborrelli.[36] The singer had already adopted a "vocal hiccup" (first used in 1973 on "It's Too Late to Change the Time"[43]), which he continued to implement in Thriller. The purpose of the hiccup—somewhat like a gulping for air or gasping—is to help invoke a certain emotion, be it excitement, sadness or fear.[44]

text: Release and reception[edit]

text:
Professional ratings

Review scores

Source
Rating

AllMusic
[30]

Christgau's Record Guide
A[45]

Encyclopedia of Popular Music
[46]

Entertainment Weekly
A[47]

MusicHound R&B
5/5[48]

Q
[49]

Rolling Stone
[29]

The Rolling Stone Album Guide
[50]

Slant Magazine
[34]

The Village Voice
A–[51]

text: Thriller was released on November 30, 1982, and sold one million copies worldwide per week at its peak.[42] Seven singles were released from the album beginning with "The Girl Is Mine", the duet with Paul McCartney which was criticized at the time as a poor choice for the lead release and led some critics to believe that the album would be a disappointment and to suggestions that Jackson was bowing to a white audience.[36] "The Girl Is Mine" was followed by the hit single "Billie Jean", which made Thriller a chart-topper.[52][53] Success continued with the single "Beat It", which featured guitarists Eddie Van Halen and Steve Lukather.[54] The album's title track was released as a single and also became a hit internationally.[36]

text: The cover for Thriller features Jackson in a white suit that belonged to photographer Dick Zimmerman. The gatefold sleeve reveals a tiger cub at Jackson's leg, which Zimmerman reported the singer mostly kept away from his face fearing he would be scratched.[55] Another picture from the shoot, with Jackson embracing the cub, was used for the 2001 special edition of Thriller.[56]

text: In a contemporaneous review for Rolling Stone, Christopher Connelly called Thriller "a zesty LP" with a "harrowing, dark message". He compared the songs on the album with the life challenges that the 24-year-old Jackson had faced since Off the Wall, while observing that he "dropped the boyish falsetto" and was facing his "challenges head-on" with "a feisty determination" and "a full, adult voice".[29] John Rockwell wrote in The New York Times that perhaps Jackson was a "sometimes too practiced ... performer", that at times Quincy Jones may "depersonalize his individuality" with his "slightly anonymous production", and that Jackson may be hiding his true emotions behind "layers of impenetrable, gauzy veils".[57]

text: Rockwell nonetheless deemed Thriller "a wonderful pop record, the latest statement by one of the great singers in popular music today" and that there are "hits here, too, lots of them". Rockwell believed it helped breach "the destructive barriers that spring up regularly between white and black music", especially as "white publications and radio stations that normally avoid black music seem willing to pretend he isn't black after all".[57] In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau said "this is virtually a hits-plus-filler job, but at such a high level it's almost classic anyway".[51] He later wrote in retrospect, "what we couldn't know is how brilliantly every hit but 'P.Y.T.' would thrive on mass exposure and public pleasure."[45]

text: A year after the album's release, Time summed up the three main singles from the album, saying, "The pulse of America and much of the rest of the world moves irregularly, beating in time to the tough strut of 'Billie Jean', the asphalt aria of 'Beat It', the supremely cool chills of 'Thriller'."[42] In 1989, Toronto Star music critics reflected on the albums they had reviewed in the past ten years in order to create a list judging them on the basis of "commercial impact to social import, to strictly musical merit." Thriller was placed at number 1 on the list, where it was referred to as his "master work" and that "commercial success has since overshadowed Jackson's artistic accomplishments on Thriller, and that's a pity. It was a record for the times, brimming with breathless anticipation and a dread fear of the adult world, a brilliant fantasy that pumped with sexual heat, yet made room for serious reflection".[58]

text: The album won a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards in 1984, including Album of the Year. Jackson won seven of the Grammys for the album, while the eighth Grammy went to Bruce Swedien.[59][60][61] That same year, Jackson won eight American Music Awards, the Special Award of Merit and three MTV Video Music Awards.[62] Thriller was recognized as the world's best-selling album on February 7, 1984, when it was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records.[63] It is one of four albums to be the best-seller of two years (1983–1984) in the US.[64]

text: On December 16, 2015, Thriller was certified 30× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of at least 30 million units in the US.[65][66] After the inclusion of streaming and tracks sales into the RIAA album awards in 2017, Thriller was re-certified 33× platinum for a total of 33 million album-equivalent units.[9] The album topped the charts in many countries, sold 4.2 million copies in the UK,[67] 2.5 million in Japan,[68] and was certified 15× Platinum in Australia.[69] Still popular today, Thriller sells an estimated 130,000 copies in the US per year; it reached number two in the US Catalog charts in February 2003 and number 39 in the UK in March 2007.[62]

text: Influence and legacy[edit]

text: Music industry[edit]

text: Blender described Jackson as the "late 20th century's preeminent pop icon", while The New York Times gave the opinion that he was a "musical phenomenon" and that "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else".[39][70] Jackson changed the way the industry functioned: both as an artistic persona and as a financial, profitable entity. His attorney John Branca observed that Jackson achieved the highest royalty rate in the music industry to that point: approximately $2 (US$4.71 in 2017 dollars[21]) for each album sold.

text: As a result, Jackson earned record-breaking profits from compact disc sales and from the sale of copies of the documentary, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, produced by Jackson and John Landis. Funded by MTV, the film sold over 350,000 copies in its first few months. In a market then driven by singles, Thriller raised the significance of albums, yet its multiple hit singles changed perceived notions as to the number of successful singles that could be taken from an individual album.[33] The era saw the arrival of novelties like the Michael Jackson doll, that appeared in stores in May 1984 at a price of $12 (US$28 in 2017 dollars[21]).[42] Thriller retains a position in American culture; biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli explains, "At some point, Thriller stopped selling like a leisure item—like a magazine, a toy, tickets to a hit movie—and started selling like a household staple".[71]

text: At the time of the album's release, a press statement from Gil Friesen, the then President of A&M Records, read that, "The whole industry has a stake in this success".[42] Time magazine speculated that "the fallout from Thriller has given the [music] business its best years since the heady days of 1978, when it had an estimated total domestic revenue of $4.1 billion".[42] Time summed up Thriller's impact as a "restoration of confidence" for an industry bordering on "the ruins of punk and the chic regions of synthesizer pop". The publication described Jackson's influence at that point as, "Star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too".[42]

text: When Thriller and "Billie Jean" were searching to reach their market demographic, MTV and cable TV had a smaller market share than the much larger reach of broadcast television stations in the United States. A national broadcast TV audience on ABC, NBC and CBS affiliate stations, as well as major independent TV stations, was desired by CBS/Epic Records to promote Thriller. The national broadcast TV premiere of the Thriller album's first video, "Billie Jean", was during the week of Halloween in October 1984 and was the idea of Video Concert Hall executive producers Charles Henderson and Jerry Crowe.[72][73] Video Concert Hall, the first nationwide music video TV network, taped the one-hour special in Hollywood and Atlanta, where the TV studios of Video Concert Hall were located.[74][75][76][77] The Thriller TV special was hosted by Thriller video co-star Vincent Price, distributed by Henderson-Crowe Syndications, Inc. and aired in the top 20 TV markets and much of the United States, including TV stations WNEW (New York), WFLD (Chicago), KTTV (Los Angeles), WPLG (Miami), WQTV (Boston) and WXIA (Atlanta), for a total of 150 TV stations.[72][73]

text: From the moment Thriller was released, it set the standard for the music industry: artists, record labels, producers, marketers and even choreographers. The music video was ahead of its time and it is considered a monumental one—not only in Jackson's career, but also in the history of pop music. Epic Records' approach to creating a song and video that would appeal to the mass market ended up influencing the way that professionals now market and release their songs.[78] John Landis' production of a mini-movie, rather than the usual short music video, would raise the bar for other directors and producers.[79]

text: Music videos and racial equality[edit]

text: Before the success of Thriller, many felt Jackson had struggled to get MTV airing because he was black.[39] In an effort to attain air time for Jackson, CBS Records President Walter Yetnikoff pressured MTV and declared, "I'm not going to give you any more videos and I'm going to go public and fucking tell them about the fact you don't want to play music by a black guy."[39]

text: His position persuaded MTV to begin airing "Billie Jean" and later "Beat It", (along with Prince's "Little Red Corvette") which led to a long partnership and later helped other black music artists to gain mainstream recognition.[80] MTV denies claims of racism in their broadcasting.[81] The popularity of his videos, such as "Beat It" and "Billie Jean", helped to place the young channel "on the map" and MTV's focus shifted in favor of pop and R&B.[80][82] Jackson transformed the medium of music video into an art form and promotional tool through the use of complex story lines, dance routines, special effects and cameo appearances by well known personalities.[33]

text: When the 14-minute-long Thriller video aired, MTV ran it twice an hour to meet demand.[83] The short film marked an increase in scale for music videos and has been routinely named the best music video ever.[33] The popularity of the video sent the album back to number one in the album chart, but Jackson's label did not support the release of the third music video from the album. They were already pleased with its success, so Jackson convinced MTV to fund the project.[25][83]

text: Author, music critic and journalist Nelson George wrote in 2004, "It's difficult to hear the songs from Thriller and disengage them from the videos. For most of us the images define the songs. In fact it could be argued that Michael is the first artist of the MTV age to have an entire album so intimately connected in the public imagination with its imagery".[28] Short films like Thriller largely remained unique to Jackson, while the group dance sequence in "Beat It" has been frequently imitated.[23] The choreography in Thriller has become a part of global pop culture, replicated everywhere from Bollywood to prisons in the Philippines.[84][85]

text: For a black artist in the 1980s to that point, Jackson's success was unprecedented. According to The Washington Post, Thriller paved the way for other African-American artists to achieve mainstream recognition, such as Prince.[86] Christgau credited "The Girl Is Mine" for giving radio exposure to the idea of interracial love.[45] Time noted, "Jackson is the biggest thing since the Beatles. He is the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He just may be the most popular black singer ever".[42]

text: Contemporary appeal[edit]

text: Today, Thriller is still viewed in a positive light by critics some three decades later. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that the record had something to interest everyone. He believed it showcased harder funk and hard rock while remaining "undeniably fun". He went on to compliment "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and said, "The record's two best songs: 'Billie Jean, ... and the delirious 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'', the freshest funk on the album [but] the most claustrophobic, scariest track Jackson ever recorded." Erlewine gave the opinion that it was an improvement on the artist's previous album, although he was critical of the title track, describing it as "ridiculous" and as having the effect of "arriving in the middle of the record and sucking out its momentum".[30]

text: In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Jon Pareles commented that Jackson "doubled his ambitions and multiplied his audience" with the album and wrote of its legacy, "Thriller had extramusical help in becoming the best-selling noncompilation album of all time: Jackson's dancing feet and dazzling stage presence, amplified by the newfound promotional reach of music video and the Reagan era's embrace of glossy celebrity. But especially in the album's seven hit singles (out of nine songs), the music stands on its own."[87]

text: Sputnikmusic reviewer Tyler Fisher noted that Thriller "stands one of Jackson's greatest efforts, giving him an eternal legacy in pop music."[88] Culture critic Nelson George wrote that Jackson "has educated R. Kelly, Usher, Justin Timberlake and countless others with Thriller as a textbook".[89] As a sign of the album's longevity, in 2003 Thriller was ranked at number 20 on the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list and was listed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers at number three of the "Definitive 200" albums of all time.[12][90] In 2008, 25 years after its release, the record was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and, a few weeks later, was among 25 recordings preserved by the Library of Congress to the National Recording Registry as "culturally significant".[91][92] In 2009, music critics for MTV Base and VH1 both listed Thriller as the best album released since 1981.[93] Thriller, along with other critic favorites, were then polled by the public. 40,000 people found Thriller to be the Best Album of all time by MTV Generation, gaining a third of all votes.[93][94]

text: Reissues and catalog sales[edit]

text: Thriller was reissued on October 16, 2001, in an expanded set titled Thriller: Special Edition. The original tracks were remastered and the album included a new booklet and bonus material, including the songs "Someone in the Dark", "Carousel" and Jackson's original "Billie Jean" demo, as well as audio interviews with Jones and Temperton discussing the recording of the album.[23][95] Sony also hired sound engineer and mixer Mick Guzauski[96][97] to work with Jackson on creating 5.1-channel surround sound mixes of Thriller, as well as all his other albums, for release on the then-new Super Audio CD format. Despite numerous retries, the artist never approved any of the mixes.[98] Consequently, Thriller was issued on SACD only in a stereo version.[99]

text: In February 2008, Epic Records released Thriller 25; Jackson served as executive producer.[100] Thriller 25 appeared on CD, USB and vinyl with seven bonus tracks, a new song called "For All Time", a snippet of Vincent Price's voice-over and five remixes featuring American artists Fergie, will.i.am, Kanye West and Akon.[100][101][102] It also included a DVD featuring three music videos, the Motown 25 "Billie Jean" performance and a booklet with a message from Jackson.[100] The ballad "For All Time" supposedly dates from 1982, but is often credited as being from the Dangerous sessions.[103] Two singles were released from the reissue: "The Girl Is Mine 2008" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008".

text: Thriller 25 was a commercial success and did particularly well as a reissue. It peaked at number one in eight countries and Europe. It peaked at number two in the US, number three in the UK and reached the top 10 in over 30 national charts. It was certified Gold in 11 countries including the UK, received a 2× Gold certification in France and received platinum certification in Poland.[104][105][106] In the United States, Thriller 25 was the second best-selling album of its release week, selling one hundred and sixty six thousand copies, just fourteen thousand short of reaching the number one position. It was ineligible for the Billboard 200 chart as a re-release but entered the Pop Catalog Charts at number one (where it stayed for ten non-consecutive weeks),[107] with the best sales on that chart since December 1996.[108][109][110] With the arrival of Halloween that November, Thriller 25 spent an eleventh non-consecutive week atop the US catalog chart. This brought US sales of the album to 688,000 copies, making it the best-selling catalog album of 2008.[111] This was Jackson's best launch since Invincible in 2001, selling three million copies worldwide in 12 weeks.[112]

text: After Jackson's death in June 2009, Thriller set additional records. It sold more than 100,000 copies, placing it at number two on the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart. Songs from Thriller also helped Jackson become the first artist to sell more than one million song downloads in a week.[113] According to Nielsen SoundScan, Thriller was the 14th best-selling album of 2009 in the United States, with 1.27 million copies sold.[114]

text: For one week beginning November 20, 2015, Google Play Music offered a free copy of the album to its users in the U.S.[115] It is called Thriller (Google Play Exclusive Version). It adds a tenth track to the original, Billie Jean (Home Demo from 1981).

text: To date, Thriller remains the best-selling album of all time, selling over 66 million copies worldwide.[3]

text: Track listing[edit]

text:
Side one

No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"
Michael Jackson

Quincy Jones
Jackson[a]

6:02

2.
"Baby Be Mine"
Rod Temperton
Jones
4:20

3.
"The Girl Is Mine"
Jackson

Jones
Jackson[a]

3:41

4.
"Thriller"
Temperton
Jones
5:57

text:
Side two

No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

5.
"Beat It"
Jackson

Jones
Jackson[a]

4:18

6.
"Billie Jean"
Jackson

Jones
Jackson[a]

4:54

7.
"Human Nature"

Steve Porcaro
John Bettis

Jones
4:07

8.
"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"

James Ingram
Jones

Jones
3:58

9.
"The Lady in My Life"
Temperton
Jones
4:59

Total length:
42:19

text: Notes

text: ^[a] signifies a co-producer

text: Personnel[edit]

text: Personnel as listed in the album's liner notes are:[116]

text:
Tom Bahler – Synclavier (track 5)
Brian Banks – synthesizer (track 4), synthesizer programming (2)
Michael Boddicker – synthesizers (tracks 1–2), Emulator (6–9), Vocoder (8)
Bruce Cannon – effects (track 4)
Ndugu Chancler – drums (tracks 2, 6, 8)
Paulinho da Costa – percussion (tracks 1, 7)
David Foster – synthesizer (track 3), synthesizer arrangements (3)
Gary Grant – trumpet (tracks 1–2, 4), flugelhorn (1–2, 4)
Nelson Hayes – bathroom stomp board (track 1)
Howard Hewett – background vocals (track 8)
Jerry Hey – trumpet (tracks 1–2, 4), flugelhorn (1–2, 4), horn arrangements (1–2, 4), string arrangements (3, 6), strings conductor (3)
Bunny Hull – background vocals (tracks 1, 8)
James Ingram – background vocals (tracks 1, 8), Portasound keyboard (8), handclaps (8), musical arrangements (8)
Janet Jackson – background vocals (track 8)
La Toya Jackson – background vocals (track 8)
Michael Jackson – co-producer (tracks 1, 3, 5-6), lead vocals (all tracks), drum machine (1, 4), drum case beater (track 5), bathroom stomp board (1), background vocals (1, 4–6), handclaps (8), vocal arrangements (1, 3, 5–6), rhythm arrangements (1, 5–6), horn arrangements (1), synthesizer arrangements (6)
Paul Jackson – guitar (tracks 5, 8–9)
Louis Johnson – bass guitar (tracks 1, 3, 6, 8–9), handclaps (8)
Quincy Jones – producer (all tracks), rhythm arrangements (tracks 1, 3, 5), vocal arrangements (3), musical arrangements (8)
Becky Lopez – background vocals (tracks 1, 8)
Jerry Lubbock – strings conductor (track 6)
Steve Lukather – guitar (tracks 3, 5, 7), bass guitar (5), musical arrangements (7)
Anthony Marinelli – synthesizer programming (tracks 2, 4)
Paul McCartney – lead vocals (track 3)
David Paich – synthesizers (tracks 2, 7, 9), piano (3), rhythm arrangements (3), musical arrangements (7)
Dean Parks – guitar (tracks 3)
Greg Phillinganes – keyboards (2, 4), synthesizers (1–2, 4–6, 8), Rhodes (1, 3, 5-6, 9), synthesizer programming (8), handclaps (8)
Jeff Porcaro – drums (tracks 3, 5, 7, 9)
Steve Porcaro – synthesizers (tracks 5, 7, 9), synthesizer programming (2–3, 5, 7), musical arrangements (7)
Vincent Price – voice-over (track 4)
Steven Ray – bathroom stomp board (track 1), handclaps (8)
Bill Reichenbach – trombone (tracks 1–2, 4)
Greg Smith – Synergy (track 5), synthesizer (6)
Bruce Swedien – recording engineer (All tracks), audio mixer (All tracks), effects (4)
Chris Shepard – vibraslap (track 5)
Rod Temperton – synthesizers (track 4), rhythm arrangements (2, 4, 9), vocal arrangements (2, 4, 9), synthesizer arrangements (2, 4, 9)
Eddie Van Halen – guitar solo (track 5)
Jerry Vinci – concertmaster (track 3)
Julia Waters – background vocals (track 1)
Maxine Waters – background vocals (track 1)
Oren Waters – background vocals (track 1)
David Williams – guitar (tracks 1–2, 4, 6)
Larry Williams – saxophone (tracks 1–2, 4), flute (1–2, 4)
Bill Wolfer – keyboards (track 5), synthesizer (1, 6), synthesizer programming (6)

text: Charts[edit]

text: Year-end charts[edit]

text:
Original release

Chart (1983)
Peak
position

Australia (Kent Music Report)[117]
1

Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[118]
1

Canada (RPM Top Albums)[119]
1

France (IFOP)[120]
1

Germany (Official German Charts)[121]
2

Italy (FIMI)[122]
1

Japan (Oricon)[123]
6

Netherlands (Single Top 100)[124]
1

UK Albums (OCC)[125]
1

US Billboard 200[125]
1

US Hot Black Albums[125]
1

Chart (1984)
Peak
position

Australia (Kent Music Report)[117]
2

Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[126]
3

Canada (RPM Top Albums)[127]
4

Germany (Official German Charts)[128]
5

Japan (Oricon)[129]
1

Netherlands (Single Top 100)[130]
4

Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[131]
1

UK Albums (OCC)[132]
6

US Billboard 200[133]
1

US Hot Black Albums[133]
2

Reissue

Chart (2009)
Peak
position

Australia (ARIA)[134]
32

Germany (Official German Charts)[135]
40

US Billboard Comprehensive Albums[136]
16

US Billboard Top Internet Albums[137]
16

US Billboard Top Pop Catalog Albums[138]
16

Chart (2010)
Peak
position

Australia (Top 100 Singles)[139]
47

US Billboard 200[140]
137

US Billboard Top Pop Catalog Albums[141]
7

text: Decade-end charts[edit]

text:
Chart (1980–1989)
Position

Australia (Kent Music Report)[117]
3

Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[142]
1

Japan (Oricon)[143]
2

UK Albums (OCC)[132]
3

text: Certifications[edit]

text:
Region
Certification
Certified units/Sales

Argentina (CAPIF)[144]
Diamond
500,000^

Australia (ARIA)[145]
16× Platinum
1,150,000[146]

Austria (IFPI Austria)[147]
8× Platinum
400,000*

Canada (Music Canada)[148]
2× Diamond
2,400,000[149]

Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[150]
2× Platinum
100,000^

Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[151]
Platinum
129,061[151]

France (SNEP)[152]
Diamond
3,760,000[153]

Germany (BVMI)[154]
3× Platinum
1,500,000^

Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[155]
Platinum
20,000*

Italy (FIMI)[156]
Platinum
1,000,000*

Japan (RIAJ)[157]
Gold
2,500,000[68]

Mexico (AMPROFON)[158]
Platinum+Diamond+Gold
1,600,000^

Netherlands (NVPI)[159]
8× Platinum
1,400,000[160]

New Zealand (RMNZ)[161]
12× Platinum
180,000^

Portugal (AFP)[162]
Platinum
50,000^

South Korea

50,000[163]

Sweden (GLF)[164]
4× Platinum
400,000^

Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[165]
6× Platinum
300,000^

United Kingdom (BPI)[166]
13× Platinum
4,400,000[167]

United States (RIAA)[168]
33× Platinum
33,000,000

Summaries

Europe (IFPI)[169]
For sales in 2009
Platinum
1,000,000*

Worldwide

66 million[3]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone


document_title: Women's College World Series

question_text: which two schools have combined to win the last 5 women's college world series in softball

question_tokens: which two schools have combined to win the last 5 women 's college world series in softball

root

text: Women's College World Series

text: Division I[edit]

text: NCAA[edit]

text:
Year
Champion[3]
Title
Series
Score
Runner-up
Tie-3rd
Tie-5th
Tie-7th

1982
UCLA
WCAA
2–0 (8 inn)
Fresno State
NorPac
Cal St. Fullerton
WCAA
Arizona State
WCAA
Nebraska
Big Eight
Western Michigan
MAC
Creighton
Gateway
Oklahoma State
Big Eight

1983
Texas A&M
Southwest
2–0 (12 inn)
Cal State Fullerton
WCAA
UCLA
WCAA
South Carolina
Independent
Louisiana Tech
Southland
Pacific
NorPac
Indiana
Big Ten
Missouri
Big Eight

1984
UCLA
WCAA
1–0 (13 inn)
Texas A&M
Southwest
Northwestern
Big Ten
Nebraska
Big Eight
Adelphi
Atlantic 10
Fresno State
NorPac
Cal Poly Pomona
CCAA
Utah State
High Country

1985
2–1 (9 inn)
Nebraska*
Big Eight
Cal St. Fullerton
PCAA
Cal Poly Pomona
CCAA
Adelphi
Atlantic 10
Northwestern
Big Ten
Louisiana Tech
Southland
Utah
High Country

1986
Cal State Fullerton
PCAA
3–0
Texas A&M
Southwest
California
NorPac
Indiana
Big Ten
Creighton
Gateway
Long Beach State
PCAA
Louisiana Tech
Southland
Northwestern
Big Ten

1987
Texas A&M
Southwest
4–1
UCLA
Pac-10
Cal St. Fullerton
PCAA
Nebraska
Big Eight
Central Michigan
MAC
Fresno State
PCAA
Arizona State
Pac-10
Florida State
Metro

1988
UCLA
Pac-10
3–0
Fresno State
PCAA
Arizona
Pac-10
Cal Poly Pomona
CCAA
Nebraska
Big Eight
Texas A&M
Southwest
Aldelphi
Atlantic 10
Northern Illinois
North Star

1989
1–0
Arizona
Pac-10
Oklahoma State
Big Eight
Cal Poly Pomona
CCAA
Oregon
Pac-10
South Carolina
Metro
Toledo
MAC

1990
2–0
Florida State
Metro
Oklahoma State
Big Eight
Long Beach State
Big West
UNLV
Big West
Arizona
Pac-10
Kent State
MAC

1991
Arizona
Pac-10
5–1
UCLA
Pac-10
Fresno State
Big West
Long Beach State
Big West
Florida State
Metro
Missouri
Big Eight
UNLV
Big West
Utah
WAC

1992
UCLA
Pac-10
2–0
Arizona
Pac-10
Fresno State
Big West
Massachusetts
Atlantic 10
California
Pac-10
Long Beach State
Big West
Florida State
ACC
Kansas
Big Eight

1993
Arizona
Pac-10
1–0
UCLA
Pac-10
Southwestern Louisiana
Sun Belt
Oklahoma State
Big Eight
Cal St. Northridge
WAC
Connecticut
Big East
Florida State
ACC
Long Beach State
Big West

1994
4–0
Cal State Northridge
WAC
Oklahoma State
Big Eight
UCLA
Pac-10
Fresno State
WAC
Utah
WAC
Illinois–Chicago
Mid-Con
Missouri
Big Eight

1995
UCLA**
Pac-10
4–2
Arizona
Pac-10
Iowa
Big Ten
UNLV
Big West
Cal St. Fullerton
Big West
SW Louisiana
Sun Belt
Michigan
Big Ten
Princeton
Ivy

1996
Arizona
Pac-10
6–4
Washington
Pac-10
Iowa
Big Ten
UCLA
Pac-10
California
Pac-10
SW Louisiana
Sun Belt
Michigan
Big Ten
Princeton
Ivy

1997
10–2 (5 inn)
UCLA
Pac-10
Fresno State
WAC
Washington
Pac-10
Iowa
Big Ten
Michigan
Big Ten
Massachusetts
Atlantic 10
South Carolina
SEC

1998
Fresno State
WAC
1–0
Arizona
Pac-10
Oklahoma State
Big 12
Washington
Pac-10
Michigan
Big Ten
Nebraska
Big 12
Massachusetts
Atlantic 10
Texas
Big 12

1999
UCLA
Pac-10
3–2
Washington
Pac-10
California
Pac-10
DePaul
Conference USA
Arizona
Pac-10
Fresno State
WAC
Arizona State
Pac-10
Southern Miss
Conference USA

2000
Oklahoma
Big 12
3–1
UCLA
Pac-10
Arizona
Pac-10
Southern Miss
Conference USA
Alabama
SEC
Washington
Pac-10
California
Pac-10
DePaul
Conference USA

2001
Arizona
Pac-10
1–0
UCLA
Pac-10
LSU
SEC
Stanford
Pac-10
California
Pac-10
Oklahoma
Big 12
Iowa
Big Ten
Michigan
Big Ten

2002
California
Pac-10
6–0
Arizona
Pac-10
Arizona State
Pac-10
Florida State
ACC
Nebraska
Big 12
UCLA
Pac-10
Michigan
Big Ten
Oklahoma
Big 12

2003
UCLA
Pac-10
1–0 (9 inn)
California
Pac-10
Arizona
Pac-10
Texas
Big 12
Oklahoma
Big 12
Washington
Pac-10
Alabama
SEC
LA-Lafayette
Sun Belt

2004
3–1
LSU
SEC
Stanford
Pac-10
Florida State
ACC
Oklahoma
Big 12
Michigan
Big Ten
Washington
Pac-10

2005***
Michigan
Big Ten
0–5
5–2
4–1 (10 inn)
UCLA
Pac-10
Tennessee
SEC
Texas
Big 12
Alabama
SEC
Arizona
Pac-10
California
Pac-10
DePaul
Conference USA

2006
Arizona
Pac-10
8–0
5–0
Northwestern
Big Ten
Tennessee
SEC
UCLA
Pac-10
Arizona State
Pac-10
Texas
Big 12
Alabama
SEC
Oregon State
Pac-10

2007
0–3
1–0 (10 inn)
5–0
Tennessee
SEC
Northwestern
Big Ten
Washington
Pac-10
Baylor
Big 12
DePaul
Big East
Arizona State
Pac-10
Texas A&M
Big 12

2008
Arizona State
Pac-10
3–0
11–0
Texas A&M
Big 12
Alabama
SEC
Florida
SEC
LA-Lafayette
Sun Belt
UCLA
Pac-10
Arizona
Pac-10
Virginia Tech
ACC

2009
Washington
Pac-10
8–0
3–2
Florida
SEC
Alabama
SEC
Georgia
SEC
Arizona
Pac-10
Michigan
Big Ten
Arizona State
Pac-10
Missouri
Big 12

2010
UCLA
Pac-10
6–5 (8 inn)
15–9
Arizona
Pac-10
Georgia
SEC
Tennessee
SEC
Florida
SEC
Hawaii
WAC
Missouri
Big 12
Washington
Pac-10

2011
Arizona State
Pac-10
14–4
7–2
Florida
SEC
Alabama
SEC
Baylor
Big 12
California
Pac-10
Missouri
Big 12
Oklahoma
Big 12
Oklahoma State
Big 12

2012
Alabama
SEC
1–4
8–6
5–4
Oklahoma
Big 12
California
Pac-12
Arizona State
Pac-12
Oregon
Pac-12
LSU
SEC
South Florida
Big East
Tennessee
SEC

2013
Oklahoma
Big 12
5–3 (12 inn)
4–0
Tennessee
SEC
Washington
Pac-12
Texas
Big 12
Michigan
Big Ten
Florida
SEC
Arizona State
Pac-12
Nebraska
Big Ten

2014
Florida
SEC
5–0
6–3
Alabama
SEC
Oregon
Pac-12
Baylor
Big 12
Oklahoma
Big 12
Kentucky
SEC
LA-Lafayette
Sun Belt
Florida State
ACC

2015
3–2
0–1
4–1
Michigan
Big Ten
Auburn
SEC
LSU
SEC
UCLA
Pac-12
Alabama
SEC
Oregon
Pac-12
Tennessee
SEC

2016
Oklahoma
Big 12
3–2
7–11 (8 inn)
2–1
Auburn
SEC
Florida State
ACC
LSU
SEC
Michigan
Big Ten
Georgia
SEC
Alabama
SEC
UCLA
Pac-12

2017
7-5 (17 inn)
5-4
Florida
SEC
Oregon
Pac-12
Washington
Pac-12
LSU
SEC
UCLA
Pac-12
Baylor
Big 12
Texas A&M
SEC

tag: table

text: * Nebraska's runner-up finish in 1985 was vacated by the NCAA.

tag: p

text: ** The 1995 title by UCLA and any related records have been vacated by the NCAA due to scholarship violations. Criticism also centered on UCLA player Tanya Harding who was recruited from Queensland, Australia midway through the 1995 season. After UCLA captured the NCAA National Championship, Harding, the MVP of the tournament, returned to her homeland without taking final exams or earning a single college credit. Despite not violating any formal rules in recruiting Harding, the incident generated heated criticism that some foreign athletes were little more than hired guns.[4][5]

text: *** Beginning in 2005, a best-of-three series determines the national championship.

text: AIAW[edit]

text: From 1969–1972, the DGWS (forerunner organization of the AIAW) recognized the WCWS, organized by the Amateur Softball Association, as the collegiate championship tournament. The AIAW assumed responsibilities from DGWS in 1973.

text:
Year
Champion[3]
Title Series Game Score(s)
Runner-up

1969
John F. Kennedy College
2–0
Illinois State

1970
0–2
7–6
Southwest Missouri State

1971
6–0
4–0
Iowa State

1972
Arizona State
0–1
8–5 (11 inn)
University of Tokyo–Nihon

1973
0–4
4–3 (16 inn)
Illinois State

1974
Southwest Missouri State
14–7
Northern Colorado

1975
Nebraska Omaha
1–11
6–4
Northern Iowa

1976
Michigan State
3–0
Northern Colorado

1977
Northern Iowa
0–1 (9 inn)
7–0
Arizona

1978
UCLA
3–0
Northern Colorado

1979
Texas Woman's
1–0
1–0
UCLA

1980[a]
Utah State
1–0
2–1
Indiana

1981[b]
1–6
4–3
Cal State Fullerton

1982
Texas A&M
4–1
5–3 (8 inn)
Oklahoma State

text:
Jump up ^ Officially named the "AIAW Division I National Softball Championship."[3]:54
Jump up ^ Officially named the "AIAW College Softball World Series."[3]:58

tag: ol

text: NCAA team titles by school[edit]

text:
School
Number
Year Won

UCLA
11
1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2010

Arizona
8
1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2007

Oklahoma
4
2000, 2013, 2016, 2017

Arizona State
2
2008, 2011

Texas A&M
2
1983, 1987

Florida
2
2014, 2015

Alabama
1
2012

Cal State Fullerton
1
1986

Fresno State
1
1998

Michigan
1
2005

Washington
1
2009

California
1
2002

*UCLA also won the 1995 title, but it has since been vacated by the NCAA; see above.

text: AIAW team titles by school[edit]

text:
School
Championships[3]
Years

John F. Kennedy College (Nebraska)
3
1969, 1970, 1971 (all DGWS)

Arizona State
2
1972 (DGWS), 1973

Utah State
2
1980, 1981

Florida State
2
1981, 1982 (both Slow Pitch)

(Southwest) Missouri State
1
1974

Nebraska Omaha
1
1975

Michigan State
1
1976

Northern Iowa
1
1977

UCLA
1
1978

Texas Woman's
1
1979

Texas A&M
1
1982

text: Championships & appearances by school[edit]

text:
Color coded by current conference; table is sortable
Bold indicates team championship

tag: ul

text:
School
Championships[3]
(through 2017)
Title Games
(through 2017)
WCWS Appearances
(through 2017)
WCWS Appearances
(through 2017)

UCLA‡
12
21
29
1978, 1979, 1981, 1982,[a] 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2016

Arizona
8
14
26
1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Arizona State
4
4
18
1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982,[a] 1987, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013

California
1
3
15
1980, 1981, 1982,[b] 1986, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2012

Oklahoma
4
5
15
1975, 1980, 1981, 1982,[b] 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017

Fresno State
1
5
12
1982,[a] 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999

Michigan
1
2
13
1982,[b] 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016

Texas A&M
3
6
11
1979, 1980, 1981, 1982,[b] 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2007, 2008

Washington
1
3
11
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013

Northern Colorado
0
3
11
1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979

Oklahoma State
0
1
11
1977, 1980, 1981, 1982,[b] 1982,[a] 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2011

South Carolina
0
0
11
1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1989, 1997

Alabama
1
2
11
2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016

(Southwest) Missouri State
1
2
10
1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982[b]

Nebraska–Omaha
1
1
10
1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979

Nebraska‡
0
0
9
1970, 1971, 1982,[a] 1984, 1987, 1988, 1998, 2002, 2013

Cal State–Fullerton
1
3
8
1980, 1981, 1982,[a] 1983, 1985, 1986 1987, 1995

Illinois State
0
2
8
1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1981

Western Illinois
0
0
8
1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982[b]

Florida State
0
0
9
1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2016

Florida
2
5
8
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017

Tennessee
0
2
7
2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015

Missouri
0
0
7
1981, 1983, 1991, 1994, 2009, 2010, 2011

Cal Poly Pomona
0
0
7
1978, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989

Kansas
0
0
7
1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1992

Michigan State
1
1
6
1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1981

Louisiana–Lafayette
0
0
6
1993, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2008, 2014

Oregon
0
0
6
1976, 1980, 1989, 2012, 2014, 2015

Massachusetts
0
0
6
1974, 1978, 1980, 1992, 1997, 1998

Long Beach State
0
0
5
1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993

Northwestern
0
1
5
1984, 1985, 1986, 2006, 2007

Texas
0
0
5
1998, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2013

Utah
0
0
5
1976, 1982,[b] 1985, 1991, 1994

Creighton
0
0
5
1969, 1980, 1981, 1982,[a] 1986

Wayne State (Nebraska)
0
0
5
1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974

Utah State
2
2
4
1978, 1980, 1981, 1984

Northern Iowa
1
2
4
1973, 1975, 1976, 1977

Indiana
0
1
4
1979, 1980, 1983, 1986

DePaul
0
0
4
1999, 2000, 2005, 2007

Iowa
0
0
4
1995, 1996, 1997, 2001

LSU
0
0
5
2001, 2004, 2012, 2015, 2016

Oregon State
0
0
4
1977, 1978, 1979, 2006

Southern Illinois (Carbondale)
0
0
4
1970, 1971, 1977, 1978

South Dakota State
0
0
4
1971, 1972, 1973, 1974

Luther College (Iowa)
0
0
4
1970, 1971, 1972, 1974

John F. Kennedy College (Nebraska)
3
3
3
1969, 1970, 1971

Texas Woman's University
1
1
3
1975, 1978, 1979

Baylor
0
0
3
2007, 2011, 2014

Louisiana Tech
0
0
3
1983, 1985, 1986

Adelphi (New York)
0
0
3
1984, 1985, 1988

UNLV
0
0
3
1990, 1991, 1995

Western Michigan
0
0
3
1980, 1981, 1982[a]

Kearney State College (Nebraska)
0
0
3
1969, 1970, 1971

Minot State (ND)
0
0
3
1970, 1971, 1972

Emporia State (Kansas)
0
0
3
1971, 1972, 1979

Weber State (Utah)
0
0
3
1973, 1974, 1975

North Dakota State
0
0
3
1973, 1974, 1975

Iowa State
0
1
2
1971, 1973

Cal State–Northridge
0
1
2
1993, 1994

Georgia
0
0
3
2009, 2010, 2016

Princeton
0
0
2
1995, 1996

Southern Mississippi
0
0
2
1999, 2000

Stanford
0
0
2
2001, 2004

Central Michigan
0
0
2
1982,[b] 1987

Minnesota–Duluth
0
0
2
1970, 1971

Midland Lutheran (Nebraska)
0
0
2
1970, 1971

New Mexico
0
0
2
1980, 1981

Rutgers
0
0
2
1979, 1981

Concordia (Nebraska)
0
0
2
1970, 1971

Upper Iowa
0
0
2
1970, 1971

Eastern Illinois
0
0
2
1971, 1974

Central Missouri State
0
0
2
1971, 1972

Ball State (Indiana)
0
0
2
1973, 1975

Indiana State
0
0
2
1974, 1976

East Stroudsburg State (PA)
0
0
2
1975, 1976

Northern State (SD)
0
0
2
1975, 1976

Texas–Arlington
0
0
2
1976, 1977

Cal State–Sacramento
0
0
2
1976, 1977

Minnesota
0
0
2
1976, 1978

Auburn
0
0
2
2015, 2016

Connecticut
0
0
1
1993

Hawaii
0
0
1
2010

Illinois–Chicago
0
0
1
1994

Kent State (Ohio)
0
0
1
1990

Kentucky
0
0
1
2014

Northern Illinois
0
0
1
1988

Pacific (CA)
0
0
1
1983

South Florida
0
0
1
2012

Toledo
0
0
1
1989

Virginia Tech
0
0
1
2008

St. Petersburg Junior College (FL)
0
0
1
1969

Black Hills State College (SD)
0
0
1
1969

Midwestern College (Iowa)
0
0
1
1970

Parsons College (Iowa)
0
0
1
1971

Wartburg College (Iowa)
0
0
1
1971

Wisconsin State University–Eau Claire
0
0
1
1971

South Dakota
0
0
1
1971

Southwest Baptist College (MO)
0
0
1
1971

Buena Vista College (Iowa)
0
0
1
1971

Simpson College (Iowa)
0
0
1
1971

University of Tokyo–Nihon
0
1
1
1972

Keene State College (NH)
0
0
1
1972

Purdue University
0
0
1
1972

West Georgia College
0
0
1
1974

Golden West College (CA)
0
0
1
1974

Winona State College (MN)
0
0
1
1974

Nassau Community College (NY)
0
0
1
1974

Oregon College of Education
0
0
1
1975

Northwest Missouri State
0
0
1
1975

Ohio University
0
0
1
1975

Mankato State (MN)
0
0
1
1975

Tarkio College (MO)
0
0
1
1976

Northwestern Oklahoma State
0
0
1
1976

Mayville State College (ND)
0
0
1
1976

West Chester State College (PA)
0
0
1
1977

Springfield College (Mass.)
0
0
1
1977

Portland State (Oregon)
0
0
1
1978

Stephen F. Austin (Texas)
0
0
1
1978

Chapman College (California)
0
0
1
1979

New Mexico State
0
0
1
1981

Ohio State
0
0
1
1982[b]

Rhode Island
0
0
1
1982[b]

U.S. International University (CA)
0
0
1
1982[b]

text: ‡ UCLA's 1995 NCAA championship and Nebraska's 1985 runner-up finish were vacated by the NCAA and are not counted

text:
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h NCAA WCWS participant in 1982, when both the AIAW and NCAA conducted championships with the same name
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l AIAW WCWS participant in 1982, when both the AIAW and NCAA conducted championships with the same name

text: Championships & appearances by conference[edit]

text: This listing excludes results of the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1982 (both Division I tournaments in 1982—AIAW and NCAA—were called "Women's College World Series").

text:
Conference
Championships
(Through 2017)
Title Game/Series Appearances
(Through 2017)
WCWS Appearances
(Through 2017)

Pac-12[c 1]
23
36
82

SEC
3
10
40

Big 12
4
5
30

Big Ten
1
3
23

Big West[c 2]
1
4
19

Big Eight[c 3] [c 4]

12

WAC[c 5]
1
2
11

Atlantic 10

6

Southwest[c 6] [c 4]
2
4
5

ACC

9

Conference USA[c 7]

5

Sun Belt

6

CCAA

4

MAC

4

Metro[c 7][c 4]

4

Southland

3

Big East[c 8]

3

Ivy

2

Missouri Valley[c 9]

2

Independent

1

Summit League[c 10]

1

NorPac[c 11] [c 4]

1
3

North Star[c 12] [c 4]

1

WCAA[c 13] [c 4]
3
3
6

text:
Jump up ^ UCLA's 1995 WCWS participation & title were vacated by the NCAA, and are not included in these figures; see above. The Pac-12, which adopted its current name on July 1, 2011, retains all historical records from its years as the Pac-10. The conference had adopted the "Pac-10" name in 1978, but did not begin sponsoring women's sports until the 1986–87 school year.
Jump up ^ The Big West Conference was known as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association until July 1988. Totals include all appearances by conference members under both names, but includes only appearances after the conference began sponsoring women's sports in 1984–85.
Jump up ^ Nebraska's 1985 WCWS participation & title game appearance were vacated by the NCAA, and are not included in these totals. The Big Eight merged with four teams from the Southwest Conference to form the Big 12 in 1996.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Conference is now defunct.
Jump up ^ The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) did not sponsor women's sports until the 1990–91 academic year, after absorbing the High Country Athletic Conference (HCAC), a parallel women's-only conference. The WAC maintains all historic records from the HCAC; totals include Utah State's 1984 and Utah's 1985 appearances while in the HCAC.
Jump up ^ Texas A&M won two titles, made four title game appearances and five WCWS appearances while they were still members of the Southwest Conference. This conference is now defunct. Texas A&M was a charter member of the Big 12 in 1996, but left for the Southeastern Conference in July 2012.
^ Jump up to: a b Following the breakup of the Metro in 1991 by Florida State, South Carolina, Cincinnati, and Memphis, the Metro and its breakaway Great Midwest Conference reunified in 1995 as Conference USA.
Jump up ^ Although the charter of the original Big East Conference was inherited by the American Athletic Conference following the 2013 Big East split, the current Big East Conference maintains all athletic records of the original conference in all sports that it sponsors.
Jump up ^ Records include those of the former Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference when it was originally a women's-only conference parallel to the MVC. In 1985, after the MVC stopped sponsoring football, the Gateway took on football as its only men's sport. In 1992, the women's portion of the Gateway merged into the MVC, which maintains all historic records of Gateway women's sports. The football side of the conference maintained the Gateway charter, first as the Gateway Football Conference and now the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Jump up ^ The Mid-Continent Conference adopted its current name of The Summit League in June 2007.
Jump up ^ The NorPac, in full the Northern Pacific Conference, was a women's-only conference that operated from 1982 to 1986. The conference disbanded when the then-Pac-10, home to five of the final seven NorPac members, began sponsoring women's sports in 1986–87. The remaining two schools, which were members of the PCAA for men's sports, moved their women's sports to that conference.
Jump up ^ The North Star Conference was a women's-only conference that merged into the Mid-Continent Conference, now The Summit League, in 1992. The Summit maintains all historic records of North Star sports.
Jump up ^ The WCAA, in full the Western Collegiate Athletic Association, was a women's-only conference that operated from 1981 to 1986. Its final five members were all members of the conference known at the time as the Pac-10, and moved their women's sports to that league.


document_title: NFL playoffs

question_text: which teams get a bye in the nfl playoffs

text: NFL playoffs

text: Current playoff system[edit]

text:
Schedule for the NFL playoffs

Season
2017–18
2018–19
2019–20
2020–21

Wild Card
Jan 6–7
Jan 5–6
Jan 4–5
Jan 9–10

Divisional
Jan 13–14
Jan 12–13
Jan 11–12
Jan 16–17

Conference
Jan 21
Jan 20
Jan 19
Jan 24

Super Bowl
LII
Feb 4
LIII
Feb 3
LIV
Feb 2
LV
Feb 7

text: The 32-team National Football League is divided into two conferences, American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC), each with 16 teams. Since 2002, each conference has been further divided into four divisions of four teams each. The tournament brackets are made up of six teams from each of the league's two conferences, following the end of the regular season. Qualification into the playoffs works as follows:[1]

text:
The 4 division champions from each conference (the team in each division with the best overall record), which are seeded 1 through 4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record.
Two wild-card qualifiers from each conference (the two teams with the best overall records of all remaining teams in the conference), which are seeded 5 and 6.

text: The names of the first two playoff rounds date back to the postseason format that was first used in 1978, when the league added a second wild-card team to each conference. The first round of the playoffs is dubbed the wild-card playoffs (or wild-card weekend). In this round, the third-seeded division winner hosts the sixth seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth. There are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference receive a bye in the first round, which entitles these teams to automatic advancement to the second round, the divisional playoffs, where they face the wild-card weekend survivors. The 1 seed has home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system. The number 1 seed will host the worst surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5 or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4 or 5).[2] The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games (hosted by the higher seed), with the winners of those contests going on to face one another in the Super Bowl. Only twice since 1990 has neither a number one-seeded team nor a number two-seeded team hosted a conference championship game (in the 2006 AFC Championship the #3 seeded Indianapolis Colts hosted the #4 seeded New England Patriots with the Colts winning 38–34 and the 2008 NFC Championship the #4 seeded Arizona Cardinals hosting the #6 seeded Philadelphia Eagles with the Cardinals winning 32–25).

text: If teams are tied (having the same regular season won-lost-tied record), the playoff seeding is determined by a set of tie-breaking rules.[1]

text: One potential disadvantage is that the two teams with the best records in a conference could play each other before the conference championship if they are in the same division. The better team would be seeded #1, while the lesser team would be seeded #5 as the top wild-card team, and as shown in the diagram, it is possible for the #1 division winner to play the top wild-card team in the divisional round. (See also the "Modification proposals" section below.)

text: The New York Giants and New York Jets have shared the same home stadium since 1984 (first Giants Stadium from 1984 to 2009, and MetLife Stadium since 2010). Thus, if both teams need to host playoff games on the same weekend, they are always required to play on separate days, even during the Conference Championship round. The only time such a scheduling conflict has occurred was during wild-card weekend in 1985, when only 10 teams qualified for the postseason and there were only two wild-card games (See the "History" section below): Instead of playing both wild-card games on the same day, as was the case when the 10-team system was used from 1978 to 1989, the New England Patriots defeated the Jets, 26–14, on Saturday, December 28, before the Giants beat the San Francisco 49ers, 17–3, on the following day.

text: Breaking ties[edit]

text: Often, teams will finish a season with identical records. It becomes necessary, therefore, to devise means to break these ties, either to determine which teams will qualify for the playoffs, or to determine seeding in the playoff tournament. The rules below are applied in order until the tie is broken. If three teams are tied for one playoff spot and the third team is eliminated at any step, the tie breaker reverts to step one for the remaining two teams. If multiple playoff spots are at stake, the rules are applied in order until the first team qualifies, then the process is started again for the remaining teams.

text: The tie-breaking rules have changed over the years, with the most recent changes being made in 2002 to accommodate the league's realignment into eight four-team divisions; record vs. common opponents and most of the other criteria involving wins and losses were moved up higher in the tie-breaking list, while those involving compiled stats such as points for and against were moved to the bottom.[1][3]

text: The current tiebreakers are as follows, with coin tosses used if all of the criteria fail:[4]

text:
Divisional tiebreakers
Conference tiebreakers

Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the clubs).
Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.
Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games (games played against the same opponents).
Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
Strength of victory (the combined won-lost-tied percentage of all the teams that a club has defeated).
Strength of schedule (the combined won-lost-tied percentage of all the teams that a club has played against).
Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
Best net points in common games.
Best net points in all games.
Best net touchdowns in all games.

Apply division tie breaker to eliminate all but the highest ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2.
Head-to-head, if applicable. (For ties among three or more teams, this step is only applied if there is a head-to-head sweep; i.e., if one club has defeated each of the others or if one club has lost to each of the others.)
Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
Strength of victory (record of all the teams they defeated that season).
Strength of schedule (record of all the teams they played that season).
Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
Best net points in conference games.
Best net points in all games.
Best net touchdowns in all games.

text: Overtime rules[edit]

text: The NFL introduced overtime for any divisional tiebreak games beginning in 1940, and for championship games beginning in 1946. The first postseason game to be played under these rules was the 1958 NFL Championship Game between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants (the so-called "Greatest Game Ever Played"). Overtime under the original format was sudden death, the first team to score would be declared the winner.

text: In March 2010, the NFL amended its rules for postseason overtime, with the rule being extended into the regular season in March 2012. If a team scores a touchdown, or if the defense scores a safety on its first possession, it is declared the winner. If it scores a field goal on its first possession, however, it then kicks off to the opposing team, which has an opportunity to score; if the score is tied again after that possession, true sudden death rules apply and whoever scores next will win.

text: Since postseason games cannot end in a tie, unlike the preseason or regular season, additional overtime periods are played as necessary until a winner is determined. Furthermore, all clock rules apply as if a game had started over. Therefore, if the first overtime period ends with the score still tied, the teams switch ends of the field prior to double overtime. If a game was still tied with two minutes to go in double overtime, there would be a two-minute warning (but not during the first overtime period as in the regular season). And if it were still tied at the end of double overtime, there would be a kickoff to start triple overtime.[5] Although a contest could theoretically last indefinitely, or last multiple overtime periods like several National Hockey League postseason games, no NFL playoff game has ever gone into triple-overtime. The longest NFL game played to date is 82 minutes, 40 seconds: Miami Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian made the winning 37-yard field goal after 7:40 of double-overtime to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 27–24, in the 1971–72 NFL playoffs on December 25, 1971.[6]

text:
Playoff games that went at least into double overtime[7]

Length of game
Date
Away team
Score
Home team
Winning score

82:40
December 25, 1971
Miami Dolphins
27–24
Kansas City Chiefs
Garo Yepremian 37-yard field goal

77:54†
December 23, 1962
Dallas Texans
20–17
Houston Oilers
Tommy Brooker 25-yard field goal

77:02
January 3, 1987
New York Jets
20–23
Cleveland Browns
Mark Moseley 27-yard field goal

76:42
January 12, 2013
Baltimore Ravens
38–35
Denver Broncos
Justin Tucker 47-yard field goal

75:43
December 24, 1977
Oakland Raiders
37–31
Baltimore Colts
Dave Casper 10-yard touchdown pass from Ken Stabler

75:10
January 10, 2004
Carolina Panthers
29–23
St. Louis Rams
Steve Smith 69-yard touchdown pass from Jake Delhomme

† AFL game prior to the AFL–NFL merger.

text: Playoff and championship history[edit]

text: The NFL's method for determining its champions has changed over the years.

text: Early years[edit]

text: From the league's founding in 1920 until 1932, there was no scheduled championship game. From 1920–1923, the championship was awarded to a team by a vote of team owners at the annual owners' meeting. From 1924–1932, the team having the best winning percentage was awarded the championship (the de facto standard owners had been using anyway). As each team played a different number of games, simply counting wins and losses would have been insufficient. Additionally, tie games were not counted in the standings in figuring winning percentage (under modern rules, ties count as ½ win and ½ loss). There was a head-to-head tiebreaker, which also was weighted toward the end of the season: for two teams that played each other twice, each winning once, the team winning the second game was determined to be the champion (the criteria used to decide the 1921 title).[8][9]

text: 1932 playoff game[edit]

text: In 1932, the Chicago Bears (6–1–6) and the Portsmouth Spartans (6–1–4) were tied at the end of the season with the identical winning percentage of .857 (the Green Bay Packers (10–3–1) had more wins, but a lower winning percentage (.769) as calculated under the rules of the day, which omitted ties). An additional game was therefore needed to determine a champion. It was agreed that the game would be played in Chicago at Wrigley Field, but severe winter weather and fear of a low turnout forced the game to be moved indoors to Chicago Stadium. The game was played under modified rules on a shortened 80-yard dirt field, and the Bears won with a final score of 9–0.[8][10] As a result of the game, the Bears had the better winning percentage (.875) and won the league title. The loss gave the Spartans a final winning percentage of .750, and moved them to third place behind the Packers. While there is no consensus that this game was a real "championship" game (or even a playoff game), it generated considerable interest and led to the creation of the official NFL Championship Game in 1933.[10]

text: Before the Super Bowl[edit]

text: Given the interest of the impromptu "championship game", and the desire of the league to create a more equitable means of determining a champion, the league divided into two conferences beginning in 1933. The winners of each conference (the first place teams in the conferences) met in the NFL Championship Game after the season. There was no tie-breaker system in place; any ties in the final standings of either conference resulted in a playoff game being played in 1941, 1943, 1947, two games in 1950, and one each in 1952, 1957, 1958, and 1965. Since the venue and date of the championship game were often not known until the last game of the season had been played, these playoff games sometimes resulted in delaying the end of the season by one week.

text: The playoff structure used from 1933 to 1966 was considered inequitable by some because of the number of times it failed to match the teams with the two best records in the championship game, as only the conference winners would qualify for playoff contention. Four times between 1950 and 1966 (in 1951, 1956, 1960, and 1963) the team with the second-best win-loss record did not qualify for the playoffs while the team with the best record in the other conference, but only the third-best in the league, would advance to the championship game.

text: For the 1967 NFL season, the NFL expanded to 16 teams, and split its two conferences into two divisions each, with four teams in each division. The four division champions would advance to the NFL playoffs, and to remain on schedule, a tie-breaker system was introduced. The first round of playoffs determined the conference's champion and its representative in the NFL Championship Game, played the following week. Thus, 1967 was the first season there was a scheduled playoff tournament to determine the teams to play for the NFL Championship.[11]

text: During the three years (1967–69) that this playoff structure was in effect, there was one use of the tie-breaker system. In 1967, the Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore Colts ended the season tied at 11–1–2 for the lead in the Coastal Division. The Colts came into the last game of the season undefeated, but were beaten by the Rams. Though the Colts shared the best win/loss record in the NFL that year, they failed to advance to the playoffs while three other teams with worse records won their divisions. This event figured into the decision in 1970 to include a wild-card team in the playoff tournament after the AFL–NFL merger.

text: During the 1960s, a third-place playoff game was played in Miami, called the Playoff Bowl. It was contested in early January following the 1960–69 seasons. Though official playoff games at the time they were played, the NFL now officially classifies these ten games (and statistics) as exhibitions, not as playoff games.[12]

text: AFL and AAFC playoffs[edit]

text: Since it would eventually merge with the NFL, the history of the AFL's playoff system merits some explanation. For the 1960–68 seasons, the AFL used the two-divisional format identical to the NFL to determine its champion. There was no tie-breaker system in place, so ties atop the Eastern Division final standings in 1963 and Western Division in 1968 necessitated playoff games to determine each division's representative in the championship.

text: For the 1969 season, a first round was added whereby each division winner played the second-place team from the other division. The winners of these games met in the AFL Championship Game.[11] In the only year of this format, the AFL Champion Kansas City Chiefs were the second-place team in the Western division. The Chiefs went on to win Super Bowl IV that season, thus becoming the first non-division winner to win a Super Bowl.[13]

text: During its brief history, the AAFC, which would merge into the NFL for the 1950 season, used an identical playoff format to the NFL from 1946 to 1948. In 1949 (its last year), the AAFC would merge its two conferences when one of its teams folded, and use a four-team playoff system. In 1948, the aforementioned issue of playoff inequity came into play when the San Francisco 49ers would miss the playoffs with a 12–2 record; they were in the same conference as the 14–0 Cleveland Browns, who would go on to win the Western Conference and then the AAFC's championship game against the 7–7 Buffalo Bills (AAFC).

text: Super Bowl and merger[edit]

text: The Super Bowl began as an inter-league championship game between the AFL and NFL, an idea first proposed by Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt. This compromise was the result of pressures the upstart AFL was placing on the older NFL. The success of the rival league would eventually lead to a full merger of the two leagues.[8]

text: From the 1966 season to the 1969 season (Super Bowls I–IV) the game featured the champions of the AFL and NFL. Since the 1970 season, the game has featured the champions of the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC).

text: When the leagues merged in 1970, the new NFL (with 26 teams) reorganized into two conferences of three divisions each. From the 1970 season to the 1977 season, four teams from each conference (for a total of eight teams) qualified for the playoffs each year. These four teams included the three division champions, and a fourth wild-card team.[14]

text: Originally, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation.[15] From 1970 to 1974, the divisional playoff round rotated which of the three division champions would have home field advantage, with the wild-card teams and the teams they would face in the divisional playoff game would never have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Starting in 1970, the divisional playoff games consisted of the AFC Central champions and the NFC West champions playing their games on the road. Then in 1971 it rotated to the AFC East champions and the NFC East champions playing their games on the road. In the 1972 divisional playoff games, the AFC West champions and the NFC Central champions were the visiting teams. And 1973 it would start all over with the AFC Central and NFC West again, and so on.

text: The rotation system led to several playoff inequities, such as:

text:
In 1971, the teams with the two best records in each conference met in the divisional round.
In 1972, the Dolphins had to take their perfect record to Three Rivers Stadium to face the Pittsburgh Steelers, who went 11-3, in the AFC championship game.
In 1973, the Cowboys finished 10-4 but hosted two 12-2 teams, the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota.

text: The league did not institute a seeding system for the playoffs until 1975, where the surviving clubs with the higher seeds were made the home teams for each playoff round.[8] Thus, the top seeded division winner played the wild-card team, and the remaining two division winners played at the home stadium of the better seed (which meant that the lowest-seeded division winner had to open the postseason on the road). However, two teams from the same division could not meet prior to the conference championship game.[16] Thus, there would be times when the pairing in the divisional playoff round would be the 1 seed vs. the 3 seed and 2 vs. 4.

text: Expansion[edit]

text: Following an expansion of the regular season from 14 to 16 games in the 1978 season, the league added one more wild-card team for each conference. The two wild-card teams played the week before the division winners. The winner of this game played the top seeded division winner as was done from 1970–1977. The league continued to prohibit intra-divisional games in the divisional playoffs, but allowed such contests in the wild-card round.[17] This ten-team playoff format was used through the 1989 season.[14] Under this system, the Oakland Raiders became the first wild-card team to win a Super Bowl following the 1980 season.[18]

text: During the strike-shortened 1982 season, only nine regular season games were played, and a modified playoff format was instituted. Divisional play was ignored (there were some cases where division rivals had both games wiped out by the strike, although each division ultimately sent at least one team to the playoffs), and the top eight teams from each conference (based on W-L-T record) were advanced to the playoffs. As a result, this became the first time that teams with losing records qualified for the playoffs: the 4–5 Cleveland Browns and the 4–5 Detroit Lions.[19]

text: Several times between 1978–89, the two wild-card games had to be played on different days. Normally they both would be held on Sunday. In 1983 and 1988, the games were split between Saturday and Monday because Sunday was Christmas, and the NFL had avoided playing on that day at the time. In 1984, both games were played in the Pacific Time Zone, so they had to be played on Saturday and Sunday to accommodate for time differences. In 1985, both the New York Giants and Jets hosted wild-card games. As they have shared a home stadium since 1984, the games had to be played on different days.

text: For the 1990 season, a third wild-card team for each conference was added, expanding the playoffs to the current twelve teams. The lowest-seeded division winner was then "demoted" to the wild-card weekend. Also, the restrictions on intra-divisional games during the divisional playoffs were removed.[20]

text: The 2001 season became the first time that playoff games were played in prime time.[21] Thus, the league no longer had the same restrictions like in 1984 as to when to schedule games in the Pacific Time Zone.

text: The 1990 format continued until the 2002 expansion and reorganization into eight divisions. In this current format, as explained above, the 4 division winners and 2 wild cards are seeded 1–6, with the top 2 seeds receiving byes, and the highest seed in each round guaranteed to play the lowest seed. Also, seeds determine the home-field advantage.[14]

text: Modification proposals[edit]

text: There are some limitations that exist in the current 12-team playoff system. Since being a division winner is a guaranteed playoff berth, there have been many cases in which a team that wins a "weak" division either barely has a winning record or has a .500 or losing record altogether (such as the 2010 Seattle Seahawks). At the same time, since a division winner is seeded higher than the wild cards, non-division winners may end up playing a road game during Wild Card Weekend against a team with an inferior record, or may end up outright missing the playoffs. And going on the road during the first postseason round does not guarantee success: the first time that all four road teams won during Wild Card Weekend occurred during the 2015–16 season.[22]

text: This issue has become more prevalent since the aforementioned 2002 realignment. There are three notable examples in which a division winner with a .500 or sub-.500 record ended up winning a playoff game against a team with a superior record:

text:
In the 2008–09 season, the San Diego Chargers clinched the AFC West with only an 8–8 record, and hosted the 12–4 Indianapolis Colts in the wild-card round, while the New England Patriots failed to even secure a wild-card spot at 11–5. The Chargers then went on to defeat the Colts in that playoff game.
In the 2010–11 season, the aforementioned 2010 Seahawks won the NFC West with a 7–9 record, hosting and defeating the 11–5 New Orleans Saints. Failing to make the playoffs were the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both with 10–6 records, due to losing tiebreakers for the sixth seed to the Green Bay Packers, who went on to become the first sixth-seeded team from the NFC to win the Super Bowl. The 2010 Seahawks were the first team in NFL history to win both a division championship and a playoff game with a losing regular season record. They currently have the lowest win percentage of any team to ever make the playoffs.
In the 2014–15 season, the Carolina Panthers won the NFC South with a 7–8–1 record. By week 16, no team in that division could finish with more than seven wins. The Panthers then defeated the Atlanta Falcons, who were 6–9 and undefeated within the division entering the game, for the division title. They hosted and defeated the 11–5 Arizona Cardinals in the wild card round. The best team to miss the playoffs that year was the Philadelphia Eagles, who finished 10–6. To date, the 2014 Panthers and 2010 Seahawks are the only two teams to win a division, and a playoff game, with a losing record.

text: As a result of this seeding issue, frequent calls have been made to modify the playoff format even further. One proposal has been to expand the playoffs to 14 teams. Proponents of expansion note the increased revenue that could be gained from an additional two playoff games. They also note that the 12-team playoff system was implemented when the league only had 28 teams and six divisions (of 4 to 5 teams each). The opposition to such a move notes that an expansion of the playoffs would "water down" the field by giving access to lower-caliber teams. Opponents to expansion further point to the NBA playoffs and the NHL playoffs where more than half of the teams qualify for the postseason, and there is often a decreased emphasis on regular season performance as a result.[23][24]

text: After the 2007 playoffs saw two wild-card teams with better records (Jacksonville Jaguars and eventual Super Bowl XLII champions New York Giants) go on the road to defeat division winners (Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively) during wild-card weekend, the NFL explored another proposal to change the playoffs so that the team with the better record would host the game, even if that meant a division winner went on the road. The NFL's Competition Committee withdrew the request later that offseason,[25] with Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay mentioning that they wanted the idea to simply get a discussion going. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was a strong opponent of the rule change, believing that "if you win a division, it's good for your fans to know you will have a home game."[25]

text: Just before the 2010–11 Seahawks-Saints playoff game, McKay wanted to revisit the previous proposal to reseed teams during wild-card weekend.[26] However, sportswriter Peter King wrote that he believed league owners were still hesitant on implementing any such changes at this time due to the then-pending 2011 work stoppage, the proposals to extend the regular season from 16 to 18 games and how it will impact the postseason, and the simple fact that not enough teams have been seriously disadvantaged by the current format.[27]

text: In October 2013, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced plans to revisit the idea to expand the playoffs to 14 teams, with the increased revenue gained from the two additional postseason games being used to offset plans to shorten the preseason.[28] The two extra Wild Card games could also be scheduled on the weekend, creating triple-headers on both Saturday and Sunday. Goodell then suggested that they might instead be played on Friday and/or Monday, which may eventually cause scheduling conflicts with games of the new College Football Playoff.[29]

text: The 14-team playoff proposal remained tabled until December 2014, when no team in the NFC South could finish better than .500; Goodell stated that the league would vote on it at the March 2015 Owners' Meetings. One proposed 14-club system includes giving first-round byes for the teams with the best record in each conference, two division champions in each conference receiving home games, and the remaining eight teams would be seeded by win-loss record.[30] However, by the following February 2015, the Washington Post reported that support among team owners has eroded, and league leaders expressed reluctance to make a change until the one-year extension with CBS to televise Thursday Night Football expired at the end of the 2015 season.[31] The proposal lost all interest; today, it has never been raised. It is likely that movement won't be made on expanding either the playoffs or the regular season until at least 2020, when the current collective bargaining agreement expires.[32]

text:
Wild-card playoff games in which a division winner defeated a wild-card team with a better regular season record (2002–present)

Season
Wild-card team
Regular season record
Division winner
Regular season record
Score
Final postseason result of division winner

2002–03
Indianapolis Colts
10–6
New York Jets
9–7
Jets, 41–0
Lost divisional playoffs vs. Oakland Raiders 30–10

2003–04
none

2004–05
none

2005–06
Jacksonville Jaguars
12–4
New England Patriots
10–6
Patriots, 28–3
Lost divisional playoffs vs. Denver Broncos 27–13

2006–07
none

2007–08
none

2008–09
Indianapolis Colts
12–4
San Diego Chargers
8–8*
Chargers, 23–17 (OT)
Lost divisional playoffs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers 24–35

Atlanta Falcons
11–5
Arizona Cardinals
9–7
Cardinals, 30–24
Won divisional playoffs vs. Carolina Panthers 33–13
Won conference championship vs. Philadelphia Eagles 32–25
Lost Super Bowl XLIII vs. Pittsburgh Steelers 27–23

2009–10
Green Bay Packers
11–5
Arizona Cardinals
10–6
Cardinals, 51–45 (OT)
Lost divisional playoffs vs. New Orleans Saints 45–14

2010–11
New Orleans Saints
11–5
Seattle Seahawks
7–9*
Seahawks, 41–36
Lost divisional playoffs vs. Chicago Bears 35–24

2011–12
Pittsburgh Steelers
12–4
Denver Broncos
8–8*
Broncos, 29–23 (OT)
Lost divisional playoffs vs. New England Patriots 45–10

Atlanta Falcons
10–6
New York Giants
9–7
Giants, 24–2
Won divisional playoffs vs. Green Bay Packers 37–20
Won conference championship vs. San Francisco 49ers 20–17
Won Super Bowl XLVI vs. New England Patriots 21–17

2012–13
Indianapolis Colts
11–5
Baltimore Ravens
10–6
Ravens, 24–9
Won divisional playoffs vs. Denver Broncos 38–35 (2 OT)
Won conference vs. New England Patriots 28–13
Won Super Bowl XLVII vs. San Francisco 49ers 34–31

2013–14
none

2014–15
Arizona Cardinals
11–5
Carolina Panthers
7–8–1*
Panthers, 27–16
Lost divisional playoffs vs. Seattle Seahawks 31–17

2015–16
none

2016–17
Oakland Raiders
12–4
Houston Texans
9–7
Texans, 27–14
Lost divisional playoffs vs. New England Patriots 34–16

New York Giants
11–5
Green Bay Packers
10–6
Packers, 38–13
Won divisional playoffs vs. Dallas Cowboys 34–31
Lost conference championship vs. Atlanta Falcons 44–21

2017–18
none

* – .500 or losing record
Source: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/

text: NFL playoff appearances[edit]

text: Correct as of 2017–18 NFL playoffs

text: *Tiebreaker playoff appearances based on the team with the more recent playoff appearance.

text: Appearances by active teams[edit]

text:
Team
Appearances[33]

Green Bay Packers
32

Dallas Cowboys
32

New York Giants
32

Pittsburgh Steelers
31

Minnesota Vikings
29

Cleveland/St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams
28

Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts
27

San Francisco 49ers
25

Chicago Bears
25[A]

Philadelphia Eagles
25

Boston/New England Patriots
25[B]

Washington Redskins
24

Cleveland Browns
24[C][D]

Miami Dolphins
23

Denver Broncos
22

Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders
22[B]

Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans
22[B]

Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs
20[B]

San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers
18[B]

Buffalo Bills
18[B]

Portsmouth Spartans/Detroit Lions
17[A]

Seattle Seahawks
16

Cincinnati Bengals
14

New York Jets
14[B]

Atlanta Falcons
14

New Orleans Saints
11

Chicago/St.Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals
10

Baltimore Ravens
10[D]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
10

Carolina Panthers
8

Jacksonville Jaguars
7

Houston Texans
4

text:
^ Jump up to: a b Does not include the appearance in the 1932 NFL Playoff Game. The NFL officially records it as an additional regular season game[34]
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Includes American Football League postseason appearances. Per the conditions of the AFL–NFL merger, all history, playoffs and records of the AFL were incorporated into the NFL.
Jump up ^ The NFL does not officially recognize the Cleveland's Browns' playoff appearances and records from 1946 to 1949 when they were part of the All-America Football Conference.
^ Jump up to: a b The Baltimore Ravens were originally the Cleveland Browns, and moved to Baltimore in 1996. Due to an agreement with the city of Cleveland that allowed the club to move, the Browns name, colors, and team history/records were left for a new Cleveland Browns team while the team, personnel, and staff of the old Browns team were allowed to move to Baltimore. As such, the Ravens are considered to have begun play in 1996 while the current Cleveland Browns are considered to have been founded in 1950, were inactive from 1996–98, and resumed play as a new team in 1999.