Earlier this offseason, MLQ announced that it would be retaining the Charlotte Aviators as a trial expansion team. Along with the reintroduction of our two Canadian franchises, the Ottawa Black Bears and the Toronto Raiders, we will have 16 teams competing this summer. To accommodate our largest slate of teams since the 2018 season, we will be realigning our divisions and introducing a new regular season format for a six-team North Division. We will also be adding an annual rivalry matchup between our two Canadian franchises and an East Division Next Gen series, to be contested during the season.

DIVISION REALIGNMENT

Our current 16 teams include five teams that have only played in the South Division (Austin, Kansas City, League City, New Orleans, San Antonio), five teams that have only played in the East Division (Boston, Charlotte, New York, Ottawa, Washington) and five teams that have only played in the North Division (Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Toronto). The Rochester Whiteout have played in both the North Division and the East Division, most recently playing in the East.

We first had to decide whether to move to four divisions of four or two divisions of five and one division of six. After attempting multiple combinations of four-team divisions, we found that it was difficult to come up with groupings that delivered the competitive balance we strive for in MLQ.

After deciding to go with two divisions of five and one division of six, we had to decide whether we would put six teams in the East Division or the North Division. Rochester, having played in both and thus developing histories and rivalries with opposition in both, was the most straightforward flex between the two divisions. After plotting out the divisions geographically, it became clear that from a travel and logistics perspective, it would make more sense to create a six-team division in the North. Thus, Rochester will be returning to the North Division, which it won in the 2018 season.

NEW NORTH DIVISION STRUCTURE

As our first-ever six-team division, the 2022 North Division requires a new divisional format. It was unrealistic to do our standard full round robin, as we would have to run 15 series over the nine weeks of our regular season, requiring at least three SuperSeries. With our overall long-term goal being to move further away from SuperSeries, this was not a realistic solution for us.

Instead, we will be instituting a regular season split within the division and a North Division Championship a few weeks before MLQ Championship. For the first six weeks of the season, the division will be split in half, with Detroit, Minneapolis and Indianapolis playing in Conference A and Cleveland, Rochester and Toronto playing in Conference B. The names of the conferences will be announced at a later date.

Each team will play a three-game home series and a three-game away series within their conference during those opening six weeks. This will give them a final standing within their conference. Then, all six teams will travel to the North Division Championship. During that weekend, the North Divisional Champion will be crowned and the division’s four bids will be handed out. The structure of the weekend is laid out below.  All series follow a best 2-of-3 format.

Saturday
Series A: 2nd Place Conference B vs. 2nd Place Conference A (winner finishes third in the division, loser plays Sunday)
Series B: 3rd Place Conference B vs. 3rd Place Conference A (winner plays Sunday, loser is eliminated)

Sunday
Series C: Loser Series A vs. Winner Series B (winner finishes fourth in the division, loser is eliminated)
Series D: 1st Place Conference B vs. 1st Place Conference A (winner is crowned divisional champion, loser is eliminated)

We believe this new structure will allow for a number of positive changes for the division. The North Division Championship, which will be the only MLQ franchise event contested that weekend, will allow us to give the division the type of national spotlight we feel we have come up short of providing in the past. The larger event will also open us up to top-of-the-line facilities for the teams to play on, another area we feel we have occasionally failed to provide in the North Division. Finally, a centralized North Division Championship should provide all of our North teams with a reasonable travel schedule for the summer. 

SCAVENGER SHOWDOWN

Starting in the 2022 season, we will be hosting an annual match between our two Canadian franchises, the Ottawa Black Bears and the Toronto Raiders. The Scavenger Showdown—aptly named for the teams’ mascots—will be a three-game series held during the season, but it will not affect either team’s divisional standings or MLQ Championship seeding. However, in all other ways, it will be handled as an official MLQ series, and we will be securing field space and staff for it.

We will be introducing this series as a way to increase the number of MLQ events held in Canada. This event also comes on the back of past requests from both franchises for a Canadian rivalry match. We hope the match will continue to allow both teams to grow.

EAST DIVISION NEXT GEN SERIES

The 2021 season saw the introduction of a new format for our practice squads. Rather than simply attending their franchise’s practices, we also introduced the Next Gen Series at the 2021 MLQ Championship, where practice squad players competed against practice squad players from other teams.

This season, we are looking to take that format one step further, and introduce a regular season series in the East Division where all practice squads in the division capable of attending may compete. The format of the event will depend on the number of attending teams.

The decision to only host an East Division Next Gen Series this season was made based on past practice squad roster sizes across the divisions. We hope to introduce the North and South Division Next Gen Series in the future. All practice squads will once again be invited to the Next Gen Showcase at the 2022 MLQ Championship.