In the game manual it states that other than Division Champions, the "next bext" team in a Division could promote as part of the "bot cleanup."
My question is what defines "next best"? Is it regular season record or is it the opponent in the Divisional Championship? I can see a situation where the "next best" team could be defined as either:
(a) Loser of Division Championship Game
(b) #1 seed for the conference that did not produce the Divison Champion
(c) Next best regular season record, regardless of conference
For example, Teams A, B, C, and D come from Great 8 with Team A undefeated at 22-0, Team D at 12-10. Teams 1 (20-2), 2, 3, and 4 (15-7) come from Big 8. Both first round top seeds are upset and Team D ends up beating Team 4 for the Championship. Team D gets promoted as Division Champion. Does Team 4 go as bot cleanup since it was the Championship Finalist? Or does Team 1 go as regular season and best record from Big 8? Or does Team A go as best regular season record outside of the Champion regardless of conference?
The reason I'm asking is that since the bot promoted team doesn't get the attendance boost, I'm thinking that it might be better to stay in the lower division since attendance will likely be better the following season as a winner in a lower division than a loser in an upper division to the point that the $200k promotion bonus may not be worth it.
Any comments on both the definition of "next best" and the strategy of staying put in a lower division if you're not going to win the Championship?