Even in professional sport were there are much more at stake, this kins of sytem is used.
In NBA home court advantage goes to the team with the better record, and division winner are not guaranteed HCA.
NFL use a different system where winning division is much more significant. For example during season 2010, the Seattle Seahawks made it to the PO with a negative record of 7-9, while other teams with 10-6 records didn't. Which was not without controversy.
There are many ranking system around, and many mathematical studies on the subject. In may cases it's more a historical or cultural matter.