The Illinois high school football playoffs could be expanding.
The Illinois High School Association on Tuesday announced 11 possible by-law changes, to be voted on in December, including a proposal that would add 16 teams to each of football’s eight playoff classes.
The IHSA football playoffs now include 32 teams in each class, or 256 total schools. If Proposal 19 is approved, the IHSA would add 16 teams to each class, with the 16 teams with the best records in each class receiving byes.
To accommodate the extra week of playoffs, the IHSA would eliminate “Week 0” scrimmages and begin the regular season one week earlier. Each team would still play nine regular-season games.
The proposed expansion would assure that every team with three wins would make the field, with a handful of two-win teams also making the playoffs. Example brackets are available at ihsa.org.
In all, there are 12 proposals on the all-school ballot, each of which would pass with a simple majority vote. Each school can vote yes, no, or no opinion. Voting begins Monday, Dec. 1 and runs through Dec. 15. Proposals that pass go into effect July 1, 2026, so the playoff expansion, if passed, would begin next season.
The 12 IHSA by-law proposals for 2025. Full text of each proposal is at ihsa.org.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA football playoffs could be expanding. What to know about the proposal
Reporting by Wes Huett, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
