A change is coming this fall to how the Michigan High School Athletic Association seeds teams for the state football playoffs.
The MHSAA announced on Wednesday that football teams will be seeded in a regional model where the eight teams in a regional will be ordered by number of playoff points.
The Nos. 1, 4, 5 and 8 seeds in a regional will be paired in one district, while the Nos. 2, 3, 6 and 7 seeds will be in the other district within the regional. The winner of the two districts would then face each other in the regional final.
The change came upon a recommendation by the MHSAA Football Committee and will take effect this year.
It’s not a major change, given each of the eight divisions for the state football playoffs will still have 32 teams, with them being broken down into four-team districts and eight-team regionals.
The pairings are chosen are based on geography and proximity, and what the new change might do is make sure that the odds of matchups between the top two point-getters in a region take place in the regional final, rather than in a district final or even district semifinal.
“I think it’s a great idea,” said Birmingham Brother Rice head coach Aaron Marshall, who was the head coach of Southfield A&T’s Division 1 state championship team in 2023 and will have one of the state’s best teams come the fall. “If the top two teams in your regional are right down the street from each other, they might have to play each other right away. Being able to separate that benefits everybody.”
Jackson Lumen Christi head coach Herb Brogan, who might become the state’s all-time winningest coach this season, said while it’s not a monumental change, it should be beneficial.
“Honestly, six in one, half dozen in the other,” he said. “It’s probably not going to change things dramatically. You’ve got to beat whoever you are playing wherever you are playing them. But it makes it more difficult for two really good teams to match up against each other early on, which is a good thing.”
The first day of official practice for the football season is Aug. 10, with the playoffs slated to start on Oct. 30.
Keith Dunlap is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: MHSAA approves seeding for district, regional rounds of prep football playoffs
Reporting by Keith Dunlap, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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