(4-14-22) The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors met for its regularly scheduled meeting at the IHSA office in Bloomington on Tuesday, April 12, 2022.

The Board discussed seeding all classes of the IHSA Football Playoffs 1-32. In February, the Board approved a non-consent item to allow all eight playoff classes to be seeded 1-32 beginning in 2023. Previously, only Class 7A and 8A were seeded 1-32, while Class 1A-6A were split into a North/South brackets that were seeded 1-16. The Board discussed the possibility of studying modifications to the seeding process in the event that 1-32 creates extreme travel scenarios.


IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson:

“Following the decision in February, some Board members heard feedback from constituents in their respective areas expressing concerns over the potential for extreme travel, and the financial implications that can come along with it. The Board recognizes there is validity in those concerns. They have asked our staff to gather more information and data for the Board to review. There is past precedence in the IHSA playoff process for modifying seeding in the event of extreme travel. For example, what we could look to do is begin with 1-32 seeding, but if it creates extreme travel in a certain class, we may then revert that class to North/South 1-16 bracketing if it alleviates those travel concerns. We aren’t yet at the point of defining what “extreme travel” is or might mean for this scenario, but will get to work on studying the issue and providing a recommendation to the Board ahead of the 2023 season.”

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