October 12, 2025

Three-hundred ten (310) teams learned their sectional opponents today via live stream at IHSAAtv.org and the state-wide IHSAA Champions Radio Network.

About the Draw

To conduct the random drawing for the football state tournament, the IHSAA places ping-pong balls
representing each school in each sectional into a lottery-style air mix machine. A fan in the bottom of the machine blows the balls around the inside of the transparent container and air then forces each ball up through a tube in random order. For example, the first ball retrieved from the machine will be the visiting team in game one with the second ball representing the home team in game one. The third ball to come out is the visitor in game two and the fourth ball the home team in game two. That same method is followed through all 48 sectionals. In five and seven-team sectionals, the last team drawn receives the bye and an automatic road game in the semifinal round.

The 53rd Annual IHSAA Football State Tournament presented by the Indianapolis Colts is set to begin Oct. 24 with sectional first round games. Semifinal games will be played on Oct. 31, sectional championship games on Nov. 7, regionals on Nov. 14, semi-states on Nov. 21 and the state championship games on Nov. 28-29.

The 12 teams earning a berth in the state finals will play on Thanksgiving weekend in Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, the state tournament’s presenting sponsor since 2009.

Here is a look at when games will be played each week by class:

The Sectional Pairings