AKRON, Ohio — The Ohio high school football playoff format is receiving a change for this upcoming season.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association board of directors voted Thursday to approve the football playoff regulations, including a reduction of playoff qualifiers from 16 to 12 teams in each region.
The best four seeds in each region qualify for a bye in the first round of the playoffs. In addition, the first three rounds of the postseason will be hosted by the higher seeded team instead of the first two rounds.
With the top four seeds in each region receiving a first-round bye, the first-round parings include the No. 12 seed playing at the No. 5 seed, No. 11 at No. 6, No. 10 at No. 7 and No. 9 and No. 8.
In the second round, the No. 1 seed will host the winner of No. 8 vs. No. 9, the No. 2 seed will host the winner of No. 7 vs. No. 10, the No. 3 seed will host the winner of No. 6 vs. No. 11, and the No. 4 seed will host the winner of No. 5 vs. No. 12.
Ohio's high school football season starts in late August with the first Friday night scheduled for Aug. 22. The playoff qualifiers are announced Oct. 26, and the first round begins Oct. 31.
This season is the first time in OHSAA football playoff history that will see the implementation of 12 football playoff qualifiers in each region. The OHSAA allowed 16 teams per region to qualify across seven tournament divisions since the 2021 season.
The first round of the postseason will be reduced by 56 games or 112 schools overall statewide after the change is implemented.
Reducing playoff qualifiers was the talk around Ohio high school football this spring. OHSAA executive director Doug Ute made the recommendation to the board of directors this week.
"For the last few years, we have been pleased that more schools experienced the football playoffs, and there were some lower seeds that won playoff games," Ute said. "But over the last year, we have received feedback from our schools, with a slight majority favoring 12 qualifiers per region, and we had many conversations with stakeholders around the state that led us to make this proposal to our board."
The OHSAA said in May that 706 schools plan to participate in 11-man football this season.
Ute said May 15 there was “serious discussion” about potentially reducing the amount of playoff qualifiers from 16 to 12 teams in each region.
The OHSAA sent a football survey to member schools in April that featured a variety of topics, including the preference for the number of qualifiers in each region. Approximately 1,000 participants completed the online form, according to what football administrator Beau Rugg said May 1.
In May 2020, the OHSAA announced 12 teams per region would qualify for the 2021 season, but it was never implemented during the season. That was an increase from eight teams per region, which had been the standard since 1999.
Then, the OHSAA announced in April 2021 the number of qualifiers would expand to 16 per region. That occurred after every team was allowed to qualify for the 2020 postseason due to the shortened COVID-19 year.
Ute said in April 2021 the organization received “overwhelmingly positive feedback” from allowing every team to enter the 2020 playoffs and the decision was made to allow 16 qualifiers in each region for the 2021 season.
The expansion increased the number of football playoff qualifiers from 224 to 448 starting in the 2021 season.
The OHSAA football playoffs began in 1972 when only 12 schools qualified for the playoffs (four schools in each of three classes).
