A Florida High School Athletic Association proposal to eliminate districts for small schools and change the playoff structure for small and large schools is getting a thumbs-up from area football coaches.
As part of a new FHSAA proposal, Cardinal Newman and other small schools no longer would be members of a football district. The Crusaders also would be free to create their own schedule. (Post file photo)
Introduced earlier this year and fine-tuned Tuesday during an FHSAA Board of Directors meeting, the proposal would abandon the district format in Classes 1A-4A, and determine most postseason qualifiers based on a points system weighed heavily toward strength of schedule.
Under the current system, which will stay in place through the 2016 season, district champions and runners-up in all eight classes qualify for the playoffs.
As part of the new system, only district champions in Classes 5A-8A would earn automatic playoff bids.
“I like the idea,” Forest Hill coach Jude Blessington said of the proposed changes. “Teams are still rewarded for winning the district, but it gives teams in really tough districts a better chance if they still have a solid season.”
Blessington pointed to the 2014 season as an example. District 13-7A rivals Dwyer and West Boca Raton both finished 7-3 overall and played strong schedules that year, but failed to make the playoffs.
The FHSAA noted Tuesday that 16 teams with losing records qualified for the playoffs in 2015, while 35 teams with records at .500 or above missed the postseason.
The new proposal “will give a fair shot to all teams,” Cardinal Newman coach Brian Pulaski said. “I think it’s a great plan.”
If the proposal is approved this fall by the FHSAA’s Board of Directors, small schools no longer would play district games, and would be responsible for creating their own schedules.
Schools that struggle to fill a 10-game schedule would be given the option of moving into a higher classification.
District runners-up like Wellington, shown in 2015, would only qualify for the playoffs if they earn enough points under a new FHSAA proposal. (Post file photo)
Large schools still would be required to play the teams in their districts.
As for the postseason, sixteen teams in Classes 1A-4A would qualify for the playoffs, with four qualifiers coming from each of four regions based on points. Points would be awarded based on opponents’ records during the season, plus won/loss record against those teams. Bonus points also are available.
Teams must play at least eight games in order to be eligible for the playoffs. The higher seeded team will host all postseason games.
Thirty-two teams in Classes 5A-8A would qualify for the playoffs, with the district champion receiving an automatic bid.
District champions would earn a 1-4 seed in their regions based on season points. Four wildcards would be taken from each region based on points after week 11. Those teams would earn a 5-8 seed. As in Classes 1A-4A, the higher seed would host all playoff games.
Boca Raton coach Eric Davis, whose Bobcats finished 8-2 during the 2015 regular season and qualified for the playoffs as the District 10-8A runner-up, has mixed feelings about the FHSAA’s proposed changes.
“I’m a little concerned,” he said. “District play is a must. But a points system, especially if a team in your district has a bad year? Also, public schools don’t have the funds to travel all over the state in search of better competition.”
