FOOTBALL: Tournament formats approved for Class 5A, 6A football

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December 11, 2012

FOOTBALL: Tournament formats approved for Class 5A, 6A football

NEWS AND TRIBUNE sports@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Tue Dec 11, 2012, 11:55 PM EST

INDIANAPOLIS — Two format recommendations for the new Class 5A and 6A football state tournaments were approved on Tuesday at the monthly meeting of the IHSAA Executive Committee.

Those provisions included the creation of eight four-team sectionals in each class along with a bye week for the two teams competing in each state championship game during the traditional semi-state week. Both were unanimously passed by the 16-member committee.

The tournament formats and dates for Class A through 4A remain unchanged.

In recent weeks, the IHSAA surveyed the current 70 largest football playing schools and received 67 responses to a pair of choices.

The first choice was each school being in favor of either eight four-team sectionals or four eight-team sectionals. The second choice was to either have a bye week during the first week of the state tournament or during the traditional semi-state weekend.

The survey results strongly favored the format of eight four-team sectionals with 50 of the 67 respondents (74.6 percent) preferring that format.

With regards to the second question, 44 of 67 schools (65.7 percent) favored the 5A and 6A bye week to happen during the traditional semi-state week.

Sectional games for 5A and 6A next season will take place on Oct. 25 and Nov. 1. Regional contests will be on Nov. 8 and semi-state games will take place on Nov. 15. The state championship games will be Nov. 29-30.

The IHSAA Executive Committee approved adding a sixth class to the football state tournament during its June meeting. Class 6A will consist of the 32 largest schools, while the next 32 largest will make up Class 5A. The smaller number of schools in both classes requires a five-week tournament series instead of the customary six weeks.

Certified enrollment figures to be used for classifying schools for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years will be released later this winter. Sectional assignments will be announced in the spring.

— News and Tribune