The Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors met on Monday in Gainesville to discuss an FHSAA decision to reduce the number of classifications by two for the 2026 and 2027 high school football seasons.
It got one.
After hours of discussion, the FHSAA Board of Directors voted 10-3 to cut the classifications from seven to six, while keeping the Rural classification.
Instead of eight classifications (Rural and 1-7A), there will be seven (1A-6A and Rural).
In addition to lowering the number of classifications, FHSAA Executive Director Craig Damon had also introduced a two-week district tournament format during the final two weeks of the regular season while eliminating mandatory district games.
There were two options presented.
Option A required regular-season district contests, with the district champion advancing as normal. Playoff brackets were based on the number of teams in the classification, with the number of at-large teams varying.
The FHSAA would use rankings to determine seeding. It was similar to the current structure, minus one class.
Option B did not require regular-season district contests, with teams scheduling eight games over nine weeks, followed by a 2-week district tournament to determine playoff berths.
The district tournament would be played over weeks 10 and 11, with the top four teams from each district playing for a championship. The top seed would play the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed would play in week 10.
The winners and losers would play in week 11, with the district champion advancing automatically
Last Wednesday, Joshua Wilson of FloridaHSFootball.com wrote that the FHSAA proposal would overhaul football classifications for 2026–28, drawing concern from coaches and ADs.
Option A seemed to be the consensus.
Wilson covered all aspects of Monday’s meeting with a ‘live’ blog from the FHSAA headquarters.
According to FHSAA associate executive director Scott Jamison, the new classification assignments will be determined before Christmas.
A total of 492 schools have declared for the FHSAA State Series for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years.