GHSA to vote on major change in playoff selection, seeding
The Georgia High School Association is expected to vote Monday to use a ratings formula instead of region finish to select and seed playoff teams in what would mark a major shift from tradition.
The vote will take place at the Macon Marriott City Center during the GHSA’s fall executive committee meeting.
The new method of picking and seeding playoff teams was endorsed by the GHSA’s reclassification committee in a 13-5 vote in June. It must get approval from the 68-member executive committee and would go into effect for the 2026-27 academic year.
Currently, the GHSA sets up most playoff brackets in each class by taking the top four finishers from each of eight regions to form 32-team brackets. The teams are seeded based on their finish from their regions. Region finish has dictated the bracket setup in the state playoffs since the 1920s.
Starting in 2024, the GHSA adopted a ratings formula, or what it calls the Post Season Ranking Formula, to seed teams in classes 3A, 2A and A Division I, plus the 3A-A Private playoff division. However, region finish in those classes still guaranteed the top four finishers would make the playoffs, and region champions and runners-up would get preferential seeding.
Under the new proposal, region finish no longer would matter except that region champions would be guaranteed playoff berths and top-16 seeds. Otherwise, the seeds would go entirely based on the ratings, meaning a second-place finisher could miss the playoffs, though unlikely, or find itself seeded below a fourth-place finisher from its own region.
The rationale is that teams should be seeded based on how they rank in the state, not in their regions, which vary in strength. It’s not uncommon in the playoffs for one region’s four qualifiers to beat the four from another region, or the fourth-place finisher defeat another’s champion. The new method also would allow stronger teams to meet later in the tournament, proponents say.
The executive committee also will vote Monday on other reclass changes. One essentially would rename classes A Division I and A Division II, calling them Class A and Class 2A. The highest class would be 7A instead of 6A, and the 3A-A Private division would be the 4A-2A private division. The number of classes and state champions effectively would remain the same.
For the new reclassification cycle, Class 7A would comprise the largest 13% of schools based on enrollment. Class A would get the smallest 12%. The other five classes each would have 15% of schools.
The reclassification committee also proposes to set a minimum number of regular-season contests to make a team eligible for the playoffs in football (minimum nine games), fastpitch softball (24), volleyball (32), basketball (22), baseball (24), soccer (14), lacrosse (14) and tennis (14).
From the board of directors, there is a proposal for the GHSA to donate $3 million to the GHSA Foundation, a nonprofit group that funds scholarships and programs to support students, coaches, administrators and officials.
About the Author
Todd Holcomb has been a contributor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1985. He is currently co-founder and editor of Georgia High School Football Daily.
