The high school football playoffs in Illinois are expanding.
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) announced on Tuesday that member schools voted to adopt a by-law proposal that adds 16 teams per classification to the playoff field and moves the start of the football season up one week. The playoff bracket for each class will now have 48 teams, up from 32, and there will now be 384 playoff qualifiers statewide, up from 256.
The vote passed by a 377-252 margin. 96 member schools did not vote on the proposal.
The 1A-6A playoff field will remain split into north and south brackets. The teams seeded 1-8 in the north and south will receive a first-round bye. In the 7A and 8A playoffs, the full bracket will be seeded 1-48 with the top 16 seeds earning byes into the second round.
Traditionally, teams have needed a 5-4 record to assure a playoff spot, but a handful of 4-5 teams have rounded out the playoff field the last couple of seasons. Moving forward, teams with records as low as 2-7 will have a chance to make the playoffs.
The change goes into effect for the upcoming 2026 season.
Locally, Mercer County voted in favor of expanding the playoffs. Rockridge and Sherrard voted against it.