MHSAA Expands Football Playoff Format for 2024 Season

The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) has announced significant changes to the format of the 2024 football playoffs. Due to the shortened regular season caused by COVID-19-related delays, the playoff fields for both 11-player and 8-player football will be doubled, allowing nearly every team in Michigan to play a seventh game.

This season, teams were limited to six regular-season games, down from the usual nine, as the first games were not played until what would traditionally be Week 4. The expanded playoff format aims to compensate for this reduction. For 11-player football, the field will include 512 teams, with five teams receiving first-round byes. The playoffs will consist of three district rounds, regional finals, semifinals, and finals, with the finals scheduled for the weekend of December 4-6.

In the 8-player division, the format will also see an increase in participating teams, although specific details on the field size and schedule are yet to be fully outlined. The first hardware of the season will be awarded this weekend, with 64 teams earning 11-player District championships and eight teams celebrating 8-player Regional titles.

Tickets for the playoff games cost $7 for district and regional rounds, with more than 60 of the 72 games to be played streamed live on the NFHS Network. Scores and pairings will be updated on MHSAA.com throughout the weekend.

The MHSAA Representative Council, the legislative body of the association, approved these changes to ensure a more inclusive and competitive postseason despite the challenges posed by the shortened regular season.