Illinois high school football is getting bigger. Member schools of the Illinois High School Association voted Tuesday to approve all 12 bylaw proposals on the annual referendum ballot, including a significant expansion of the football playoffs that will add 128 teams to the postseason field.
The football playoff expansion, which passed by a vote of 377-252, increases each classification from 32 teams to 48 teams, bringing the total number of playoff qualifiers statewide from 256 to 384. Over 90 percent of the IHSA’s 802 member high schools participated in the 2025 voting process.
Under the approved proposal, the eight playoff classes (1A through 8A) will remain unchanged, but the structure of the postseason will shift to accommodate the larger field. In Classes 1A through 6A, which maintain north and south brackets, the top eight seeds in each bracket will receive first-round byes. For Classes 7A and 8A, the top 16 seeds overall will earn byes into the second round.
To facilitate the additional playoff round necessitated by the byes, the start of the regular season will move up one week while keeping the same season start date of August 10. The first regular-season games will now be played on August 20 (using 2026 as an example), eliminating the traditional Week Zero scrimmage option.
The qualification structure remains unchanged, with teams that win the most games seeded first according to playoff points.
“Too often throughout the years, football decisions have negatively impacted other sports at IHSA schools,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. ” We are hopeful that this football playoff expansion will provide intended relief to our schools by stabilizing conference movement and eliminating the difficulty of scheduling football games that many of our schools face each year. It may create some short-term complications for some schools, conferences, and coaches, but we remain optimistic it will create long-term stability in football and beyond.”
Beyond football, the membership approved 11 additional bylaw amendments that will reshape various aspects of IHSA operations:
Governance Changes: The IHSA Board of Directors will expand from 11 elected members to 15, with four new seats reserved specifically for superintendents, presidents, CEOs, or heads of school.
Cooperative Team Restrictions: Co-op sports teams with combined enrollments of 3,500 students or more will no longer be eligible to compete for IHSA State Series team awards.
Summer No-Contact Period: The IHSA’s summer no-contact period will shift from early August to the week of July 4th, beginning this summer.
Non-School Competition: Students will be allowed to compete in two non-school competitions during the high school season in their sport, with a third competition permitted if sanctioned by the sport’s national governing body.
Football Combines: Each school may participate in one free football combine, with schools authorized to organize and transport up to 20 students to attend.
Recruitment Clarification: Language was added to IHSA recruitment bylaws affirming that the rules apply to prospective student-athletes.
Legal Discovery Provisions: The IHSA will be allowed to revise, amend, or supplement any ruling based on information gathered during legal discovery, while requiring all obtainable information to be presented at the time of appeal to the Hearing Board.
Boys Volleyball Schedule: The boys volleyball season start and end dates will move up one week, effective for the 2027 season.
All proposals will take effect on July 1, 2026, unless otherwise specified, with some changes going into effect 30 days after passage. The football playoff expansion and related scheduling changes will be implemented for the 2026 season.
