HELENA — Adjustments to the state postseason format for Class A football, basketball and volleyball as part of the Montana High School Association's latest Executive Board meeting, which took place June 22 via conference call, were announced Tuesday.
In a press release, the MHSA announced that it had approved adjustments to the Class A state football bracket, deciding that the same number of teams from each division will qualify for the playoffs and there will not be any divisional crossover in the first round.
For Class A basketball, the board approved that it return to an eight-team state tournament with four teams qualifying from the West and four teams qualifying from the East. There will no longer be a play-in game to advance to state.
For volleyball, the MHSA announced that Class A will also go back to an eight-team state tournament with four teams qualifying from the West and four teams qualifying from the East, and there will also no longer be a play-in game to qualify.
Among the other notable announcements in the press release, the MHSA:
- Approved an adjustment to the Class B football playoff tiebreaker. Other than in the state championship, if like seeds meet in the playoffs, head-to-head results will be the first criterion to determine the host site for the playoff game. It also approved alternating Whitehall and Jefferson from the South to the West football divisions every two years in the next reclassification of Class B.
- Approved increasing the number of Class AA qualifiers from divisional to state in track and field. In each event, eight participants will advance to state from each division. In the past, six participants or relay teams qualified. The board also approved adjustments to the number of Class C qualifiers from divisional to state in track and field. Each division will advance six participants or relay teams to state. Last year the Western division advanced seven participants. It also approved returning the number of Class A qualifiers from divisional to state in track and field to 10 from each division. Last year, the East advanced eight and the West advanced 10 participants.
- Approved adjustments to Class A qualifiers in postseason wrestling. With this change, Class A schools can enter a maximum of 17 wrestlers into the postseason and shall have no more than two wrestlers in a weight class.
- Approved the following clarification for the MHSA Open Gym Rule: Coaches who coach AAU clubs or teams with mixed high school students must follow district policy to rent the gym to practice, and co-op students are allowed to participate in each school’s open gyms or practices.
To view or download a PDF of the MHSA's full press release, see below.
