Startford has won three consecutive Division 5 state titles

Significant changes to the playoff structure in high school football in Wisconsin have generated considerable discussion amongst coaches and fans as games kick off this week.

At February’s Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Board of Control meeting, the group gave final approval for a plan that makes significant changes to the high school football playoff structure, plus voted to expand the 8-player football postseason.

The Board of Control voted 10-1 in favor of instituting the Wisconsin Football Playoff Matrix for qualification and seeding. The vote was 8-3 to utilize the Matrix for assigning regional groupings as well.

Also at today's meeting, the Board voted 11-0 to expand the 8-player football playoffs from 16 qualifiers to 32 qualifiers, which would also slightly adjust the dates for the 8-player season. More on that later.

Wisconsin Football Playoff Matrix

The Wisconsin Football Playoff Matrix changes how the WIAA football playoffs work for qualification, division assignment, regional groupings, and seeding, beginning in the 2025 season.

The proposal comes in response to increased frustrations and concerns from coaches regarding playoff-related matters in recent seasons, including controversies around last year's playoff qualifiers, how the regional groupings are determined, and what many feel were inconsistent or incorrect seeds for several teams.

The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) proposal, dubbed the Wisconsin Football Playoff Matrix, is modeled after the system that has been utilized in Ohio for many years.

It is important to note that the plan does NOT make changes to conferences, the realignment process, season length or start date, game maximums, the number of qualifiers, or the number of divisions for 11-player football. The WIAA's Tournament Performance Factor points system would still apply.

Developed by Andy LaVoy and Jesse Norris of Edgewood High School in collaboration with the WFCA Executive Board, the system, "introduces what we feel to be a fair, data-driven approach to high school football playoffs, designed to ensure transparency, limits travel impacts, and provides consistency."

Among the key components of the plan is the identification of playoff division assignments before the postseason begins, similar to other sports. The teams competing in 11-player football would be equally distributed across the seven divisions, with any remaining teams added to the larger divisions on down.

Playoff qualifying would be done within each division, instead of first determining 224 qualifiers and then assigning to divisions.

A points system would be used for each win a team accumulates during the season. More points would be assigned for wins against higher-division opponents (see methodology below). This is considered the Tier 1 Points. In addition, the points for each opponent that a team defeats would be added up to determine the Tier 2 Points.

The Tier 2 Points total would then be divided by the total games played for a team's opponents, and multiplied by 9. The Tier 1 Point total and adjusted Tier 2 Point total would then be added together to determine a team's Total Points.

The Total Points would be used for both playoff qualification and seeding within each region.

The WFCA has developed a video outlining the plan in additional detail, and can be viewed here.

A website has been created to show the results of this proposal on the 2024 playoffs, including the revised divisions, qualifiers, groups, and seeds. Information is also available for application to the 2023 and 2022 seasons, for additional data and understanding. Please click here for that information.

8-Player Football Playoff Expansion

The 11-0 vote in favor of 8-player football expansion moves the number of qualifiers from 16 teams to 32 teams, beginning in 2025. With more than 70 total 8-player teams and more than 50 that are eligible for the playoffs, it brings the ratio of qualifiers-to-teams in line with the 11-player divisions.

In the 2024 season, there were numerous teams with winning records that did not qualify for the playoffs, including teams that went 6-2 overall.

The 8-player football playoffs expand to five levels of competition, though the state championship game will continue to be played at the Saturday of 11-player state semi-finals at Wisconsin Rapids.

The start of practices and the first week of games are moved up one week in 8-player football to accommodate the expanded playoff schedule. Both move in line with 11-player football.

The enrollment cap for playoff eligibility remains in place, as only those teams with a trailing three-year enrollment number of less than 200 students would be eligible for the 8-player postseason.

Official WIAA Enrollments

Late in the summer, the WIAA released the official division assignments for all 11-player teams. All teams that provide an 11-player schedule are split equally into seven divisions.

We also have provided a list of the divisional cutlines going back to 2008 to show where those lines have been in the past and how they've changed in recent years, and may be impacted by this new playoff procedure.

Competitive Balance and Tournament Performance Factor still apply. As a reminder, for any division that has a team or teams elevated, a corresponding number of teams from the higher division will be moved down in order to balance out the number of teams in each division. Teams that have accumulated any TPF points in the previous three years cannot be moved down due to another team's elevation; in such an event, the next lowest enrollment team in that division without TPF points in the previous three years will be moved down instead.

The following teams met the threshold for elevation from their originally assigned divisions or the division they accumulated points in:

  • Aquinas*

  • Badger

  • Bay Port^

  • Catholic Memorial*

  • Columbus*

  • Edgar

  • Grantsburg

  • Kimberly^

  • Notre Dame

  • Rice Lake*

  • Stratford*

  • Wrightstown

* - Indicates teams was promoted in 2024 and will remain in higher division in 2025

^ - Indicates team is in Division 1 and cannot be further promoted

A few additional notes:

  • Team enrollments for co-ops include the enrollment totals for all schools involved in the co-op.

  • Enrollments for the Illinois schools that are part of co-ops in the Wisconsin playoffs are included for all applicable teams.

  • If the total number of teams is not equally divisible by seven divisions, any remaining teams will be added to the largest divisions first (the largest divisions will have more teams than the smallest divisions). This year, there is one remainder, so Division 1 will have 53 teams while the other divisions will have 52.

  • If two or more schools have the same enrollment, the previous year's enrollment will be used as the tiebreaker for the sake of determining divisions. On the D4/5 cutline, Richland Center and Wrightstown tied at an enrollment of 412; using last year's enrollment, Richland Center is up to D4 due to an enrollment of 404 last year compared to Wrightstown's 399; however, Wrightstown is elevated to D4 by TPF points, so Richland Center winds up in D5 anyways.

Official 2025 Football Enrollments

Division

Team25

EnrollTotal

Conference

1

Appleton East

1447

Fox Valley Association

1

Appleton North

1792

Fox Valley Association

1

Arrowhead

1951

Classic Eight

1

Badger

1249

Southern Lakes

1

Bay Port

1958

FRCC-North

1

Beloit Memorial

1335

Southern Lakes

1

Brookfield East

1364

Greater Metro

1

Chippewa Falls

1419

Big Rivers

1

D.C. Everest

1770

Wisconsin Valley

1

De Pere

1449

FRCC-North

1

Eau Claire Memorial

1635

Wisconsin Valley

1

Eau Claire North

1656

Wisconsin Valley

1

Fond du Lac

1956

Fox Valley Association

1

Franklin

1621

Southeast

1

Green Bay Preble

2265

FRCC-North

1

Hortonville

1323

Fox Valley Association

1

Hudson

1709

Big Rivers

1

Janesville Craig

1612

Big Eight

1

Janesville Parker

1484

Big Eight

1

Kenosha Bradford

1772

Southeast

1

Kenosha Indian Trail

2110

Southeast

1

Kenosha Tremper

1670

Southeast

1

Kimberly

1589

Fox Valley Association

1

Madison East

1783

Big Eight

1

Madison La Follette

1625

Big Eight

1

Madison Memorial

2074

Big Eight

1

Madison West

2284

Big Eight

1

Manitowoc Lincoln

1449

FRCC-South

1

Marquette

1858

Greater Metro

1

Middleton

2409

Big Eight

1

Milwaukee Bradley Tech/Milwaukee Arts

2005

Milwaukee City-Richardson

1

Milwaukee Hamilton/Audubon Technology

1918

Milwaukee City-Richardson

1

Milwaukee Marshall/Carmen Northwest/Milwaukee

1708

Milwaukee City-Richardson

1

Milwaukee Pulaski/Carmen South/Carmen Southeast

2249

Milwaukee City-Richardson

1

Milwaukee Reagan

1395

Milwaukee City-Richardson

1

Milwaukee Riverside/Golda Meir

2279

Milwaukee City-Richardson

1

Mukwonago

1612

Classic Eight

1

Muskego

1632

Classic Eight

1

Neenah

2031

Fox Valley Association

1

Oak Creek

2151

Southeast

1

Oconomowoc

1585

Classic Eight

1

Oregon

1328

Badger-Large

1

Oshkosh West

1578

Fox Valley Association

1

Racine Case

1878

Southeast

1

Sheboygan North

1634

FRCC-South

1

Stevens Point

2218

Wisconsin Valley

1

Sun Prairie East

1395

Badger-Large

1

Sun Prairie West

1382

Badger-Large

1

Hamilton

1565

Greater Metro

1

Verona

1842

Big Eight

1

Waunakee

1340

Badger-Large

1

Wausau West

1548

Wisconsin Valley

1

Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln

1401

Wisconsin Valley

2

Appleton West

1221

FRCC-North

2

Ashwaubenon

1016

FRCC-North

2

Beaver Dam

1013

East Central

2

Brookfield Central

1197

Greater Metro

2

Cedarburg

1073

North Shore

2

DeForest

1152

Badger-Large

2

Elkhorn Area

1166

Southern Lakes

2

Germantown

1290

Greater Metro

2

Green Bay East

1212

FRCC-South

2

Green Bay Southwest

1077

FRCC-North

2

Greenfield

1149

Woodland

2

Hartford Union

1303

North Shore

2

Holmen

1236

Mississippi Valley

2

Homestead

1203

North Shore

2

Kaukauna

1210

Fox Valley Association

2

Kettle Moraine

1249

Classic Eight

2

La Crosse Central

1000

Mississippi Valley

2

Marshfield

1188

Wisconsin Valley

2

Menasha

1016

FRCC-South

2

Menomonee Falls

1266

Greater Metro

2

Milton

1054

Badger-Large

2

Milwaukee Bay View

1044

Milwaukee City-Blackbourn

2

Milwaukee King

1307

Milwaukee City-Richardson

2

Milwaukee Lutheran

1049

Woodland

2

Milwaukee South

1206

Milwaukee City-Blackbourn

2

Milwaukee Vincent/Destiny

1298

Milwaukee City-Blackbourn

2

Monona Grove

1214

Badger-Large

2

New Richmond

1070

Big Rivers

2

Nicolet

1042

North Shore

2

Notre Dame

732

FRCC-South

2

Obama SCTE

1077

Milwaukee City-Blackbourn

2

Oshkosh North

1250

FRCC-South

2

Pulaski

1162

FRCC-North

2

Racine Horlick

1223

Southeast

2

Racine Park

1215

Southeast

2

Rice Lake

672

Big Rivers

2

River Falls

1063

Big Rivers

2

Sheboygan South

1310

FRCC-South

2

Shorewood/Messmer

1156

Woodland

2

Slinger

1064

North Shore

2

Superior

1252

Big Rivers

2

Union Grove

1035

Southern Lakes

2

Watertown

1153

East Central

2

Waukesha South

1093

Parkland

2

Waukesha West

1183

Classic Eight

2

Wauwatosa East

1046

Parkland

2

Wauwatosa West

984

Parkland

2

West Allis Central

1089

Parkland

2

West Allis Hale

1256

Greater Metro

2

West Bend West

1087

North Shore

2

West De Pere

1052

FRCC-North

2

Westosha Central

1309

Southern Lakes

3

Antigo

630

Great Northern

3

Baraboo

884

Mississippi Valley

3

Burlington

954

Southern Lakes

3

Catholic Memorial

602

Parkland

3

Cudahy

649

Midwest Classic-Large

3

Edgewood

623

Badger-Small

3

Fort Atkinson

818

Badger-Large

3

Fox Valley Lutheran

773

Bay

3

Grafton

729

Woodland

3

Green Bay West

826

FRCC-South

3

Greendale

881

Woodland

3

Hayward/Lac Courte Oreilles

713

Heart O'North

3

Jefferson

602

Rock Valley

3

Kewaskum

622

East Central

3

La Crosse Logan

742

Mississippi Valley

3

Lakeland

691

Great Northern

3

Luxemburg-Casco

659

North Eastern

3

Marinette

619

Packerland

3

Martin Luther

667

Metro Classic

3

McFarland

730

Rock Valley

3

Medford

711

Great Northern

3

Menomonie

975

Big Rivers

3

Merrill

755

Great Northern

3

Milwaukee Washington/Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy

967

Milwaukee City-Blackbourn

3

Monroe

694

Rock Valley

3

Mount Horeb/Barneveld

873

Badger-Small

3

New Berlin Eisenhower

726

Parkland

3

New Berlin West

712

Parkland

3

New London

687

Bay

3

Onalaska

918

Mississippi Valley

3

Pewaukee

875

Classic Eight

3

Pius XI Catholic

725

Midwest Classic-Large

3

Plymouth

735

East Central

3

Port Washington

813

East Central

3

Portage

600

Badger-Small

3

Reedsburg

846

Mississippi Valley

3

Rhinelander

751

Great Northern

3

Sauk Prairie

858

Badger-Small

3

Shawano

702

Bay

3

South Milwaukee

926

Woodland

3

Sparta

928

Mississippi Valley

3

Stoughton

834

Badger-Small

3

Tomah

969

Mississippi Valley

3

Waterford

890

Southern Lakes

3

Waukesha North

914

Parkland

3

Waupaca

622

Bay

3

Wausau East

943

Great Northern

3

West Bend East

858

North Shore

3

Whitefish Bay

931

North Shore

3

Whitnall

813

Woodland

3

Wilmot Union

841

Southern Lakes

3

Wisconsin Lutheran

923

Woodland

4

Adams-Friendship

442

South Central

4

Altoona

561

Middle Border

4

Amery

419

Middle Border

4

Aquinas

338

Coulee

4

Ashland

595

Heart O'North

4

Baldwin-Woodville

532

Middle Border

4

Berlin

441

South Central

4

Big Foot

426

Capitol

4

Black River Falls

501

Coulee

4

Brown Deer

521

Metro Classic

4

Campbellsport

476

Flyway

4

Columbus

383

Capitol

4

Delavan-Darien

585

Rock Valley

4

Denmark

492

North Eastern

4

East Troy

455

Rock Valley

4

Edgerton

580

Rock Valley

4

Ellsworth

536

Middle Border

4

Evansville

500

Rock Valley

4

Freedom

510

North Eastern

4

Kettle Moraine Lutheran

574

East Central

4

Kohler/Sheboygan Christian/Sheboygan Area Lutheran

597

Eastern Wisconsin

4

Lake Mills

448

Capitol

4

Lakeside Lutheran

546

Badger-Small

4

Little Chute

478

North Eastern

4

Lodi

445

Capitol

4

Mauston

469

South Central

4

Milwaukee Madison

513

Milwaukee City-Blackbourn

4

Milwaukee North/Milwaukee WI Conservatory of Lifelong Learning

500

Milwaukee City-Blackbourn

4

Mosinee

561

Great Northern

4

North Fond du Lac

477

Flyway

4

Northland Pines

437

Northwoods

4

Oconto Falls

513

Northwoods

4

Osceola

498

Middle Border

4

Platteville

482

SWC

4

Racine St. Catherine’s

449

Metro Classic

4

Ripon

437

South Central

4

Saint Croix Central

511

Middle Border

4

Saint Francis

547

Midwest Classic-Large

4

Saint Thomas More

581

Metro Classic

4

Seymour

593

Bay

4

Sheboygan Falls

507

North Eastern

4

Shoreland Lutheran

443

Metro Classic

4

Somerset

452

Middle Border

4

Turner

463

Capitol

4

Two Rivers

518

North Eastern

4

Waupun

566

South Central

4

West Salem

596

Coulee

4

Whitewater

596

Rock Valley

4

Winneconne

510

Bay

4

Wisconsin Dells

567

South Central

4

Wrightstown

412

North Eastern

4

Xavier

441

Bay

5

Amherst

353

CWC-Large

5

Arcadia

413

Coulee

5

Barron

325

Heart O'North

5

Bloomer

403

Heart O'North

5

Brillion

328

Eastern Wisconsin

5

Brodhead/Juda

399

SWC

5

Brookfield Academy

321

Midwest Classic-Small

5

Chilton

387

Eastern Wisconsin

5

Clinton

317

Capitol

5

Clintonville

397

Northwoods

5

Colby

315

CWC-Large

5

Dodgeville

369

SWC

5

Dominican

306

Midwest Classic-Small

5

Durand-Arkansaw

308

Cloverbelt

5

Elk Mound

347

Cloverbelt

5

Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau

411

Coulee

5

Grantsburg

279

Lakeland

5

Horicon/Hustisford

347

Capitol

5

Kiel

398

Eastern Wisconsin

5

Kingdom Prep Lutheran

328

Midwest Classic-Large

5

Laconia

317

Flyway

5

Lake Country Lutheran

362

Metro Classic

5

Lancaster

328

SWC

5

Mayville

338

Flyway

5

Milwaukee Academy of Science

391

Midwest Classic-Large

5

New Glarus

323

SWC

5

New Holstein

310

Eastern Wisconsin

5

Northwestern

372

Heart O'North

5

Omro

320

Flyway

5

Oostburg

328

Big East

5

Peshtigo

341

Packerland

5

Prairie du Chien

309

SWC

5

Prescott

396

Middle Border

5

Racine Lutheran

345

Midwest Classic-Large

5

Richland Center

412

SWC

5

River Valley

364

SWC

5

Saint Croix Falls

350

Heart O'North

5

Southwestern/East Dubuque, IL

348

SWAL

5

Spencer/Columbus Catholic

350

CWC-Large

5

Spooner

361

Heart O'North

5

Stanley-Boyd

344

Cloverbelt

5

Stratford

283

CWC-Large

5

Sturgeon Bay

348

Packerland

5

Tomahawk

371

Great Northern

5

University School of Milwaukee

408

Metro Classic

5

Viroqua

346

Coulee

5

Watertown Luther Prep

416

Metro Classic

5

Wautoma

397

South Central

5

Westby

336

Coulee

5

Westfield

330

Trailways

5

Winnebago Lutheran

313

Flyway

5

Wittenberg-Birnamwood

352

CWC-Large

6

Abbotsford

241

Marawood/CWC

6

Abundant Life Christian/Saint Ambrose

290

SWAL

6

Auburndale

234

Marawood/CWC

6

Bangor

225

Scenic Bluffs

6

Belleville

275

SWAL

6

Benton/Scales Mound (IL)/Shullsburg

250

SWAL

6

Bonduel

279

Packerland

6

Cadott

230

Lakeland

6

Cambridge

306

Eastern Suburban

6

Cameron

293

Lakeland

6

Cedar Grove-Belgium

295

Big East

6

Chetek-Weyerhaeuser

253

Lakeland

6

Crandon

226

Northwoods

6

Cuba City

262

SWAL

6

Cumberland

285

Heart O'North

6

Darlington

262

SWAL

6

Dodgeland

231

Trailways

6

Edgar

193

Marawood/CWC

6

Fall Creek

273

Cloverbelt

6

Fall River/Rio

268

Eastern Suburban

6

Fennimore

240

SWAL

6

Howards Grove

281

Big East

6

Iowa-Grant

226

Six Rivers

6

Kewaunee

283

Packerland

6

Ladysmith

257

Lakeland

6

Living Word Lutheran

270

Midwest Classic-Small

6

Lomira

300

Flyway

6

Loyal/Greenwood

285

CWC-Large

6

Luther

259

Coulee

6

Manitowoc Lutheran

276

Big East

6

Marathon

277

CWC-Large

6

Markesan

246

Eastern Suburban

6

Marshall

275

Eastern Suburban

6

Melrose-Mindoro

225

Dairyland

6

Mineral Point

253

SWAL

6

Mishicot

273

Packerland

6

Mondovi

255

Cloverbelt

6

Neillsville/Granton

305

Cloverbelt

6

Nekoosa

301

South Central

6

Oconto

298

Packerland

6

Pardeeville

283

Eastern Suburban

6

Parkview/Albany

263

Trailways

6

Poynette

303

Eastern Suburban

6

Regis

229

Cloverbelt

6

Saint Mary Catholic

278

Eastern Wisconsin

6

Saint Mary's Springs

273

Flyway

6

Southern Door

302

Packerland

6

Unity

292

Lakeland

6

Valders

289

Eastern Wisconsin

6

Waterloo

233

Eastern Suburban

6

Weyauwega-Fremont

273

CWC-Large

7

Assumption

123

Marawood/CWC

7

Augusta

189

Dairyland

7

Black Hawk/Warren, IL

205

Six Rivers

7

Blair-Taylor

160

Dairyland

7

Boscobel

185

Six Rivers

7

Boyceville

213

Dunn-St. Croix

7

Brookwood

181

Scenic Bluffs

7

Cambria-Friesland

101

Trailways

7

Cashton

186

Scenic Bluffs

7

Catholic Central

118

Midwest Classic-Small

7

Clear Lake

188

Dunn-St. Croix

7

Cochrane-Fountain City

172

Dairyland

7

Coleman

212

Northwoods

7

Colfax

219

Dunn-St. Croix

7

Crivitz

210

Northwoods

7

Deerfield

206

Eastern Suburban

7

Eleva-Strum

194

Dairyland

7

Elmwood/Plum City

170

Dunn-St. Croix

7

Glenwood City

187

Dunn-St. Croix

7

Hilbert

158

Big East

7

Hillsboro

143

Scenic Bluffs

7

Independence/Gilmanton

181

Dairyland

7

Iola-Scandinavia

204

Marawood/CWC

7

Ithaca

104

Scenic Bluffs

7

Johnson Creek

187

Trailways

7

Kenosha Christian Life

202

Midwest Classic-Small

7

Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic

210

Midwest Classic-Small

7

Lourdes Academy

176

Trailways

7

Manawa

197

Northwoods

7

Necedah

217

Scenic Bluffs

7

New Lisbon

156

Scenic Bluffs

7

Osseo-Fairchild

220

Cloverbelt

7

Ozaukee

199

Big East

7

Pacelli

177

Marawood/CWC

7

Palmyra-Eagle

162

Trailways

7

Pecatonica/Argyle

192

Six Rivers

7

Pepin/Alma

149

Dairyland

7

Pittsville

175

Marawood/CWC

7

Potosi/Cassville

165

Six Rivers

7

Randolph

160

Trailways

7

Random Lake

214

Big East

7

Reedsville

183

Big East

7

River Ridge

167

Six Rivers

7

Riverdale

206

Six Rivers

7

Roncalli

214

Eastern Wisconsin

7

Rosholt

158

Marawood/CWC

7

Royall

129

Scenic Bluffs

7

Shiocton

208

Northwoods

7

Spring Valley

195

Dunn-St. Croix

7

Turtle Lake

136

Dunn-St. Croix

7

Wauzeka-Steuben/Seneca

175

Six Rivers

7

Webster

187

Lakeland

7

Whitehall

213

Dairyland

Travis Wilson serves as the Bound Wisconsin Manager. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisBound or reach him at [email protected].

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