Stratford’s three-peat from 2022 to 2024 has contributed to the Tigers moving up a division once again
The 2025 high school football season is in the books, but it’s never too early to turn an eye to 2026.
The WIAA voted in favor of a Tournament Performance Factor at its annual meeting in 2023, first implemented in the 2024-25 school year. The system assigns points to teams based on their playoff finish, and accumulating six points or more over a trailing three year period results in those teams being elevated one division for the following season, and remaining in that division until their trailing three year points falls below six points.
With results for the 2025 season complete, we can now tabulate the Tournament Performance Factor points for all teams, and determine those that will move up for the 2026 football season.
Of note, Stratford becomes the first program to get promoted to a higher division after a previous elevation. The Tigers were moved up from D6 to D5 following the 2023 season after back-to-back state titles, and followed that up with a Division 5 championship in 2024 and a trip to the state semi-finals in 2025.
Columbus is the only team that moves back down a division due to the trailing three-year totals falling below the threshold. The Cardinals will move from Division 4 to Division 5, unless their enrollment places them in D4.
Any of the teams that have met the point threshold have the opportunity to appeal an elevation to the WIAA’s Classification Committee, with those appeals due December 1st.
Teams that met the point threshold to be elevated in 2025 and will remain in their elevated division in 2026 (pending appeal):
Aquinas - D4
Badger - D1
Bay Port - already D1 by enrollment
Catholic Memorial - D3
Edgar - D6
Grantsburg - D5
Kimberly - already D1 by enrollment
Notre Dame - D2
Rice Lake - D2
Wrightstown - D4
New teams to reach the point total for elevation in 2026 (pending appeal):
Baldwin-Woodville - D4 to D3
Darlington - D6 to D5
Grafton - D3 to D2
Kenosha St. Joseph - D7 to D6
Muskego - already in D1
Northwestern - D5 to D4
Potosi/Cassville - D7 to D6
Stratford - D5 to D4 (were already promoted from D6 to D5)
West De Pere - D2 to D1
Winneconne - D4 to D3
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].