Florida approves open division playoffs for high school sports

The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) has created the FHSAA Open Division, a championship platform meant to showcase the top high school teams in the state.

The open division originally was endorsed by the FHSAA board of directors in June 2024 and approved earlier this week. The format will feature the top eight teams in football, girls volleyball, girls and boys basketball, girls and boys soccer, baseball, softball, flag football and girls and boys lacrosse — regardless of classification — and will debut during the upcoming 2026-27 school year.

“This is an exciting step forward for high school athletics in the state of Florida,” FHSAA Executive Director Craig Damon said in a news release. “This has been in the works for the past few years and after today’s board approval, we are excited to officially share it with everyone and look forward to seeing these teams compete in the open division championships.”

The FHSAA uses MaxPreps for its rankings to determine postseason selections.

For football, the top eight teams will be decided solely by MaxPreps rankings after the regular season, with no human element involved with the final decision. For the remaining sports, FHSAA power ranking will determine the top eight teams. Those teams will then compete for a state championship in a separate playoff in the open division.

The eight qualifying teams will be divided into two pools of four teams each. Pool A will include the No. 1, 4, 5 and 8 seeds, while Pool B will include the No. 2, 3, 6 and 7 seeds. Each team will be guaranteed at least one home game in pool play. At the conclusion of pool play, the top two teams from each pool will advance to the state finals host site for a single-elimination tournament to determine a state champion.

The FHSAA has determined tiebreaking criteria in the event of a tie during pool play. Teams will not be allowed to opt out.

The association said the open division was developed to provide a premier competitive pathway for the state’s highest-performing programs while maintaining the integrity and tradition of FHSAA state championship competition across all classifications.

Other items addressed at the FHSAA’s recent board meeting include approved bylaw changes regarding transfer and change-of-school eligibility that look to shut down athletes playing for more than one school in the same season or school year as well as a pause on a mandatory shot clock for postseason basketball. Instead, it will only be required for state semifinal and final games.