Before the first coin toss, before the first game film is broken down, Arizona high school football teams are already staring down the most important part of the season: how to get in.
This fall, the road to the playoffs looks a little different for most teams. With the exception of 1A and 3A — which are sticking to their familiar formats — nearly every other conference has seen its playoff structure adjusted in some way. These changes don’t come straight from the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA). Instead, each conference committee reviews and votes on its own playoff plan, which is then brought to the AIA for approval and implementation. It’s a system that allows the larger schools to tailor their postseason format while smaller divisions, like 1A and 3A, stick to what works.
Whether you’re a big-school powerhouse or a small-town squad with a roster barely two-deep, knowing the rules matters just as much as knowing the playbook.
In 1A, the smallest division in the state, it’s business as usual. Teams must play at least six games to be considered for the postseason. Region champions get in automatically. The next eight highest-ranked teams — based on the AIA’s MaxPreps-powered rankings — round out a 12-team field. The top four seeds earn first-round byes. It’s a straightforward setup with tight margins, where one injury or missed assignment can make all the difference.
3A hasn’t changed either, and its system might be the clearest of the bunch. Win your region — there are five — and you’re in. The next 11 highest-ranked teams fill out the rest of a 16-team bracket. There are no byes, no play-ins, and no reseeding. It’s four rounds of single-elimination football. Region champions don’t receive any seeding advantage — if you’re ranked 14th, you’re still playing the 3-seed in round one.
Beyond that, the formats shift.
In 2A, teams will again play a set of Week 10 crossover games between region leaders. The winners of those games — five in total — earn automatic playoff bids, even if their overall ranking falls short. After those five spots are secured, the remaining 19 highest-ranked teams fill out a 24-team bracket. The top eight seeds receive a first-round bye. For programs hovering around the edge of the rankings, that Week 10 result may be the difference between a postseason run and an early end.
In 4A and 5A, the state has adopted similar 24-team brackets after both conferences opted out of participating in the Open Division this year. Unlike 2A, there are no crossover games or automatic bids for region champions. The top eight teams receive byes, while the rest of the field is filled based solely on rankings. Once the bracket is set, it stays that way — no reseeding.
And then there’s 6A, which now stands alone at the top of the Open Division structure.
In years past, highly ranked teams from 4A and 5A could qualify for the Open. This fall, only 6A schools are eligible, a change driven by the 4A and 5A conference committees. The top four will receive byes, while teams ranked five through 12 will play in first-round Open games. Winners move on in the Open bracket; first-round losers drop into the 6A playoff bracket, where they’ll meet the next tier of 6A teams — those ranked 13 through 20 — in a more layered postseason structure.
It’s a shift that gives 5A and 4A teams a clearer shot at their own titles, while raising the stakes for 6A schools at the top.
What hasn’t changed is the mission. From small towns to city schools, every team starts this week with the same goal: find a way in. Some paths are familiar. Others have changed. But the destination remains the same.
There’s still a long way to go — full seasons to play, rankings to rise, and statements to make on Friday nights. But for teams across Arizona, the chase is already on. And whether the path is old or newly drawn, it leads to the same place: win enough, and you’re in.
