The FHSAA unanimously approved a new Open Division, creating a separate postseason path for Florida’s top-ranked high school teams across 11 sports.
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FHSAA creates Open Division to give Florida’s top high school teams a separate postseason path
The Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors unanimously approved a new Open Division, creating a separate postseason path for the state’s top-ranked high school teams beginning in the 2026-27 school year.
The new format covers: football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, lacrosse, and girls’ flag football.
For football, the top eight teams in the state will be selected based strictly on MaxPreps rankings. Other sports will use rankings after district tournaments to determine the eight-team field. Those teams will then be divided into two pools before advancing to a four-team state championship bracket.
FHSAA Executive Director Craig Damon said the change opens the door for more schools to compete at the highest level.
“Now eight more schools, get the opportunity for the postseason that may not have gotten that opportunity because without the open division place, so some schools that might be making the playoffs for the first time it may be some of our schools making the state championship game for the first time because they’ve had a dominant team that was in the classification that they could never even get past or so to meet to so forth so, for me to sum it up providing opportunities for student athletes in a manner that we’ve never done in the state of Florida,” Damon said.
Damon said the concept has been years in the making.
“We’ve been talking about this for probably about four years, five years,” Damon said.
He described the core goal of the Open Division in straightforward terms.
“Opportunities is probably the best way to summon the opportunities opportunities for our programs that excel at a higher level than others to have better competition to gain that exposure,” Damon said.
Lincoln High School Head Lacrosse Coach Jeremiah Williams said the new division is especially meaningful for growing sports like lacrosse.
“Pretty cool because it gives teams, you know like lower level teams, like mid-tier teams the chance to play like at a higher level, you know, I did like the top eight teams playing like their championship. I think it’s pretty cool cause I’ve also always wanted to see you know say champions in two and one, he’s a better one of them, you know, so I get to see you like who’s actually the true champion,” Williams said.
Williams acknowledged the change will have a noticeable impact on the competitive landscape.
“You know I think its going to shake up some things for sure,” Williams said.
Florida High Head Football Coach Jarrod Hickman said the use of MaxPreps rankings for football selection is a step in the right direction.
“I’m a fan of the Max preps, I think when we’ve looked at the numbers based over the years with the FHSAA and the MaxPreps, somehow again nobody seems to know we know what that’s how it’s all been done, but MaxPreps has done a better job of calculating strength of schedule,” Hickman said.
Still, Hickman said he has reservations about how the Open Division changes the feel of the postseason for established sports like football.
“I think it draws a little bit away from the competition as far as you know a tournament style deal, where you win a championship, and going through that gauntlet is different,” Hickman said.
Hickman said the full impact of the change may not be clear right away.
“I think we still just won’t know exactly until we’re a year in how everybody feels about it until it’s all said and done,” Hickman said.
The new format takes effect during the 2026-27 school year, with football and volleyball among the first sports to see the change this fall.
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