CIF rejects proposal for additional football division, shortened playoffs

In 2018, the state California Interscholastic Federation football playoffs will start earlier so that the championship game isn't played so late in December. The 10 CIF sections will choose between beginning the regular season earlier along with pre-season practice, reducing regular-season games, or reducing playoff rounds.

A proposal to add a playoff division in the CIF San Diego Section and reduce the playoffs from four weeks to three while reducing the total number of teams in the playoffs from 64 to 60 or 52 was rejected at the May 24 CIF Board of Managers meeting.

"I'm not sure that this is the right proposal to move forward at this time," said CIF assistant commissioner John Labeta. "We don't feel that we should be adding another division."

The first proposal for a change was submitted by the North County Conference.

"It's the only proposal we have seen," Labeta said. "We have asked for other proposals."

The CIF San Diego Section has 85 teams which have 11-man football programs. Currently, 20 of those teams are in Division I and all of those teams participate in the CIF playoffs with the teams ranked first through eighth at the end of the season competing in the Open Division playoffs and the other 12 teams playing in the Division I post-season. Division II, Division III, and Division IV have 16 teams apiece and 12 squads from each division receive playoff invitations. The remaining 17 teams are in Division V, and eight of those participate in the playoffs.

The North County Conference proposal would have created three groups based on the same ranking formula used to create CIF playoff divisions. The 22 schools in Group A would have included four selected for the Open Division playoffs, eight whose season performance merited Division I post-season competition, eight who would participate in the Division II playoffs, and two who would not be given playoff berths. Group B would also have consisted of 22 schools with eight teams reaching the Division III playoffs and eight additional teams receiving invitations to the Division IV post-season.

Group C would have comprised the remaining 41 schools. The eight highest-ranked Group C teams would have participated in the Division V playoffs. The teams in the Division VI playoffs would not participate in the state playoffs; under one scenario eight of those teams would contest up to three playoff rounds and since the Division VI teams would not need to avoid a schedule conflict with the state playoffs an alternative format included 16 Division VI playoff teams with a four-week playoff format and the Division VI championship being played the same week as the first round of the state playoffs.

The CIF San Diego Section will have four Board of Managers meetings during 2017-18 which will allow for consideration of other football playoff proposals.