Tournament

Procedures for 8-Player Football Playoff

Schools are eligible to participate in 8-player football tournament series with the following provisions:

A. Schools must declare for 8-player tournament eligibility by Oct. 1 in even years beginning in 2018 to be considered for a two-year placement in the 8-player tournament series. Programs are not eligible to transition to 11-player competition or tournament or join an 11-player cooperative team during a required two-year assignment.

B. Programs must play a minimum of five varsity contests and not exceed the season maximum number of contests to be eligible for playoff consideration. 

C. A three-year enrollment average of 200 (most recent three years to be averaged). No program is eligible for 8-player playoff consideration in any corresponding next season that its three-year average enrollment exceeds 200.

Note:  Schools qualifying with an three-year average enrollment of 200 or less in the first year of the two-year commitment will be allowed to participate in the second year of their two-year commitment regardless if their average three-year enrollment exceeds 200. 

D. Opponents of programs that eliminate a varsity schedule or game after the first allowed practice for a season will receive a forfeit victory for the current season on the scheduled date of the contest, regardless of the result if they schedule and play another opponent in that week. The result of any reschedule contest will count for the rescheduled opponent.

E. Teams forfeiting a game to a scheduled opponent during the season will result in all remaining games being classified as exhibition games and will not count towards playoff qualifying. Subsequent games played by the forfeiting team will continue to count towards playoff qualifying for its opponents.