With a 10-9 vote from tournament management, MIAA Super 8 football playoff one step closer to reality

By a narrow 10-9 vote, the MIAA football committee’s proposal to add a Division 1A “Super 8” tournament for Divisions 1 and 2 passed through the tournament management committee in a virtual meeting Thursday morning.

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The proposal will be forwarded to the board of directors, who are scheduled to meet Aug. 18. If approved, it would be in play for the 2027 season, coupled with the 2027-29 new alignment cycle.

Prior to the vote, committee members discussed two amendments to the proposal, which was presented June 9 and included the following provisions:

• Nine-week regular season.
• Eight re-aligned divisions with a minimum 30 schools in each.
• Eliminate minimum number of wins to qualify for postseason.
• Thanksgiving rivalry games remain as-is.
• No opt-outs allowed from Super 8.
• Teams are seeded for Super 8 by power rankings.

TMC chair Shaun Hart, the athletic director at Burlington, represented District 4 in motioning to amend the proposal by adding two more Super 8 brackets for the lower divisions. The proposal including dropping from eight divisions to six in the new alignment, resulting in nine Super Bowls (with 1A, 3A and 5A divisions of the top 8 power-ranked teams).

While the amendment generated appreciation in the interest of equity across all divisions, TMC members concurred that they would have to bring such a drastic change back to their districts before approval. The amendment was voted down, 17-3.

Seeking consistency, St. Mary’s AD Jeff Newhall motioned to open Super 8 selection to all divisions with no opting out, the format approved in baseball and ice hockey.

The football committee determined that only Division 1-2 teams should be in the Division 1A bracket for safety reasons.

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Wellesley AD John Brown proposed opening the Super 8 to all divisions, but schools in Division 3 and lower would be required to opt-in (prior to the season) to the selection process. That was voted down, 13-7, in part due to concerns about adjusting the proposal without consulting districts.

“My thought was this could maybe give teams a chance if they have a once-a-lifetime team,” said Brown, referencing Scituate athletic director Scott Paine indicating his team might have wanted a shot at the Super 8 last fall, instead of competing in the D4 Super Bowl.

“But with no ability to opt out, that doesn’t really make sense. Because there is a safety concern when you talk about a Division 4, 5, or 6 team playing against some really strong teams.”

With both amendments denied, the TMC returned to the original proposal, and it passed by one vote. Malden principal Chris Mastrangelo was forced to leave the meeting prior to the vote to meet with an “irate parent” in his office.

All three members from District 1/Western Mass., and the two from District 2/Central Mass. voted against the proposal, which includes trimming each division from 16 to eight teams, thus limiting the number of qualifiers.

With their motion denied, Hart, and the two other District 4 members voted no.

Football divisions will be balanced in the next alignment cycle so that approximately 34 teams are represented in each division. Larger schools with stronger programs may be moved up from D3 to D2 under the new cycle, giving them a chance to compete in the Super 8.

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