A new season of high school football in Iowa has brought with it a notable change to its postseason format. Todd Tharp of the Iowa High School Athletic Association says over the past eight seasons, 32 teams from the state’s six football classifications qualified for the playoffs. This spring, the IHSAA agreed to shrink the size of the playoff bracket in half, allowing 16 teams to participate in this year’s postseason.

Tharp said the move was in best interest of player safety and couldn’t keep the playoff schedule intact. Last year’s Class 3A football playoffs opened with first round games on October 28. The second round was played five days later on November 2 and the quarterfinal round was held on November 7. The teams who qualified for the state quarterfinals were back on the field on Thursday, November 12 and the championship game was held a week later on November 19.

In response to the short recovery time during the postseason, the IHSAA discussed eliminating regular season football games or cutting down the number of playoff participants. Tharp says his office was not comfortable in reducing the number of regular season games to eight, stating having nine home games every two years would be in the best interest of each school’s finances. Tharp also said the IHSAA wasn’t in favor of moving the season back, saying the state likes ending the high school football season before Thanksgiving.

The decision will make it tougher for schools looking to return to the playoffs as each district will qualify two teams for the playoffs this fall instead of four. The Washington Demons, the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks, and the Lone Tree Lions have made the playoffs each year since 2011. The Sigourney-Keota Cobras have competed in the last two Class 1A postseason brackets, while the Columbus Wildcats are coming off their first playoff appearance since 1997.