4A football will move to a 24-team playoff bracket in 2020
The Class 4A football playoffs are expanding a bit.
Starting in the 2020 season, the field will grow from a 16-team bracket to 24 teams, mirroring how the 5A postseason operates. This means there will be a first round which includes the top eight seeds receiving a bye, and seeds Nos. 9-24 playing.
As a result, there will be no bye weeks during the 2020 regular season, and 4A teams must play each week in order to play a full 10-game schedule — the exact setup currently in place for 5A teams.
The change was approved by CHSAA’s Board of Directors during their meeting earlier this month, along with new alignment for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The Board took the vote in order to ensure teams had proper time to schedule, as they will no longer have a bye week to work with.
Additionally, the Technology Committee will be examining the potential for two exemptions to the classification modifier for the RPI formula. Further information on this will be communicated at a later date.
| 2020 football dates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Week | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| 1 | 8/27/20 | 8/28/20 | 8/29/20 |
| 2 | 9/03/20 | 9/04/20 | 9/05/20 |
| 3 | 9/10/20 | 9/11/20 | 9/12/20 |
| 4 | 9/17/20 | 9/18/20 | 9/19/20 |
| 5 | 9/24/20 | 9/25/20 | 9/26/20 |
| 6 | 10/01/20 | 10/02/20 | 10/03/20 |
| 7 | 10/08/20 | 10/09/20 | 10/10/20 |
| 8 | 10/15/20 | 10/16/20 | 10/17/20 |
| 9 | 10/22/20 | 10/23/20 | 10/24/20 |
| 10* | 10/29/20 | 10/30/20 | 10/31/20 |
| 11** | 11/05/20 | 11/06/20 | 11/07/20 |
* – End of regular season for 1A, 2A, 4A, and 5A.
** – End of regular season for 3A and first round playoffs for 4A and 5A.
