Countdown to kickoff: Changes made to WPIAL football playoff format

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, August 13, 2024 | 10:24 PM

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This is the first year of a new two-year cycle for scheduling, conference alignment and playoff formats in all high school sports in the WPIAL and PIAA.

When it comes to district football, there will be four teams that qualify for the playoffs in Class 6A, 12 in 5A, eight in 4A, 12 in 3A, 13 in 2A and 16 in A.

The playoffs will begin Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1-2, except in Class 6A, where the semifinals will be played Friday, Nov. 8.

This year, the abacus has been retired when trying to figure out wild card playoff teams. The WPIAL football steering committee will decide which schools qualify for the district playoffs as wild card teams instead of using mathematical tiebreaker formulas as they have in the past.

There will be 16 total wild card teams.

Here is a rundown of the format and the class-by-class breakdown for all six classifications.

Class 6A

Only seven teams are in the classification and four of them will participate in the district playoffs.

There will be two rounds with the four playoff teams earning byes into the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 8 at the site of the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. The championship game is set for Saturday, Nov. 16 at Norwin.

The 6A championship game will be played at a high school venue for a fifth straight year since the WPIAL champion will begin the PIAA playoffs in the quarterfinals round the weekend of Nov. 22-23, the same weekend the WPIAL will be holding the 5A, 3A, 2A and A football title games at Acrisure Stadium

Class 5A

There are three conferences, with eight teams in the Big East and seven teams each in the Allegheny Six and Northeast Conferences. The top three teams in each conference qualify, along with three wild card teams that will be determined by the WPIAL steering committee.

There will be four rounds for the 12 playoff teams.

The top four seeds in the bracket will receive a first-round bye. Seeds No. 5-8 will host first-round playoff games.

The four teams that receive first-round byes will host quarterfinals.

The semifinals are at a neutral site.

The Class 5A championship game will be played at Acrisure Stadium for only the second time in the last seven years on Saturday, Nov. 23. The WPIAL champion will begin the PIAA playoffs in the semifinals on the weekend of Nov. 29-30.

Class 4A

Only eight teams will qualify for the district playoffs in 4A, down from the 13 teams that reached the postseason in the last two seasons.

There are 18 teams in the classification with six teams each in the Parkway, Greater Allegheny and Big Seven Conferences.

The top two teams in each conference along with two wild card teams determined by the WPIAL football steering committee will qualify for the three-week district playoffs.

The three conference champions and the next highest-seeded team will host quarterfinals.

The semifinals are at a neutral site.

The 4A championship game is set for Saturday, Nov. 16 at Norwin.

The 4A WPIAL champion will begin the PIAA playoffs in the quarterfinals the weekend of Nov. 22-23, the same weekend the WPIAL will be holding the 5A, 3A, 2A and A football title games at Acrisure Stadium.

Class 3A

There will be 12 teams in the playoff field. There are 20 teams in three conferences with seven teams in the Western Hills and Allegheny Seven Conference and six teams each in the Interstate Conference. The top three teams in each conference qualify, along with three wild card teams that will be determined by the WPIAL football steering committee.

There will be four rounds.

The top four seeds in the bracket will receive a first-round bye. Seeds No. 5-8 will host first-round playoff games.

The four teams that received first-round byes will host quarterfinals.

The semifinals are at a neutral site.

The Class 3A championship game will be played at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 23. The WPIAL champion will begin the PIAA playoffs in the semifinals on the weekend of Nov. 29-30.

Class 2A

There will be 13 teams that qualify for the district playoffs in 2A for a four-week playoff bracket.

There are eight teams in the Midwestern Athletic Conferences and seven teams each in the Allegheny and Century Conferences.

The top three teams in each conference along with four wild card team determined by the WPIAL football steering committee will earn postseason berths.

The top three-seeds in the bracket will earn first-round playoff byes. The higher-seeded team in the other first-round contests will host a playoff game.

The three teams that received first-round byes will host the quarterfinals. The other quarterfinal is at a neutral site.

The semifinals are at a neutral site.

The Class 2A championship game will be played at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 23. The WPIAL champion will begin the PIAA playoffs in the semifinals on the weekend of Nov. 29-30.

Class A

Once again for the next two years, the smallest classification in the district will have the largest playoff field.

A full bracket of 16 teams will qualify for the Class A playoffs.

This is the only class that has four conferences. The Eastern and Tri-County South Conference have eight teams while the Black Hills and Big 7 Conference have seven teams.

The top three teams in each conference, plus four wild card teams to be determined by the WPIAL football steering committee, will qualify for the district postseason.

The four conference champions along with the other four highest seeds will host first-round playoff games with no first-round byes.

The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played at neutral sites.

The Class A championship game will be played at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 23. The WPIAL champion will begin the PIAA playoffs in the semifinals on the weekend of Nov. 29-30.