We’re only two weeks into the 2025 Arizona high school football season, and already the playoff talk is heating up. (In everyone's minds, we're all thinking whether Basha or Liberty will make an appearance in the Championship Game at ASU's Mountain America Stadium.)
The Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) decided to shake things up this year with a big change to the postseason format, and honestly, I don’t think it’s for the better.
The Open Division, which was designed to showcase the best of the best across all conferences, is now restricted to 6A schools only. That means 4A and 5A programs (even if they’re dominant and nationally ranked) don’t even have a shot anymore. To me, this takes away a lot of what made the Open Division special in the first place.
Here Is How It Works
- Open Division → 6A only. Top four teams are pulled out of 6A and placed into the Open.
- 6A Bracket → The next 12 (ranked 5–16) fill out a 16-team bracket.
- 5A & 4A → Each gets a 24-team bracket, with the top eight seeds getting first-round byes.
- 3A → A straight 16-team bracket with regional champs + at-large bids.
- 2A → Also a 24-team bracket, with crossover winners + 19 at-large bids. Top eight seeds get byes.
- 1A → A 12-team bracket, top four seeds get byes.
It’s neat, it’s clean, but it’s also restrictive.
Why I Don’t Like It
- It shuts out smaller schools. Strong 4A or 5A teams used to earn a chance in the Open. Not anymore.
- It kills underdog stories. Upsets and Cinderella runs made the Open so much fun. Those are gone now.
- It makes the Open kind of boring. Without 4A or 5A, the Open is basically just a slightly rearranged 6A title bracket.
I’m not the only one who feels this way. I asked some of the staffers at Sharp Shooter Media what they thought, and Josh Gibson put it simply:
“No, they should just go back to how they had it before. There wasn’t anything wrong with how it was.”
Hard to argue with that. I asked other media journalists about their thoughts, and they also agree with Josh's opinion.
Why It Should Be More Like Baseball
I personally think that Baseball gets it right. The AIA baseball playoffs often use double-elimination rounds or pool play formats that keep more teams involved and give underdogs a chance to make noise. Football could learn from that. It would make things more exciting and fair.
What I’d Like to See
- Bring back 4A and 5A to the Open. If a smaller-school program earns the ranking, they deserve a shot.
- Experiment with formats. Double-elimination or pool play would make for better games and more chances.
- Reward performance, not just size. The playoffs should celebrate who you beat, not how big your school is.
Final Thoughts
The AIA’s new Open Division feels like a step backwards. Instead of showcasing the absolute best of Arizona football, it just reinforces the status quo.
The AIA should rethink this. High school football should reward performance and embrace unpredictability. Until they bring back 4A and 5A into the Open, Arizona’s biggest stage won’t feel as big as it should.
Because at the end of the day, the magic of sports is in the unexpected. And right now, the Open Division doesn’t give us that anymore.
