KEY DATES IN TSSAA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
› January 1968: TSSAA Board of Control votes 188-20 to implement a three-classification playoff system beginning in 1969.
› Nov. 21, 1969: Six games (two in each of the three classes, all played at separate neutral sites) are the first state playoff contests. Until this, the biggest reward for a winning season was an invitation to play in one of the more than 20 postseason bowl games throughout the state.
› Nov. 28, 1969: Morristown East (AAA), Loudon (AA) and South Pittsburg (A) win the first state championships.
› 1972: The brackets expand from four to eight teams in each classification, meaning teams have to win three playoff games to claim a championship. Baylor finishes as state runner-up in AAA.
› 1973: Baylor becomes the first Chattanooga-area team to win a championship in the state’s largest classification.
› 1977: The brackets again double in size, to 16 teams, with only the district champions advancing. Teams now have to win four postseason games to earn a championship.
› Dec. 3, 1982: For the first time, the three championship games are set to be played at one central location: Vanderbilt’s Dudley Field. Sponsored by the Nashville Area Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Clinic Bowl draws more than 40,000 fans for the one-day event and would remain in Nashville for 18 years. Chattanooga-area teams Marion County (Class A) and Cleveland (AA) both finished as state runners-up that day.
› 1985: Once again the brackets double in size, to 32 teams per classification, and now the top two teams from each district qualify. Teams now have to win five postseason games to earn a championship.
› 1992: The TSSAA Board of Control votes to increase the number of classifications in football from three to five beginning in 1993. The total number of teams qualifying for the playoffs rises from 96 to 120, and the state switches from a district alignment to a region format.
› Dec. 9-10, 1994: The Chattanooga area boasts three of the five state champions: Cleveland (4A), Marion County (2A) and South Pittsburg (1A).
› Dec. 1, 1995: The outcry for a split of public and private schools into separate divisions becomes deafening after private schools win three of the five state championships, including Brentwood Academy over Murfreesboro’s Riverdale in 5A.
› May 1, 1996: The TSSAA Legislative Council votes overwhelmingly to separate schools into Division I (public schools and private schools that do not give financial aid) and Division II (any school that offers financial aid to students).
› Nov. 22, 1996: Cleveland’s 54game winning streak is snapped in a quarterfinal game at Anderson County. The Blue Raiders had won three straight 4A titles.
› 1997: In the first season of separate competition for Division II programs, seven schools across the state make up D-II Large, and 11 others form D-II Small. Father Ryan wins the first D-II Large title and Battle Ground Academy wins the D-II Small championship that season. Baylor (3-8) and McCallie (1-9) struggle in their first season against the state’s other large private schools.
› Dec. 6, 1997:
Tyner, in 2A, becomes the first public school from Hamilton County to win a championship.
› Dec. 1-2, 2000: For the first time in 18 years, the state championship games are moved from Nashville to a new home at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. The five-game championship event, played on Friday and Saturday, is also renamed the BlueCross Bowl for its new title sponsor. In the final game of the weekend, in a steady snow that began just before kickoff of the 5A game, Red Bank becomes the first Hamilton County public school to win a title in the state’s largest classification.
› Nov. 17, 2001: McCallie becomes the first local team to win a title in Division II. The Blue Tornado cap a 12-0 season with their first state crown, using a dramatic rally and the winning field goal with 11 seconds remaining to beat Brentwood Academy 17-16 in the DII-AAA title game.
› Feb. 9, 2004: By a 6-3 vote, the TSSAA Board of Control approves a 1.8 multiplier for any private school that chooses not to offer financial aid and remain in D-I to compete against public schools. It is the highest such multiplier system in the nation.
› 2009: The TSSAA awards Cookeville the right to take over as host of the BlueCross Bowl. The championship games are moved from MTSU to Tennessee Tech.
› 2010: In only its second year of varsity competition, Signal Mountain earns the Class 2A championship to win a title in less time than any previous new program in state history. South Pittsburg wins the 1A title that season, marking the only time two teams from the same district went on to win championships in the same season.
› 2016: The Board of Control votes to keep six public-school classifications and add one more in Division II, bringing the total number of classes in the state to nine. Tennessee now ranks behind only Texas (10) in number of state championships awarded in football.
› Dec. 1, 2018: Whitwell caps a 15-0 season with the school’s first state championship in any sport with a dramatic 7-6 win over Cornersville. It marks the ninth time in 12 seasons that a team from Marion County plays for a championship and makes it the state’s only county with three or more schools to have all of its schools win a title.
› 2018: A total public-private split is unanimously approved by the TSSAA’s Legislative Council, eliminating the option for private schools to continue competing in the public school division and moving all into D-II.
March 16, 2021: After much debate during a marathon meeting, the Board of Control votes 11-1 in favor of granting Chattanooga the hosting rights for the 2021 and 2022 BlueCross Bowls over Cookeville, which had hosted for the past 12 years.