NMAA scales back postseason football changes

Number of teams that reach the state playoffs cut to 10 for 2018-19 school year

Eight was not so great for the New Mexico Activities Association on Wednesday.

The organization’s board of directors amended a proposal to cut the number of teams that reach the state playoffs to 10 instead of eight starting with the 2018-19 school year, as was presented at the board meeting. The change means that football’s postseason will look much like it has for the past 10 years, just with fewer teams playing in the first round.

In the original proposal, the postseason would have had a symmetrical balance to it, with all eight teams playing in the first round and a three-week playoff to determine a champion. Now, the likely scenario is that six teams will get a bye with two games in the opening round and the playoffs going the customary four weeks.

Even though it might add an extra week as well as a potential bye to the season, some northern coaches didn’t seem to mind a 10-team bracket. St. Michael’s head coach Joey Fernandez pointed out that adding two teams will favor stronger districts getting more teams into the postseason.

“There are a few teams that might win their district that aren’t as good as some of those bubble [at-large] teams,” Fernandez said. “So, I wasn’t in favor of going down to eight because of that.”

Capital head coach Bill Moon said the playoff format does not change the ultimate goal for teams.

“I don’t have a problem with it,” Moon said. “If we build a program to where we want it to be, it’s not going to have an impact on us. If we don’t get it where it needs to be, then we won’t be in the playoffs. Ultimately, it’s much ado about nothing.”

The proposal also revealed a hint as far as how the football landscape might look next year. It showed a rough outline of what each class would look like, with no more than 21 teams in a class (in 3A) and as few as 17 (in 4A). The proposal emphasized that the corresponding number of teams in each class was an estimate.

Where schools end up won’t be determined for another two months, when the NMAA unveils its classification and alignment plan in November. The state is returning to a five-class system in all sports not including football after a six-year experiment with six. Football will have seven classes, with 6-man and 8-man divisions and Classes 2A-6A.

Meanwhile, the board also voted to continue a long-held tradition in the state, by retaining district tournaments in volleyball and basketball. The issue was strictly a regional one, as NMAA executive director Sally Marquez said the tournaments did not hold as much interest for southern schools while northern schools preferred them because they were revenue generators that helped fund all-district medals and trophies in other sports.

Española Valley head coach Damon Salazar was happy with the decision because he felt the district tournament set the tone for his teams for the postseason. He added