High School Football Teams Will Keep 9-Game Schedule

Other than moving to a state-wide district format, there will be no other schedule changes for high school football teams in Iowa this fall.

On Wednesday (January 22, 2014), the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s (IHSAA) Board of Control voted to keep the current nine-game regular season format. As in past years, the post-season will begin with first-round games on a Wednesday night and playoff qualifiers advancing to the state quarterfinals will play four games in 15 days.

In an effort to address player safety concerns, the Board considered two alternative options during its meeting – start the regular-season one week earlier than in the past or reduce the regular season by one game and begin the playoffs on a Friday. The Iowa Football Coaches Association proposed an eight-game regular season to give players on qualifying teams more recovery time during the early rounds of the playoffs.

Changing the current schedule structure, though, had mixed support across the state. Many high school athletic directors voiced concerns about losing a home game every two years. For some schools, the lost revenue would have been more than $10,000.

The Board considered the format change now ahead of the switch to state-wide district football, which begins for all 362 teams in Iowa this fall.

District groupings are scheduled to be released later this week.