MIAA Is Looking To Change High School Playoff Format

The days of Berkshire County high school teams playing for a Western Mass title could be numbered. The MIAA is considering a new plan that would create a statewide, seeded tournament.

The Berkshire Eagle reports that the proposal by the Tournament Management Committee would eliminate sectional tournaments in favor of a statewide bracketed tourney, similar to the NCAA's setup for crowning college champions. One member of the committee said that the MIAA's Board of Directors is in favor of the plan. They still need to take a formal vote on the proposal, which would then go before all of the schools. A final vote by MIAA members could come as early as next month.

Could that mean a Drury team let's say could go down to the Cape to play a tourney game? Yes, but it could also mean a team would need to take a long bus ride from Boston to the Berkshires depending on seeding, which reportedly would be handled not by the MIAA committee but by MaxPreps.com, a national company with experience in sports tournament seedings and rankings.

Baseball, softball, basketball, football, volleyball, soccer, tennis, lacrosse and hockey tournaments would be conducted under the new plan, which if ratified is projected to go into effect in the 2021-22 school year.