FHSAA Switching Football Classes To Metro, Suburban And Rural; Moving from RPI To MaxPreps Rankings

March 1, 2022

The Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors voted Monday to revamp high school football in the state, dividing member schools into Metro, Suburban and Rural classification and creating nine state championships.

The metro classification will include the eight Florida counties with the highest population — Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Orange, Duval, Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Seminole.

Most teams in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties will fit into the new Suburban classification, while smaller and rural teams like Northview, Jay and Central will be in the Rural class.

A more specific breakdown will be released at a later date.

In the Metro and Suburban classes, for 4A-2A there will be four regions and 16 districts with district play required. District champs will advance, along with the next four at-large in the region.

In 1A for all classes, including Rural, there will be four regions and no districts. The top six in each district will advance to the playoffs.

The new classifications will be in place for at least the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

Another big change will come in playoff rankings.  Football will move away from the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) rankings that were implemented in 2019. The FHSAA Power Rankings, handled by MaxPreps, will instead decide playoffs.

Here are how the classifications will break down:

Metro Classification

(only those eight large counties listed above)

  • 4A: 2356+ (64 schools)
  • 3A: 1675-2355 (64 schools)
  • 2A: 601-1674 (64 schools)
  • 1A: 600 and below (36 schools)

Suburban Classification

  • 4A: 1893+ (68 schools)
  • 3A: 1443-1892 (68 schools)
  • 2A: 601-1442 (68 schools)
  • 1A: 600 and below (30 schools)

Rural Classification

  • 1A: 600 and below (33 schools)

NorthEscambia.com file photos.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News, Sports, TOP sports