Radical realignment coming to Nevada high school football

The saga of Nevada high school football realignment has reached a conclusion.

The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association approved an alignment proposal for Class 5A and 4A football and a playoff format that will reduce the number of state championship games Tuesday at a Board of Control meeting in Reno that lasted more than eight hours.

The alignment will go into effect in the fall and be in place for three seasons.

A big change is coming. The number of state title games will be reduced from seven to six, with the new format introducing an Open Division championship for the top 5A teams. Class 5A had been split into three divisions for the past two seasons.

The alignment proposal passed easily at the meeting, but the playoff proposal passed by only a 6-4 vote.

A rating system that combines a team’s MaxPreps rankings, NIAA rubric points and Harbin points will be used to determine postseason teams in the Open Division, 5A and 4A playoffs.

The NIAA will use an average of where each team is ranked in all three systems to determine the four Open Division teams. Harbin points are a system in which teams earn points for beating an opponent and earn secondary points based on how many wins their defeated opponents have.

The top four 5A teams, regardless of geography, in the rating system will go to the Open Division. The next eight highest-rated 5A teams will play for the 5A championship.

The top eight 4A teams will play for the 4A championship. That classification had been Southern-only but will now include Northern and Southern teams.

There will be no region playoffs in 5A and 4A. A seeding committee may be used to place teams in the bracket once they qualify for the postseason to help accommodate travel for Northern and Southern teams.

The 5A Southern Region will have 18 teams, and the 4A Southern Region will include 19 teams. Both 5A and 4A Northern Regions will have six teams in each region.

The 5A and 4A Southern teams will be placed into three leagues of six teams in each classification, with one 4A league having seven teams. Teams will be placed in leagues primarily based on geography.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.