Beginning next fall and winter, the high school football and volleyball state tournaments in Minnesota will see all eight teams in each bracket seeded.
That’s a change from the current format that seeds the top five teams in each sport followed by a random draw for the remaining three state tournament qualifiers.
In the 2024 football state tournament, the seeding system will be employed for 9-Man, 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A classes. But it’s not a straight 1-through-8 seeding system. Instead, the state quarterfinals will be divided geographically into North and South brackets, with teams seeded 1-4 in each division.
After the quarterfinal round, the higher seed that advances from the North will play the lowest remaining seed from the South, and the highest seed from the South will face the lowest advancing seed from the North.
The largest group of teams that play in Class 6A are exempt from the new rule since that 32-team tournament is already divided into four regions with teams seeded 1-8 in each region.
The 2024 volleyball state tournament will feature teams seeded 1-8 in all four classes, 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A.
