RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesPEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) -- The 2026 CIProud Mascot Bracket has been released!
Schools with football teams in our viewing area will compete head-to-head in a bracket voted on by you — the fans.
The bracket will begin with the first round of voting on Aug. 17 and close on Sept. 16. There are 37 teams, so there are five play-in games followed by five rounds of competition.
Fans can vote once a week, so for rounds with two rounds of voting — rounds 2 through 4 — they will be able to vote once per week of voting.
Teams were seeded based on how they finished in last year’s bracket voting, with last year's winner -- IVC Grey Ghosts -- taking the top spot.
Voting
Voting for each round will start at 8 a.m. on Mondays and closes at 3 p.m. on the Friday voting concludes.
The voting window for each round is as follows:
Round 1 (Play-in): Aug. 17 to Aug. 21
Round 2: Aug. 24 to Sept. 4
Round 3: Sept. 7 to Sept. 18
Round 4: Sept. 21 through Oct. 2
Round 5 (Final Four): Oct. 5 through Oct. 9
Round 6 (Championship): Oct. 12 through Oct. 16
While the finals end on Oct. 16, the winner will be officially announced the following week.
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