How MaxPreps rankings will change Arizona HS football playoff formula

MaxPreps will be the source to rank and seed Arizona Interscholastic Association high school football teams during the 2026 season, starting in late August when the season kicks off for the big schools.

The AIA executive board approved the measure during its monthly meeting on Monday, Aug. 10.

This will mark the first time that the AIA isn't relying on its own computer formula. MaxPreps national rankings will rank Arizona high school tackle football teams for each conference.

The MaxPreps formula rewards strength of schedule over wins against weak opponents.

A recent AIA news release said one of the past concerns regarding the use of the MaxPreps National Rankings was the ability to generate rankings specifically for playoff deadlines. MaxPreps now is able to generate football rankings prior to playoff announcements once all AIA member school game results have been submitted and entered, the AIA said.

"This capability was not previously available, but with the enhancements made to the MaxPreps National Rankings, the AIA can confidently utilize these rankings for postseason seeding purposes," the AIA release read.

At the end of the regular season, those rankings will be used to seed the playoff teams.

"I think it's about time we get on board with what the majority of states are doing," Gilbert Perry football coach Jeremy Hathcock said. "Also, the AIA in 6A uses MaxPreps to seed our regions and the AIA to seed for state. It's good to have continuity."

MaxPreps is transparent on how its rankings work, with the initial preseason rankings coming from experts, drawing on the previous season's finish and players returning. Then, it is data-driven with algorithms in use.

According to MaxPreps , the main criteria used to rank teams are game results, margin of victory and strength of schedule (how strong every team proved to be, including out-of-state opponents). Coaches' or media polls do not go into MaxPreps national rankings. Neither does the program reputation and history, enrollment or classification.

Strength of schedule, it states, is reflected by who the team plays as much as whether the team wins or not. So beating a stronger team will count more than beating a weak team.

This doesn't help teams that play weak schedules make the playoffs.

"A team cannot climb simply by stacking up wins against light competition," the MaxPreps FAQ page reads. "Aneasy schedule is discounted, while wins over genuinely strong opponents earn extra credit. Two teams with identical records can land in very different places if one faced a much tougher slate.

"Strength of schedule is measured from how good a team's opponents actually are, and every opponent is re-evaluated each week as the season unfolds. So, a win over a team that turns out to be strong is credited as the quality win it proved to be. The same standard is applied to every team automatically, with no human discretion in how a schedule is weighed."

Glendale Copper Canyon coach Rodger Schenks supports the new system if all schools are in their correct conferences.

"You can’t have schools hiding from enrollment numbers and then cry when the results don’t go their way," he said. "At some point, schools need to compete where they actually belong."

Crismon coach Scott Hare said he's seen rankings work differently in four states and none work perfectly but thinks the AIA change will be fine.

"Will it be perfect? No, but I think MaxPreps keeps it as fair as possible. Bottom line is you have to win four games to win state. I doubt the AIA or MaxPreps is going to make a two seed the 14 seed," he said. "If it is off, it will be off by a couple of seeds, but at least we are all playing under a system that is using the same formula for everyone."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How MaxPreps rankings will change Arizona HS football playoff formula

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