# Illinois high school football playoff developments > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/illinois-high-school-football-playoff-developments > Updated: 2026-10-23T03:07:06.000Z. Sources: 9. Developments: 2. The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) has released its Class 5A playoff pairings, noting that the top 16 seeds will receive byes in the opening round. Following these announcements, the IHSA expanded its football playoff field from 32 to 48 teams. Under this expanded format, the top 16 teams receive byes while the remaining 32 teams begin postseason play. Additionally, the IHSA Competitive Balance Committee is considering a policy to reshape postseason brackets for bracketed team sports. The proposal suggests placing all private, or ‘non-boundaried,’ schools into their own quadrant within each classification. This would ensure only one private school advances to the state semifinal round per class, though public and private schools would still compete for the same state championship. IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson stated the goal is to allow public schools to pursue success against similar schools to address perceptions of competitive advantages held by private institutions. The proposal is scheduled for presentation at town hall meetings in November. ## Timeline ### 2026-10-23: Illinois High School Association expands football playoffs The IHSA has expanded Illinois high school football playoffs to 48 teams and is considering new bracketing rules to separate private and public schools in early postseason rounds. 3 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/illinois-high-school-association-expands-football-playoffs ### 2026-10-16: High school football playoff pairings released in Illinois and Iowa High school football playoff pairings have been announced for Illinois and Iowa, setting the stage for upcoming postseason matchups and championship games. 8 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/ohio-high-schools-ranked-in-us-news-world-report-2026-list --- Cite as: Illinois high school football playoff developments. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/illinois-high-school-football-playoff-developments