A New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) football regional rotation change, approved in July 2024 and introduced in the Fall 2024 football season, also includes a system for at-large (ATL) teams in some classes which benefits Minisink Valley’s Varsity Football team this year.
The ATL system introduced in some classes, including Classes A and AA, now allows runner-up teams from certain sections to compete in regional play on a rotating basis, similar to "wildcard” team play seen in professional sports. This increases the number of teams in the state bracket to eight in the quarterfinal round.
Teams are selected through a pre-determined rotation system among eligible sections, not a performance-based points system. The ATL bid is primarily used in classifications that have an odd number of participating sections, specifically Classes A and AA, to fill out the state championship bracket and avoid early-round byes.
This year, the second year these changes have been in place, Section IX gets the ATL bid for Classes A and AA, as per the schedule put in place in July 2024.
On Nov. 14, undefeated Minisink Valley will play Cornwall in the Section IX Championship game at 6 p.m. at Monroe-Woodbury High School. That game’s winner then moves on to the NYSPHSAA Regional Championships at Arlington High School against the Section I, Class A champion.
But because Section IX has received the ATL bid in Classes A and AA for this year, the runner-up team from this same game also moves forward to the Regional Championship round of the state playoffs, also to be held Friday, Nov. 21, against the Section II, Class A champion at Colonie High School.
“These circumstances are very unique because the at-large bids are on an established seven year rotation, so Section IX won’t see this again until 2032,” said Tim Bult. “For this once-in-a-seven-year cycle, both the Section IX winner and runner-up advance to regional play.”
Even though there are 11 sections, Section VIII and Section XI on Long Island don’t participate in the NYSPHSAA football playoffs so they’re not included in the rotation schedule. Two other Sections aren’t large enough for Class A or Class AA teams so they’re also not included in the rotation.
However, Varsity Head Coach Kevin Gallagher wants fans to know that this year’s ATL bid opportunity is not impacting the way the team is preparing for Friday’s game – with focus, grit and a huge, huge determination to win.
“We approached this week like every week, trying to get better every day,” he said. “We are playing Cornwall and even though we have qualified for the state playoffs with ‘the wildcard,’ we still want to win the Section IX title and beat Cornwall. Last year's loss is in the back of everyone's mind, but not the main driving force. The main driving force is having great kids who play hard for each other every single second of every single play.”