June 18, 2026
FHSAA to Launch Open Division for Top High School Teams Starting in 2026-27
By Kyle Coppola
FHSAA to Launch Open Division for Top High School Teams Starting in 2026-27
The Florida High School Athletic Association has announced the creation of a new FHSAA Open Division, a statewide championship platform that will highlight the top high school teams across Florida regardless of their classification.
The FHSAA Board of Directors first endorsed the concept in June 2024 and approved the final format on June 9, 2026. The Open Division will begin play in the upcoming 2026-27 school year and will include the top eight teams in 11 team sports: football, girls volleyball, girls basketball, boys basketball, girls soccer, boys soccer, baseball, softball, flag football, girls lacrosse and boys lacrosse.
“This is an exciting step forward for high school athletics in the state of Florida,” FHSAA Executive Director Craig Damon said. “This has been in the works for the past few years, and after today’s board approval, we are excited to officially share it with everyone and look forward to seeing these teams compete in the Open Division championships.”
For football, the top eight teams are going to be chosen according to MaxPreps rankings at the end of the regular season. In all other Open Division sports, selection will be based on FHSAA Power Rankings by MaxPreps at the conclusion of district tournaments.
The eight qualifying teams will be split into two pools of four. Pool A will consist of seeds 1, 4, 5 and 8, while Pool B will include seeds 2, 3, 6 and 7. Each team is guaranteed at least one home game during pool play. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the state finals site for a single-elimination bracket to crown the Open Division state champion.
Ties in pool play will be broken using these criteria, in order:
Head-to-head results among the tied teams.
Points allowed among the tied teams only
Point differential among the tied teams only
Overall point differential from all games
The Open Division aims to create a premier competitive opportunity for the state’s strongest programs while preserving the traditional FHSAA state championships in all classifications.
Sport-specific schedules, championship dates and state finals host sites will be released at a later date. The new division will directly impact programs in Lake and Sumter counties by offering top local teams a chance to compete against the best in Florida.
Photos provided
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
