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As more and more teams make the switch to 8-Player Football, fewer and fewer teams remain in 11-Player Football. There were just 381 teams in 11-Player this year, down from 406 as recently as the 2013 season. Seven more teams are moving to 8-Player next year to make 48, and it is expected that number could rise to 60 within the next two to three years.

As the number of teams remaining in 11-Player Football decreases, the number of teams qualifying for the postseason with records below .500 in conference and overall has continued to rise. 

The 2012 season was the first that teams under .500 in conference made the playoffs, and since then that number has steadily risen. It hit 14 last year, and 20 in 2019. Of those 20 teams this season, none earned victories in Level 1 of the playoffs. 

There were 33 teams that qualified for the playoffs with an overall record under .500. The only one of those 33 teams to win in Level 1 was Neenah, who was matched up with another team under .500 overall, Hudson.

With more and more teams under .500 making the playoffs, and oftentimes faring poorly once in the postseason, there have been more and more people discussing the possibility of reducing the 11-Player playoff field from 224 qualifiers in seven divisions to 192 qualifiers in six divisions.

In fact, we may have moved past the question of "if" there will be a move to six divisions, but "when". The 2022 season, when the next cycle of realignment kicks in, could be a possible launch date for six divisions of 11-Player Football.

So, what would a six division playoff field look like?

We re-evaluated the 2019 season to determine a six-division, 192-team playoff field. Reducing the field to six divisions would eliminate all teams that finish below .500 in conference play from making the playoffs. Also eliminated would be Northland Pines, who finished 5-4 as an Independent team. 

Hurley would still qualify as an Independent team with a 7-2 record, and all 178 teams that finished over .500 in conference would get in as well.

That leaves 13 spots for the 24 teams that finished at .500 in conference to make the playoffs. Without going through all the details of tiebreakers we went through, these are the teams that finished .500 in conference and would be left out of the postseason in a six division format: Crivitz, Marshall, Durand, La Crosse Central, Milwaukee Bradley Tech, Obama SCTE, Pardeeville, River Ridge, Wittenberg-Birnamwood, Shawano, and Wisconsin Rapids.

The 32 teams that qualified for the playoffs in 2019 under a seven division format but would miss out in a six division structure are:

Team - Enrollment - 2019 Playoff Division

Madison West - 2249 - 1
Kenosha Bradford/Reuther - 2176 - 1
Milwaukee Bradley/Milw Arts - 2054 - 1
Racine Case - 1800 - 1
Eau Claire Memorial - 1653 - 1
Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln - 1541 - 1
Manitowoc Lincoln - 1532 - 1
Chippewa Falls - 1492 - 1
De Pere - 1357 - 2
Green Bay Southwest - 1166 - 2
Oregon - 1149 - 2
La Crosse Central - 1120 - 2
Cedarburg - 1101 - 2
West Bend East - 1041 - 2
Union Grove - 986 - 3
Shawano Community - 785 - 3
Obama SCTE - 487 - 4
Big Foot - 476 - 4
Campbellsport - 452 - 4
Northland Pines - 444 - 4
Brodhead/Juda - 430 - 4
Spooner - 360 - 5
Wittenberg-Birnamwood - 337 - 5
Marshall - 314 - 5
Durand - 271 - 6
Ozaukee - 248 - 6
Whitehall - 228 - 6
Pardeeville - 221 - 6
Crivitz - 202 - 6
River Ridge - 190 - 7
Webster - 187 - 7
Clear Lake - 176 - 7

Many of the teams that would be removed from the playoffs in a six division format come from large schools. In fact, 12 of the 32 would be Division 1 or 2 teams.

Now that we know which teams will be in and which ones will be out, it's time to take a look at how the cutlines will work in six divisions.

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.

For the latest and most up to date football news and recruiting information, follow Travis on Twitter @travisWSN. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Travis at travis(at)wissports.net.