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Ohio high school football's state playoff structure will increase from six to seven divisions if the Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Directors acts on a recent subcommittee recommendation.

The subcommittee, which was comprised of superintendents, principals, athletic administrators and coaches from across the state, has proposed that the current system of six divisions be increased to seven.

The proposal suggests splitting Division I into two divisions, with the top four teams in each region qualifying for the playoffs.

Divisions II through IV would remain intact, with the top eight teams in each region qualifying for the playoffs.

"The recommendation was presented to the Board of Directors and our plans are to study the proposal further," said Mike Richards, the president of the OHSAA Board of Directors.

Richards added that no timetable has been set for acting on the recommendation, and that he does not "anticipate implementation of a change occurring in the next few years."

The main issue at hand is the large variance in enrollment among Division I schools, where the largest school (Fairfield) has 1,246 boys, and the smallest (Twinsburg) has 528.

Using current enrollment figures, schools with more than 675 boys would be in the upper Division I, while schools with fewer than 675 would be in lower Division I.

Because the proposal would not involve a change in OHSAA Bylaws, but rather the association's sports regulations, the Board of Directors can act solely on the recommendation without a vote from member schools.

But OHSAA commissioner Dan Ross said the change is not imminent.

"We continually hear feedback that our football tournaments are some of the best in the country, but, like everything else in which we are involved, we continually want to review what we do," Ross said. "The committee was charged with looking at our tournaments to try to determine if our format is the best and if they are conducted as fairly as possible."