The new conference alignment is locked in, and the 2025 North Carolina high school football season calendar has now been unveiled by the N.C. High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA).
Football practice will start for NCHSAA member schools on Wednesday, July 30, the association announced Monday. Teams will be able to hold scrimmages starting Aug. 8. Regular-season games can begin the week of Friday, Aug. 22.
The first state playoffs under the new 1A-8A conference format will start Nov. 7 and will conclude with championship weekend on Dec. 12-13.
The NCHSAA had used four classifications to separate its schools since the 1970s. Over the past year, the state athletic association has worked to create a new eight-classification system, continuing to separate member schools based on enrollment.
After several adjustments, the new conference alignment was approved by the NCHSAA earlier this month, putting 32 schools in the 8A classification and between 57-60 in each of the other divisions. The NCHSAA, per a bylaw change, is aiming to have no more than 64 schools in a particular classification.
The NCHSAA’s board of directors also approved the state playoff structure for each classification earlier this week. The resulting plan will put more than 80 percent of all schools into the state football playoffs beginning this fall.
The 8A bracket will feature 24 of that division’s 32 teams. The 1A-7A brackets will have 48 teams each. The top 16 seeds will receive first-round byes in the 48-team bracket. This is a substantial increase in the number of football playoff qualifiers. In recent years, between 50-60 percent of goals advance to the postseason.
READ MORE: Nick Stevens from HighSchoolOT argues the new NCHSAA playoff structure won’t increase the competitiveness of the postseason, a stated goal of the state’s athletic association.
Tarboro (1A), Monroe (2A), West Charlotte (3A) and Grimsley (4A) won NCHSAA state championships in 2024. Tarboro will be a 2A school starting this season, while Monroe will be 5A, West Charlotte 8A and Grimsley 7A.
2025 NCHSAA high school football calendar
First day of practice: July 30
First day teams can scrimmage: Aug. 8
Week 1 games: Aug. 22
Week 2 games: Aug. 29
Week 3 games: Sept. 5
Week 4 games: Sept. 12
Week 5 games: Sept. 19
Week 6 games: Sept. 26
Week 7 games: Oct. 3
Week 8 games: Oct. 10
Week 9 games: Oct. 17
Week 10 games: Oct. 24
Week 11 games: Oct. 31
Playoff brackets finalized: Nov. 1
Playoffs round one: Nov. 7
Playoffs round two: Nov. 14
Playoffs round three: Nov. 21
Playoffs round four: Nov. 28
Regional championships: Dec. 5
State championships: Dec. 12-13
