2025-26 / 2026-27 Tournament Alignment Cycle | Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association

Finalized Tournament Alignments

Fall 2025-2026 / 2026-2027

Final Fall Alignments:

Fall Alignment Information:

Due to the TMC vote on December 19 to eliminate the rebalancing of divisions after private school and prior approved appeals are factored in, the alignments for Field Hockey, Football, Soccer, and Volleyball were revised and the Final Fall Alignments are now posted.

Winter 2025-2026 / 2026-2027

Final Winter Alignments

For Informational Purposes only (to come):

Boys Alpine Ski
Girls Alpine Ski
Boys Nordic Ski
Girls Nordic Ski

Winter Alignment Process / Timeline:

Winter sport proposed alignments were released December 1, 2024.
The deadline to appeal divisional alignment for Winter sports was January 10, 2025.
Throughout January, appeals were heard by a subcommittee of Sport committee chairs (or designees) and members of the Tournament Management Committee.
Once all appeals were heard, final Winter alignments for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 cycle were updated and published.

Spring 2025-2026 / 2026-2027

Final Spring Alignments:

Spring Alignment Process / Timeline:

Spring sport proposed alignments released by April 1, 2025
The deadline to appeal divisional alignment for Spring sports is May 1, 2025
Throughout May, appeals will heard by a subcommittee of Sport committee chairs (or designees) and members of the Tournament Management Committee.
Once all appeals were heard, final Spring alignments for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 cycle to be published by June 1, 2025

Alignment Process and Guidelines

The proposed alignments were generated via the process approved by the Tournament Management Committee at its June 2024 meeting:

A baseline is established using enrollment figures from the DESE database as of October 2023.
Enrollments for each member school are adjusted using the Competitive Equity Modifier, which includes two factors:
- Stability Rate %: Measures how many students remain in a district or school throughout the school year.
- High Needs Modifier: A sliding scale based on the state percentage for high schools.
Any previously approved appeals are automatically placed in the division for which the appeal was granted (indicated by “AA” code).
A factor is applied to move private schools up one division (indicated by “Y” code)
~~After all appeals and factors are applied, divisions are re-balanced.~~ Rebalancing for power ranked sports has been eliminated by TMC at their 12/19/24 meeting.

Informational Documents

Alignment Appeal Form is located in the members only area of the website.
To request a change in placement, either upward or downward, the alignment appeal form must be submitted
October 1, 2023 Enrollment Numbers and CEM Enrollment Calculations
Competitive Equity Modifier Explanation