NJSIAA Football Committee Ditches 2025 State Tournament Seeding Procedure, Reverts Back to Snake Seeding

For those in the Shore Conference football community that were holding out hope that traditional geographical state tournament sections would make a return, those hopes have been dashed for the foreseeable future as the NJSIAA announced that public sections would be reverting back to the “snake seeding” format used as recently as 2024 in a football sports committee meeting document on their website.

The NJSIAA received a recommendation from the Football Leagues & Conferences to revert to snake seeding procedures citing that the idea of losing a higher seed or potential home game outweighed the need for shorter travel distances that the modified 2025 format addressed.

What does this mean for Shore Conference teams?

Most, if not all, public school Shore Conference teams are likely to be placed in the South super section corresponding to their group size when the NJSIAA releases the new group classifications in August. There are no true “Central” or “South” sections, instead the top 16 teams according to the United Power Ranking in each south super section will be ordered from 1-16 and “snaked” evenly between two sections. The sections are then titled “Central” and “South” in name only. A team in northern Monmouth County such as Matawan could be placed in a South Jersey bracket while a team in southern Ocean County such as Pinelands could be placed in a Central Jersey bracket. The format can get especially confusing when you realize that a team like A.L. Johnson from Union County can be placed in a South Jersey bracket while a team like Lower Cape May can be placed in a Central Jersey bracket.

The end of traditional sections?

Traditional geographical sections have not been used in the NJSIAA football state tournament since 2017. The NJSIAA adopted a format in 2018 that was reused in 2025 albeit with slight modifications that took the top 16 teams in each super section and sorted them based off designated northing numbers to reduce travel distances. The organization implemented the snake seeding method in 2021 which was used through 2024, removed in 2025, and then re-implemented for 2026. Proponents for traditional geographical sections often cite historical postseason rivalries, the use of geographical sections in other team sports, and the positive effects of shorter travel times as their primary arguments. The shorter the drive, the better the crowds and atmosphere in the postseason.

There is also a growing concern that the value of a sectional title will be diminished by taking the geographic element out of the sections. Does a Central Jersey sectional title mean the same if the best Central Jersey team gets placed in South Jersey? Does a South Jersey title mean the same if the best South Jersey team gets placed in Central Jersey? For all intents and purposes, the sections are South Jersey 1 and South Jersey 2 in all but name.

What’s wrong with doing it like every other sport? Very few complaints there. Why does football need to be different? A lot of coaches I reluctantly voted for this fearing sectional titles would be diminished. Here we go.

— Central Jersey Sports Radio (@CJSportsRadio) November 29, 2025

Is snaking the entire state coming next?

There is a strong sentiment emerging particularly out of the West Jersey Football League to ditch the sections altogether and snake each group from 1-32 with no regard for geography at all. Proponents for that format often point to the fact that bigger states like Texas have schools travel five hours for a postseason game, further than the entirety of New Jersey as well as the need to increase the likelihood that the two best teams meet in the state championship game.

The South Reigns Supreme!

Snake the entire state for playoffs

— Michael McKeown (@RollColls) December 4, 2025

There is no telling which direction the Football Leagues & Conferences with the NJSIAA’s approval will take the football playoffs next, but the temperature of the room on a statewide level amongst the powers that be feels much closer to snaking the entire state than it does bringing back traditional geographical sections at this point in time.

NJSIAA Balances Team Count in North and South Super Sections

The NJSIAA approved a recommendation from the Football Leagues & Conferences to not include non-playoff eligible teams when grouping the north and south super sections. Previously, 18 teams from the Super Football Conference were placed in what is called the Ivy Division, a division for less competitive teams that elect to opt out of the state tournament. The majority of those teams were in Group 3, 4, and 5 with all 18 of those teams classified in the north super sections. This led to a more difficult road for the Shore Conference and the rest of the teams in the south super sections who were forced to contend with more total teams than their northern counterparts in order to qualify for the playoffs.

NJSIAA Denies Proposal for Non-Public C

The committee denied a proposal from Morris Catholic that requested the addition of a Non-Public C section as well as a complete rebalance of the non-public classifications based on strength rather than school enrollment numbers. The non-public playoffs will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future.