The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) football committee rejected a proposal to expand the Super 8 playoff format. The Thursday, Sept. 24, vote locks in a smaller 2027 postseason field for Bay State Conference programs like Brookline High.

Burlington athletic director Shaun Hart proposed adding three Super 8 brackets for Divisions 3A, 5A and 7A, which would have increased playoff teams from 72 to 96. The committee turned it down after a nearly 2½-hour meeting in Franklin, as first reported by the Boston Globe.

The MIAA board of directors voted 12-2 on Aug. 19 to approve a new postseason format starting in 2027. That format includes a Division 1A Super 8 tournament, a ninth regular-season week and a cut from 128 playoff teams to 72.

Only the top eight teams from Divisions 1 and 2 qualify for the Super 8. Hart's rejected proposal would have extended that structure to smaller divisions.

"We'd be offering equity and the same opportunity that D1 and D2 get," Hart said at the meeting.

Stoneham athletic director David Pignone pushed back, noting the expanded format had been considered before and dropped because it "starts to feel like two tournaments."

For Brookline, which competes in Division 1 of the Bay State Conference, the rejection means the 2027 postseason path stays as approved: a top-eight Super 8 bracket for the largest divisions, with the remaining playoff spots sharply reduced. MIAA data showed seeds 9–16 win less than 9 percent of their games.

Ninth-year Brookline head coach Chad Hunte's Warriors are off to their best start in a decade. Brookline is 2-0 after beating Newton South 31-9 on Sept. 10 and Lexington 46-6 on Sept. 17.

Quarterback Brendan Bottiglieri threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns in the opener, while tailback Jonathan Cartwright had 168 all-purpose yards and two scores, according to the Globe's EMass players of the week. The Warriors hadn't started 2-0 since 2016, according to MassLive.

Brookline went 2-9 last season.

Brookline hosts Hopkinton in a non-league game Thursday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m.