The competitive field for Mississippi’s private school league, the Mid-South Association of Independent Schools (MAIS), will undergo a sweeping metamorphosis to begin the 2025-26 athletic calendar.
According to minutes from the most recent meeting of the Academy Activities Committee, the governing board of the MAIS, the changes are aimed at providing competitive balance while also opening further championship opportunities.
The association will consolidate from six classes – previously 1A to 6A – to four, with four to eight districts within each division depending on the class and sport.
In 11-man football, the most heavily participated MAIS sport, classes 4A (20 largest schools), 3A (next 16 largest schools), and 2A (next 16 largest schools) will compete in four districts.
Class 4A teams will be separated into three separate divisions come playoff time, ranked according to each school’s power point average – a metric formulated via wins, losses, and success of opponents. Class 3A and 2A teams (made up of 16 schools each) will have two playoff divisions organized using the same metrics.
The playoff structure for 11-man football will be as follows:
4A
- Division I Championship – Two-week playoff between the four teams that have the highest power point averages in Class 4A
- Division II Championship – Three-week playoff between the teams that have the next six highest power point averages in Class 4A
- Division III Championship – Three-week playoff between the teams that have the next six highest power point averages
3A
- Division I Championship – Two-week playoff between the four teams that have the highest power point averages in Class 3A
- Division II Championship – Three-week playoff between the teams that have the next eight highest power point averages in Class 3A
2A
- Division I Championship – Two-week playoff between the teams that have the four highest power point averages in Class 2A
- Division II Championship – Three-week playoff between the teams that have the next eight highest power point averages in Class 2A
In total, 16 of the 20 total Class 4A teams will have a chance to compete for a football championship, while 12 of the 16 total teams in both Class 3A and 2A will have a shot at a title. Class 1A MAIS football programs will compete in 8-man football, comprised of two divisions of 16 schools and four districts each.
For a full breakdown of the competitive organization and playoff structure for each MAIS school across 13 sports, see the full meeting details.
Formed in 1968, the MAIS now includes 120 schools in Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Louisiana. That includes a total enrollment of more than 40,000 students and over 6,000 people employed at the institutions.
