A proposal outlining major changes to high school football in Florida took a step forward Tuesday morning.

The FHSAA presented a detailed plan at Tuesday’s Board of Directors meeting and received an overwhelmingly positive reaction.

“We’re seeing forward thinking about improving our playoff system – it’s the right time,” said Board of Directors member Frank Prendergast, who is also the athletic director at Lake Highland.

Under the FHSAA plan, districts would be eliminated for smaller schools in Classes 1A-4A. Each team would be assigned to a region and have the freedom to schedule any opponent in the regular season. A points system that rewards wins and strength of schedule would determine which teams make the postseason and how they are seeded for the region playoffs.

Larger schools in Classes 5A-8A would remain in districts. The champion of each district would be guaranteed a spot in the playoffs and the remaining postseason berths and seeding for the region playoffs would be based on the points system.

“We feel like it was well received and we’re going to continue to build on this and move forward with our plan,” said Frank Beasley, the FHSAA administrator who oversees football and conducted Tuesday’s presentation.

The new system still needs the endorsement of the FHSAA Athletic Directors Advisory Committee and a majority vote of the Board of Directors before taking effect.

This would start with the 2017 season.

New Polk County athletic director Dan Talbot attended Tuesday’s meeting and supports the new proposal.

“The idea behind this is to get the best teams in the playoffs and I think with this format you can,” Talbot said.

The FHSAA reported that 16 teams with losing records made the postseason last year while 35 with winning records did not advance to the playoffs.

After surveying more than 500 schools, the FHSAA found that 70-percent are in favor of a change to the current football format.

“It’s pretty overwhelming when you look at it from the percentage standpoint,” Beasley said.

Clearwater Central Catholic athletic director John Gerdes acknowledged the positives of a new system but is apprehensive about no state mandated games for his program.

“We do have some concerns about not having a district schedule because we find that it is extremely difficult to find 10 games in a year,” Gerdes said. “I think in general everyone does want some kind of change and this will force that conversation to happen.”

Austin Lyon can be reached at austin.lyon@bhsn.com.