And now it goes to a vote … looking like football playoffs are gonna change BIG TIME!

The sea change in playoff grouping format for the CIF-Southern Section that commissioner Rob Wigod has promised is now one final vote from becoming reality.

The Southern Section Council on Tuesday heard the section office’s plan to base playoff divisions on schools rather than leagues. The proposal will be voted on in January. If passed, the new format would be in use for the 2016-17 school year.

The biggest impact would be felt in football where schools are currently placed in their playoffs divisions based on what leagues they play in. Under the new guidelines, schools from the same league could play in different playoff divisions based solely on competitive equity using data acquired from the previous two seasons.

The system would be similar to the one used currently in boys and girls basketball. Under that format, a dynamic open division of the Southern Section’s elite teams has created quite a bit more fan excitement. In football, it would not only do that but also calm fears that the gap is growing between the haves and the have nots.

“If you’re in a leadership position, it’s your job and responsibility to make a difference,” Wigod said back in August. “And I firmly believe this could be one of the biggest differences made in the Southern Section in our over 100 years of history. I really believe that. This is a major change from what we’ve been doing.”