The 2019 IHSA Football Playoff Pairings will be released on Saturday, October 26 via a trio of shows on the NFHS Network and Quincy Media Inc's statewide IHSA TV Network (see #IHSAPairings schedule below). The Chicago Public Schools teacher strike has created several questions related to the playoff field, which we have attempted to address below.

OCTOBER 26 FOOTBALL PLAYOFF PAIRING NIGHT SCHEDULE
7:30 PM - 8:00 PM
IHSA Playoff Pairing Preview Show begins on www.IHSA.tv
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Eight playoff classes revealed on statewide TV (Station Info)
9:00 PM - 10:00 PM
IHSA Playoff Pairing Breakdown Show begins on www.IHSA.tv

Q. Will the IHSA football playoff pairings include Chicago public schools that are currently on strike?
A. Yes. Schools that are on strike still have the potential to return to play and participate in the IHSA playoffs if they restart practice no later than Wednesday, October 30. Since the IHSA has no way of knowing when the strike will be resolved, these schools will be included in the playoff pairings.

Q. Will schools that are on strike but have played less than the required eight games be included in the pairings?
A. Yes. The IHSA Board of Directors waived this provision of the Football Terms and Conditions on appeal, allowing schools that had played only seven games — including Simeon and Phoenix — to be eligible for the playoffs.

Q. Will Chicago Public League conference representatives (champions) be admitted to the playoffs automatically?
A. Yes. The Football Terms and Conditions normally require five conference games to be played, but this provision has been waived routinely when a conference loses a member school on short notice and cannot find a replacement to fill out its schedule. The teacher's strike presents a similar predicament and a waiver of this provision has been granted to all playoff-eligible Chicago Public League conferences.

Q. Will "playoff points" (opponents' wins) be counted from regular-season games that were scheduled to be played but had to be canceled because of the strike?
A. Yes. These "double forfeits" will be handled in a manner similar to regular forfeits. In a regular forfeit, both the winning and losing team accumulate the wins of the opponent toward their "playoff point" totals. The handling of double forfeits caused by a strike has never been considered before, but the Executive Director has ruled that the playoff points from such games will be counted in a similar manner.

Q. Which scheduled games will be included in the playoff point calculation?
A. All games that were scheduled before the strike started will be included in the playoff point calculation.

Q. What happens if the Chicago schools that are included in the playoffs are not able to practice by Wednesday, October 30?
A. In this case, the schools will be required to forfeit their first-round playoff games. If two striking schools happen to be paired against each other, the game will be recorded as a double forfeit.

Q. If a team is scheduled for a home game in the playoffs and is awarded a forfeit, will it count as a home game with regard to the playoff hosting policy?
A. No. A forfeit will not count as a home game for the winning school.