The NEPSAC basketball playoffs are annually one of the most exciting weeks on the New England prep calendar, a week-long sprint to the finish line that culminates in Super Sunday in early March.
But could it be better?
As compelling as the playoffs are every year, they’re not perfect. NEPSAC coaches on both the boys side and girls side had opinions on the current format when we surveyed them this summer, and there were some strong ideas. We thought we would add our opinions to the mix.
For our latest point/counterpoint discussion, Steve Hewitt and Ethan Fuller shared their ideas on what changes could be made to improve the NEPSAC playoffs. Let’s dive in.
Steve: I’ll start, Ethan. When we surveyed the NEPSAC coaches this summer, many of them said they would like to see a day off in between the semifinals and championship games. I couldn’t agree more.
As currently constituted, the semis and championship are on back-to-back days on Saturday and Sunday. I understand that academics may play a role in that setup, because having the semifinals on Friday could interfere with the school day depending on travel. My counterpoint to that: It’s one day out of the year. And you could play the game at night.
The way it is now, several teams are playing emotional semifinal games late on Saturday afternoon, then turning around and playing a championship game less than 24 hours later, and maybe even traveling far to a neutral site to do so. I don’t love that. I’d like to see the kids be as fresh as possible for the biggest game of the season.
I have more thoughts, but I’ll hand this over to you, Ethan. Any big changes you want to see?
Ethan:Â This would be the highest-priority change I'd make to the NEPSAC playoffs. I'm sure there are travel logistics and academic hurdles to overcome and I don't want to gloss over those. But if at all possible, the semifinals should be played on Fridays. It's healthier for the players to not have to give maximum effort on back-to-back days. It means teams are playing closer to their freshest in the most important games, and they have more time to scout each other. NEPSAC championships are important film for colleges too, so players should want to feel physically rested to play their best.
Or, if you cannot play on a Friday, move the championship to a later date, even if that means overlapping with MIAA championships the next weekend. Back-to-backs rarely occur during the regular season and they should not occur on the two most important gamedays of the winter.
Next up: Travel rules. We need uniformity across each round of the playoffs.
Currently, NEPSAC has limits on how far away teams can travel during weekday playoff matchups. This can lead to neutral sites for quarterfinals or even seeding changes. I have seen this happen in multiple instances, like Hoosac having to travel to Vermont Academy to "host" its playoff game two years ago (this rule has since been changed in AAA girls).
I believe that NEPSAC must pick a path. Either every host seed receives a home playoff game — no matter the opponent's travel time — or, the entire round should be at neutral sites that the schools work to decide. This is what the MIAA does for its semifinals and championships, and it works. I'm not opposed to neutral sites, but either make them the standard for every team or remove them entirely.
I know you have stories and thoughts on this Steve, so let it rip.
Steve: Thanks for teeing me up here, Ethan. I ranted about this during last year's playoffs, when No. 4 seed Milton Academy played No. 5 seed Hotchkiss in the Class A boys quarterfinals, which was held at neutral site Worcester Academy because of the travel rule that if the two opponents are two hours and 45 minutes or more apart from each other (on a school day), the game moves to a neutral site. I commend the NEPSAC's effort to not sacrifice academic days, but I don't think much gets lost if a team has to leave school an hour or two early. That wasn't fair to Milton Academy, which earned the opportunity to host a playoff game over the course of a three-month season and has no control over who it draws in the playoffs.
I'll also beat this drum again: NEPSAC doesn't have the same level of raucous game environments that exist in state scholastic leagues like the MIAA. But there are several prep schools that bring awesome playoff atmospheres; Milton is one of those schools. I understand this is low on the priority list, but NEPSAC needs more of those opportunities, in my opinion.
This also leads in my next point, and it's that the Milton-Hotchkiss neutral-site situation could have been avoided if the NEPSAC playoff committee moved around some seeds, which it has the autonomy to do if the standings are close enough. In Class A especially, the formula to determine the playoff field is complex and confusing, and I know some coaches are frustrated by it. It made no sense to me that Phillips Exeter was the No. 8 seed in last season's playoffs; they had lost five games in the regular season and were the hottest team in the bracket before their upset of top seed Nobles. They should have had a better seed. I'm not smart enough to figure it out, but I think there needs to be a formula that's easier to understand, and it should be transparent to the public.
Ethan:Â In winter 2025, I talked with NEPSAC girls coaches' association (NEPSGBCA) president Ayo Hart about the playoff system. She gave a great, detailed explainer. I don't know how the boys side differs, but girls basketball definitely uses a complex formula.
I'm fine with complexity, but I agree that transparency on the formula, seeding and rules would go a long way. Hart has been more forthcoming about this with some of her NEPSGBCA Insider newsletters, which I appreciate. There's a lot more I'd like to see be easily accessible to the public, but that's a whole different discussion topic.
Those are my major critiques for now. I know coaches have floated expanding the playoffs, particularly in the larger classes. I'm fine with eight teams in all of the brackets; I prefer a selective postseason and it's also hard to fit more games into the current week-long window.
I also think NEPSAC nails some important parts of its playoffs. On the girls side, Nobles and Loomis Chaffee are excellent championship hubs in my opinion. I could see Worcester Academy's new athletic complex working too after the Scholastic Showcase drew rave reviews.
Importantly, NEPSAC's free streaming service through NSN is a massive bonus It's high-quality and you can even view replays!
Steve: Speaking of championship hubs ... I think you already know my next critique, Ethan. Put all the championship games in one location!
The girls side, of course, already does this, and I'm not quite sure why the boys can't hold it one place, too. Maybe this is just selfish, but I hate missing championship games for multiple classes after I've spent the entire winter covering them. And I know there are some other folks in the youth basketball ecosystem who would appreciate seeing everything in one place as well. I also think it would be cool to give each class its own uninterrupted stage. Start the games around 11 a.m. and end them around 8 p.m. Or even split it into two days on Saturday and Sunday. You could have one group of classes do a Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday format and the other go Wednesday-Friday-Sunday. It would take some effort logistically but I think it would be worth it.
You mentioned being against playoff expansion. For boys, I wouldn't mind seeing the Class A playoffs have a bigger field. There are so many good teams and deserving playoff qualifiers in that class every year. You could go to 10 teams and have two play-in games on the Monday of playoff week. But that could open a can of worms if you only did that for one class.
Ethan: Yeah, I'd wonder if that would entice teams to move into classes that have larger playoff fields.
I'm interested in the alternate scheduling though for different classes. I think that could work since schools wouldn't overlap, as long as the championship sites could schedule for a full weekend in that case.
To conclude though, the growth of NEPSAC basketball means more people than ever are invested in this championship weekend. It's a one-week thrill ride right now that packs in entertainment. But we both believe there are ways it can better serve everyone involved.
