Starting with the 2027-28 season, the MIAA plans to bring back the Super 8 tournament formats for hockey and baseball, and for the first time ever, football.
In hockey, for both boys and girls, the tournament will feature the top eight teams in the state – regardless of division – based on power rankings, while the rest of the state would continue to play in divisional state tournaments. The Super 8 format aims to deliver the undisputed champion of the state with best-on-best competition.
As the writers of New England Basketball Journal, it got us thinking … should basketball adopt the Super 8 model, too?
It’s an interesting topic with reasonable arguments for both sides. In our latest point/counterpoint, Steve Hewitt and Ethan Fuller debate if the Super 8 tournament would be a good idea for MIAA basketball.
Steve: I’m torn on this one, Ethan. Since the MIAA went to the statewide tournament model in 2021, there’s been a pretty strong consensus that it’s been a rousing success. The tournaments have been extremely competitive and compelling and have yielded worthy champions. Messing with that so soon might seem a bit short-sighted. And we’ll run the numbers, but it doesn’t seem like the private vs. public debate has been as prevalent in basketball as football or hockey when it comes to crowning recent champions. I don’t think there’s a real urgency to make such a drastic change to the basketball tournament format.
But I have to acknowledge that the best-on-best format would produce some great theater. And in an era when the MIAA is struggling to retain its top talent against the lures of NEPSAC, a Super 8 tournament would be a huge showcase opportunity to feature the best the state has to offer. What are your initial thoughts, Ethan?
Ethan:Â The best argument for the Super 8 would be your last point. Division 1 college coaches are not keeping consistent tabs on the MIAA. They don't know the value of scouting a state quarterfinal, semifinal or championship matchup across varying divisions. If the Super 8 is pitched to them as, "Come watch the eight best MIAA teams competing against each other," colleges know they're getting at least three games of high-quality basketball with a high likelihood of top MIAA prospects facing off.
I don't believe the Super 8 would singlehandedly swing the balance of power between MIAA and NEPSAC. But it would be a cornerstone showcase for the state's talent, and for us media, every game would have fireworks, for sure.
But is that how the MIAA should be making decisions — just trying to match NEPSAC? I don't know. The Super 8 tournament inherently creates an elite class of teams and a trophy that carries more weight than a state championship. That's the next question: is there an elite class of teams, like in the sports with a Super 8 tournament, that would warrant a separate tier?
Steve: Yeah, it would be misguided if the MIAA thought a Super 8 tournament would help them get on an even playing field with NEPSAC. As you wrote earlier this year, there are methods the MIAA should focus on in their fight to retain talent against the preps.
To your question, there's not currently an elite class of teams that's making anyone logically scream for a Super 8 tournament. On the boys side, there's been strong parity in recent years. We saw three consecutive years public school Div. 1 champions from 2023-25 with Worcester North going back-to-back before Franklin's triumph. Malden Catholic had a Div. 2 three-peat before Somerset-Berkley and St. Mary's took the mantle over the last two seasons.
Here's how a Super 8 boys tournament would have looked in the five years of the MIAA power rankings:
Only two teams, Central Catholic and Pope Francis, appear in the top eight in each of the last two seasons. It's also noteworthy that the Super 8 would have been split with four public and private schools each in 2026, and five publics and three privates in 2025.
The Division 1 and 2 tournaments last season would also not be nearly as compelling. Bishop Feehan, which won the Div. 1 tournament as the 14-seed, wouldn't have sniffed the Super 8 field, and their electric run would have been watered down without having to face Needham, Andover and Central Catholic. We also would have missed out on two epic Final Four games in Div. 2, where Masconomet beat Pope Francis in a semifinal thriller before St. Mary's edged Masco in the title. Salem, the Div. 3 champion, wouldn't have been in the Super 8 field, either, while Hanover would have been the fifth seed. Hindsight is certainly 20/20, but least this year, the Super 8 wouldn't have made logical sense.
Ethan:Â That's a great recent look at trends. Here's what a Super 8 bracket would have looked like on the girls side:
The girls actually have a group of perennial powers. If you trace back through five years of MIAA power rankings, six schools would have appeared in more than half of the hypothetical Super 8s: Medfield (five times), Bishop Feehan (five), Wachusett (five), Springfield Central (four), St. Mary's (three) and Foxboro (three).
This wouldn't be a private-vs.-public debate. Sure, Bishop Feehan and St. Mary's are dynasties, but the only other Catholic school who would have qualified for a Super 8 tournament was Central Catholic in 2022. And with St. Mary's and Foxboro now in Division 2, it feels like the true elite schools remain concentrated in the top two divisions anyway. How many of those six schools feel like they're in a separate tier of resources? A Super 8 would mostly elevate powerhouse public programs just for the sake of giving other teams a chance at a trophy. I don't agree with that mindset, and I don't think coaches do either.
Steve: I don't agree with that mindset, either. If anything, I'd be more of a proponent in a tournament of champions after the state divisional tournaments are over. But even then, like the girls, the best boys teams are typically concentrated in Division 1 and 2.
As I said earlier, the basketball statewide tournaments have worked. I'd argue that when we get to the Final Four rounds, especially in Division 1 and 2, we're already essentially getting Super 8-like matchups in incredible atmospheres.
Ethan:Â We asked MIAA coaches this question last year and the participants were close to split on the girls side. Boys coaches also echoed both sides of the arguments we presented here. In 2024, the MIAA basketball committee voted 15-1 against a possible Super 8 tournament.
Our verdict is clear: In basketball, the statewide tournament works as is. There are merits to the Super 8 tournament, particularly from an exposure standpoint, but it would put a select few schools on a pedestal that doesn't feel necessary in basketball. For now, unless there's a sudden swell of widespread support, a basketball Super 8 feels superficial.
