The 8-Man football playoffs will look a little different next season.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association announced plans on Thursday to expand the 8-Man playoffs by adding a second division.

At its annual Winter Meeting, the MHSAA’s Representative Council, voted to expand the 8-Man tournament to two 16-team brackets with a four-week playoff. The brackets will be divided based on enrollment and qualification criteria, enrollment limits and finals venues will be determined next month.

As of March 6, 62 teams are slated to play 8-Man football and three local teams–

Atlanta, Onaway and Posen–are among that group.

For smaller schools like Atlanta and Posen, the expansion of the playoffs will allow them to be competitive against schools which are similar in size.

“I’m happy for it. It’s a good thing for football. Eight-man football is such a growing sport and this takes care of the schools that founded the sport,” Posen coach Greg Pietsch said. “I’m glad the MHSAA pulled the trigger on this.”

Since the first year of the 8-Man tournament, only one school, Powers North Central, has won a state with a student body of 150 students or fewer.

Carsonville-Port Sanilac (2011 champion, 188), Deckerville (2012, 194), Peck (2013, 171) and Lawrence (2014, 191) all won with larger student bodies.

Powers, winners of the last two 8-Man championships, won with student enrollments of 122 students in 2015 and 115 last season.

As of last season, Posen’s enrollment was 94 and Onaway’s was 190. Atlanta, which will compete in 8-Man for the first time in the fall, had an enrollment of 75 last season.

The number of eight-man teams in the state has steadily increased over the last several years, creating a widening divide between bigger eight-man schools and smaller ones. While facing bigger schools is nothing new to teams like Posen, the expansion should the playing field in the postseason, particularly among the smaller schools.

“I really think it gives smaller schools like a chance to compete from a playoff standpoint,” Pietsch said.