Post Season Brackets and Tournaments

Last updated: Jan 15, 2026

There are two different brackets for post season play in the OHSLA: the Championship Bracket and the Cascade Cup Bracket. As noted below, both brackets rely on the final LaxNumbers rankings for seeding calculations.

Note: Because the LaxNumbers rankings are not final until all scores have been received and LaxNumbers calculation has been performed, the bracket calculation is dependent on prompt score reporting by coaches on the last day of the season (May, 9th).  Even if all scores are submitted that last night of games, LaxNumbers is based on the east coast, so the LaxNumbers rating used for the brackets may not be calculated until the next morning. 

OHSLA Championship Bracket Formation

As of 2025   This is How Brackets Are Determined

1. Top 1 Team from each Conference are automatic bids for Championship bracket verses last year's Top 2 Teams from each conference
2. The eight Conference Winners are entitled to a first round home game regardless of LaxNumber standings

After the conclusion of regular season Varsity games, the top team from each conference is selected as an automatic bid for the Championship Bracket. The 16 remaining seeds are selected from LAXNumbers.com final rankings to make up the 24-team Championship Bracket.

For Championship Bracket, the top eight ranked teams get a first-round bye and are the home teams* for second- round.

Cascade Cup Bracket Formation

For Cascade Cup, the next 16 teams (after the 24 teams for Championship bracket) are selected, with the first eight being Home teams* and second eight being Away teams.

*Possible exception with who is home team: In the case where two conference winners, that do not get a first round bye, match up, the higher seed LAX Number ranking (lower number) would determine home team.

Game Date Flexibility

The Home Team has control. If the home team insists on the date (for that bracket playoff date on OHSLA calendar) then the Away team has to play/travel or forfeit. However, if the two coaches get together and agree on another day (as long as it is before the next playoff game in that bracket), they can request that to OHSLA and in most all cases would be granted.

Example: for first round Cascade Cup or first round Championship, if a team had hard-ships for playing that Thursday or Friday; they could potentially request that game be played on that Saturday. It would need to be worked out amongst the two coaches and then submitted to OHSLA for approval.

All State and All-America Voting

Coaches' meeting for All-State and All-America voting is posted on the OHSLA Calendar and time TBD.

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Playoff Game Revenues and Costs

Revenue Sharing

As noted in the OHSLA SOPs host teams must charge admission for all Cascade Cup and Championship bracket playoff games.
Pricing and revenue sharing details are as follows:

For First, Second, and Quarter Final (and Cascade Semi-Final) games

• Admission prices for 2026 are $10 for adults and $6 for students.  Kids 5 and under are free.
• Admission MUST be charged to ALL spectators, not just those of the visiting school.
• The gate total shall be split 50/50 with the OHSLA and host school after approved host expenses are subtracted from the gate total.
• OHSLA Treasurer, Joe Alexander, will email each club their referee costs after each playoff game.
• The total amount due can be calculated from the 2026 OSHLA Playoff Payment Worksheet
• A copy of the completed worksheet with the payment can be sent to OHSLA Treasurer, Joe Alexander.
• If charging admission is a problem for any program, special arrangements must be made with the OHSLA prior to the game taking place.
• Failure to charge admission/submit accounting worksheet/pay OHSLA share will result in
   (1) the team being billed for the average share received by the league received from schools in a similar playoff round
       PLUS
   (2) a $250 fine.

If you have any questions regarding the playoff calculation worksheet contact the OHSLA Treasurer at joe@alexandertaxconsulting.com.

For Championship Semi-Final (Wed) and Finals (Sat) run by OHSLA; the split is different

• Admission prices for 2026 are $12 for adults and $6 for students.  Kids 5 and under are free.
• The revenue sharing for these playoff games are different than the playoff games above. The below splits are after expenses:
     20% to Host School
     20% to Championship Final Four Teams (5% each x 4)
       5% to Cascade Cup Final Two Teams (2.5% each x 2)
     55% OHSLA

Travel Allowances

OHSLA will help with travel costs for visiting playoff teams in the first three rounds of the playoffs (first round, second round, quarter finals, and Cascade Cup semi finals).

The Travel Cost Reimbursements: There will no longer be reimbursements for in district/zone travel. For teams that have home games as well as away games, the travel allowance for their away game can be applied as a credit (just like any approved host expense) to their final team billing.  The Table below shows the Travel Allowance from OHSLA for teams between the five areas in the state. 

	PDX	Salem	Eugene	Roseburg	High Desert
PDX	N/A	$200	$300	$400	$400
Salem	$200	N/A	$200	$300	$300
Eugene	$300	$200	N/A	$200	$300
Roseburg	$400	$300	$200	N/A	$400
High Desert	$400	$300	$300	$400	N/A

 

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