Football sectional group assignments for the 2001 and 2002 seasons were approved today by the IHSAA Executive Committee at its January meeting. The 2001 and 2002 tournament format was developed by the 11-person Football Reclassification Committee and forwarded to the IHSAA Executive Committee for its approval.

With 309 schools playing football in Indiana, the tournament format again assigns teams to 40 sectionals within a five-class system. Of those 40 sectionals, 29 will have eight teams assigned for the state tournaments in 2001 and 2002. The remaining 11 sectionals will have seven teams. The eight-team sectionals will have four first-round games, two semifinal games and the sectional championship game over a three-week period. The seven-team sectionals will have three first-round games and one team receiving a bye into the semifinals. There will be two semifinals games and a championship game.

Of the 11 sectionals with seven teams, three are in Class 5A, two in Class 4A, two in Class 3A, two in Class 2A and two in Class A.

As previously announced, 36 schools will play in a different enrollment classification in 2001 and 2002 than they did for the 1999 and 2000 seasons. The 61 largest schools will play in Class 5A for the IHSAA state tournament series in 2001 and 2002. Classes 4A, 3A, 2A and A each will have 62 schools.

Of the 40 sectionals, only six were unchanged from the assignments used in the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Those sectionals are: Sectionals 1, 5 and 6 in Class 5A; Sectional 32 in Class 2A; and Sectionals 37 and 40 in Class A.

Chesterton, Crown Point, East Chicago Central, Gary Wallace, Lake Central, Merrillville, Portage, Valparaiso.

Elkhart Central, Elkhart Memorial, Goshen, LaPorte, Michigan City, Mishawaka, Penn, South Bend Riley.

Fort Wayne Northrop, Fort Wayne Snider, Homestead, Huntington North, Kokomo, Marion, Warsaw.

Anderson, Anderson Highland, Carmel, Hamilton Southeastern, Harrison (West Lafayette), Lafayette Jefferson, Noblesville.

Franklin Central, Indianapolis Arlington, Indianapolis Broad Ripple, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, North Central (Indianapolis), Richmond, Warren Central.

Ben Davis, Decatur Central, Indianapolis Arsenal Technical, Indianapolis Manual, Indianapolis Northwest, Perry Meridian, Pike, Southport.

Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Center Grove, Columbus North, Jennings County, Martinsville, Terre Haute North, Terre Haute South.

Bedford North Lawrence, Castle, Evansville Harrison, Evansville North, Evansville Reitz, Jeffersonville, New Albany.

Gary Roosevelt, Gary West Side, Griffith, Hammond, Hammond Morton, Highland, Lowell, Munster.

Hobart, Kankakee Valley, Logansport, Plymouth, South Bend Adams, South Bend Clay, South Bend LaSalle, South Bend Washington.

Carroll (Fort Wayne), Columbia City, Concord, DeKalb, East Noble, Fort Wayne Dwenger, Northridge, Wawasee.

Bellmont, Delta, Fort Wayne North Side, Fort Wayne South Side, Fort Wayne Wayne, Jay County, Muncie Central, Muncie Southside.

Connersville, Greenfield-Central, Indianapolis Cathedral, New Castle, Pendleton Heights, Roncalli, Shelbyville.

Columbus East, East Central, Franklin Community, Greenwood, Madison, Seymour, South Dearborn, Whiteland.

Avon, Brownsburg, McCutcheon, Mooresville, Northview, Plainfield, Westfield, Zionsville.

Boonville, Evansville Central, Floyd Central, Jasper, Mount Vernon, Owen Valley, Vincennes Lincoln.

Andrean, Calumet, Gary Mann, Gary Wirt, Hammond Clark, Hammond Gavit, Hammond Noll, New Prairie.

Benton Central, Frankfort, Maconaquah, Northwestern, Peru, Twin Lakes, West Lafayette, Western.

Culver Military, Lakeland, Mishawaka Marian, NorthWood, South Bend St. Joseph's, Tippecanoe Valley, West Noble, Whitko.

Angola, Blackford, Fort Wayne Concordia, Fort Wayne Elmhurst, Harding, Leo, New Haven, Norwell.

Beech Grove, Elwood, Hamilton Heights, Mt. Vernon (Fortville), New Palestine, Tipton, Yorktown.

Brebeuf, Crawfordsville, Danville, Edgewood, Indianapolis Chatard, Lebanon, Southmont, West Vigo.

Batesville, Brown County, Corydon Central, Franklin County, Greensburg, North Harrison, Rushville.

Evansville Bosse, Evansville Memorial, Gibson Southern, Heritage Hills, Pike Central, Princeton, Sullivan, Washington.

Glenn, Knox, North Judson, North Newton, Rensselaer Central, Rochester, Wheeler, Winamac.

Alexandria, Cass, Delphi, Eastbrook, Eastern (Greentown), Mississinewa, North Miami, Oak Hill.

Bremen, Central Noble, Churubusco, Eastside, Fairfield, Garrett, Jimtown, Prairie Heights.

Bluffton, Fort Wayne Luers, Heritage, Manchester, South Adams, Wabash, Woodlan.

Cloverdale, Greencastle, North Montgomery, North Putnam, Seeger, South Vermillion, Tri-West Hendricks, Western Boone.

Centerville, Indianapolis Scecina, Knightstown, Monrovia, Speedway, Triton Central, Union County, Winchester.

Brownstown Central, Charlestown, Clarksville, Indian Creek, Lawrenceburg, Providence, Salem.

Evansville Mater Dei, Mitchell, North Knox, North Posey, Paoli, Southridge, South Spencer, Tell City.

Culver Community, Lake Station Edison, LaVille, River Forest, South Central (Union Mills), Triton, West Central, Whiting.

Adams Central, Fremont, Madison-Grant, Northfield, Southern Wells, Southwood, Taylor.

Carroll (Flora), Caston, Frontier, Lafayette Central Catholic, North White, Pioneer, South Newton, Tri-County.

Cambridge City Lincoln, Eastern Hancock, Hagerstown, Northeastern, Shenandoah, Tri, Union City, Wes-Del.

Cascade, Clinton Central, Clinton Prairie, Frankton, Indianapolis Ritter, Lapel, Sheridan, Tri-Central.

Attica, Covington, Fountain Central, North Vermillion, Riverton Parke, Rockville, South Putnam, Turkey Run.

Edinburgh, Indiana School for the Deaf, Milan, North Decatur, Park Tudor, South Decatur, West Washington.

Linton-Stockton, North Central (Farmersburg), North Daviess, Oakland City Wood Memorial, Perry Central, Springs Valley, Tecumseh, Union (Dugger).