NEW: Tuscaloosa, Auburn removed from AHSAA’s Super 7 rotation

In an expected move, the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) has officially removed Tuscaloosa and Auburn as host sites for the football state championship games moving forward.

The decision comes after an expanded College Football Playoff makes it possible for Bryant-Denny Stadium and Jordan-Hare Stadium potential locations for more college football games in December.

Keep reading to find out more about why the decision was made + what the AHSAA’s next steps are.

15 years on the big stage

The two SEC football stadiums were added to the rotation in 2009, alternating each year until Birmingham’s Protective Stadium was added to the list in 2021. Each city hosted seven years of championship games.

Auburn averaged more than 50,000 fans attending its seven years including reaching 61,519 in 2022. In Tuscaloosa, the average attendance was 44,610, not including 2020 which had a limited capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 “We are grateful to the cities of Tuscaloosa, Auburn and Opelika, Auburn University, the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports and Auburn-Opelika Tourism for joining together to host our Super 7 since the rotation began in 2009. The experiences and memories provided for our member schools, the teams, their students, and communities have been immeasurable.”

~ AHSAA Executive Director Alvin Briggs

The five highest attended games since the rotation began include:

• 2021: 62,544 at Protective Stadium
• 2022: 61,519 at Jordan-Hare Stadium
• 2012: 61,048 at Jordan-Hare Stadium
• 2018: 51,651 at Jordan-Hare Stadium
• 2011: 50,451 at Bryant-Denny Stadium

What comes next?

The College Football Playoff is expanding to 12 teams with first round games being hosted on campus by the higher seeded teams. Due to that format, both Auburn and Alabama would need to be prepared to host the potential playoff game and could not host the Super 7.

So the two SEC schools have been removed from the rotation. It is possible UAB’s Protective Stadium could fall into that category but its artificial turf would make that preparation easier.

While Protective will play host to the Super 7 in 2024, the AHSAA said it is exploring its options for a rotation of future sites for the championships.

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