Nine weeks of regular-season high school football action in Illinois gives way to the second season, as the 2022 IHSA Football Playoffs officially get underway on Saturday, October 22 with the revealing the playoff qualifiers and fields.
The IHSA Football Playoff Pairing Show, which will unveil the brackets and first round match-ups of all 256 playoff qualifiers across eight classes, will air live on statewide television via the IHSA’s new TV Network partnership with Weigel from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
“Pairings night is one of the great traditions for Illinois high school football. It is our privilege to highlight the accomplishments of teams around the state on live broadcast television,” said Steven Farber, Weigel Broadcasting Senior Vice President of Operations.
The TV show will air on the following stations and channels by market. Fans are encouraged to check local listings, or the station websites, for exact channel details. Football fans outside of these markets can tune-in to the NFHS Network at 7:30 PM and watch all three shows. An NFHS Network account is required, but there is no fee to watch. All of the shows will also be simulcast on IHSA.org.
| Market | Station-Channel (Network) 1 | Station-Channel (Network) 2 |
| Bloomington-Normal/Peoria | WEEK-25.1 (NBC) | WEEK-25.3 (CW) |
| Carbondale/Harrisburg/Paducah | WPSD-6.1 (NBC) | WPSD-6.2 (Classic) |
| Champaign/Springfield/Decatur | WCIX-49.1 (MyTV) | |
| Chicago | WCIU-26 (CW) | WMEU-48.1 (The U)/WCIU 26.2 |
| Quad Cities | KGCW-26.1 (CW) | |
| Quincy | WGEM-10.2 (CW) | WGEM-10.3 (Fox) |
| Rockford | WIFR-23.5 (CW) | |
| St. Louis | KNLC-24.5 (Decades) | |
| Live Stream | NFHS Network |
IHSA TV veterans Dave Bernhard and Matt Rodewald will team-up to reveal and react to the first round matchups in what has become one of the most anticipated nights of the high school football season.
“October 22 has been circled on the calendars of high school football players, coaches and fans since August,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “We are excited to be partnering with Weigel on the annual playoff pairing show and are confident more fans in Illinois will be able to view it than ever before. We also appreciate the efforts of the NFHS Network on our streaming pre- and post-game shows that will only make this night bigger and better.”
One hour coverage just isn’t enough for one of the biggest nights on the IHSA calendar, so the IHSA and NFHS Network will once again be streaming a pre- and post-show.
The IHSA Playoff Pairing Preview Show and IHSA Playoff Pairing Breakdown Show will feature WRMJ’s Jim Taylor, Illinois prep football guru “Edgy” Tim O’Halloran of EdgyTim.com, and the state’s resident high school football bracketologist Steve Soucie of Friday Night Drive. The IHSA Playoff Pairing Preview Show will stream on the NFHS Network from 7:30 PM to 8:00 PM, before returning with the IHSA Playoff Pairing Breakdown Show on the NFHS Network from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Both NFHS Network streams can be viewed IHSA.org.
The trio of O’Halloran, Soucie and Taylor will highlight the top storylines of the night from 7:30 to 8:00 PM, hand the baton off to Bernhard and Rodewald for the TV broadcast, and then return from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM to react to the pairings.
Fans and teams are encouraged to use the hashtag #IHSAPairings throughout the evening on social media to interact with both shows, ask questions, and share pictures from team watch parties.
First Round IHSA Football Playoff games will unfold on Friday and Saturday, October 28-29, beginning the drive toward the State Championship games at Memorial Stadium on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign-Urbana. The Fighting Illini, Visit Champaign County, and LegendsPlayHere.com will host the 2022 State Championship games on Friday, November 25 (1A-4A) and Saturday, November 26 (5A-8A).
OCTOBER 22 FOOTBALL PLAYOFF PAIRING NIGHT SCHEDULE
7:30 PM – 8:00 PM
IHSA Playoff Pairings Preview Show begins on the NFHS Network & IHSA.org
Hosted by Tim O’Halloran, Steve Soucie & Jim Taylor
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
IHSA Playoff Pairings Television Show: First Round Games Revealed on IHSA TV Network
Hosted by Dave Bernhard & Matt Rodewald
9:00 PM – 10:00 PM
IHSA Playoff Pairings Breakdown Show begins on the NFHS Network & IHSA.org
Hosted by Tim O’Halloran, Steve Soucie & Jim Taylor
