Prep Football: CalPreps.com Shuts Down, Leaving Playoff Systems in Disarray

Photo Credit: Nicole Noel Photography

In an unexpected move, CalPreps.com, a widely relied-upon platform for high school sports data and rankings, has announced its immediate shutdown. The closure has sent shockwaves through the high school sports community, particularly impacting organizations like the CIF San Diego Section, which depended on CalPreps for critical playoff seeding data.

According to a notice posted on their website, CalPreps cited a contract dispute with CBS, the parent company of MaxPreps, as the primary reason for halting operations. The statement claims CBS repeatedly breached its contract by failing to fulfill financial obligations to CalPreps, marking the eighth occurrence since CBS acquired MaxPreps in 2007.

CalPreps revealed that it is now "out of funds" and has been "forced to cease operations." While they plan to pursue legal action against CBS to recover the unpaid funds and seek damages, they acknowledged that litigation could drag on for months or even years before any resolution is reached.

Impact on the CIF San Diego Section Playoffs

The CIF San Diego Section, along with other sections around the country, had been using CalPreps' data and rankings to determine playoff pairings. This sudden shutdown leaves a significant gap in their decision-making process. With the 2024 playoffs approaching, the San Diego Section and other affected organizations must now scramble to find alternative solutions. Seedings are scheduled to take place on Sunday, November 3rd. 

Here are some potential options they might consider:

Revive the in-house Power Rankings: Before using Cal Preps, the San Diego Section created its own methodology for ranking teams and determining playoff seedings. They currently use it for Field Hockey, Volleyball, and Water Polo.

Partner with another sports data provider: While CalPreps suggests this might be challenging to arrange mid-season, the section could explore an emergency partnership with another reputable sports data company such as Massey Ratings.

Revert to traditional methods: The section could temporarily return to using win-loss records, strength of schedule, and committee decisions to determine playoff seedings.

Petition MaxPreps/CBS: As suggested by CalPreps, high school football organizations across the country could attempt to convince CBS to resolve the dispute quickly and restore the CalPreps service.

CalPreps was a great resource that was utilized to create content on this platform since we started in 2011. We hope this issue gets resolved quickly and that CalPreps can continue to be a trusted source for prep football data. Their contributions have been invaluable to the high school sports community, and their absence will leave a significant void. Whether through legal resolution or new agreements, we remain hopeful that CalPreps will return to provide the detailed insights and rankings that teams, coaches, media, and fans across the country have come to rely on.