The NHIAA has its critics. But the state's governing body for interscholastic athletics deserves credit for reaching this conclusion — and acting on it — with regard to football: Less is more.

Football's 57 varsity teams, currently separated into six divisions based on student enrollment, will be drastically realigned for the 2013 season. Rather than celebrate a state champion from each of the six divisions, three kings that emerge from their respective super leagues (Divisions I, II and III) finish No. 1 in New Hampshire.

Size makes the leagues super. Divisions I and II feature 20 teams apiece. Division III has 17 squads. All divisions feature four conferences, none with more than five teams.

NHIAA executive director Patrick Corbin said the 2013 season — which falls in Year 2 of the soon-to-start two-year classification cycle — is “an experiment.”

It's an experiment that's overdue — and worth conducting. Crowning six champions, a practice that started in 2008, is outdated.

NHIAA officials agree.

“The (six-division model) doesn't fit the need it once did,” Corbin said. “At one time, teams seemed to fall in place from a competitive standpoint, at least in some peoples' minds. I'm not sure that was ever entirely true.”

This much is true: A super league existed for the 1992 and '93 seasons.

Thirty-four schools played NHIAA football. Eighteen schools, all considered Class L, were divided into a trio of six-team tiers that combined to award eight playoff berths.

“The L schools with the smaller enrollment felt they couldn't compete week to week with the bigger schools,” former Spaulding of Rochester head coach Hugo Bolin told Union Leader grid guru John Habib in September 1992. “Now this format gives those schools a schedule that meets their needs.”

Twenty years (and 23 additional football schools) later, it seems we've come full circle. Creating greater competitive balance is a goal.

It's impossible to say with certainty that realignment for 2013 will solve problems of competitive imbalance, perceived or real.

But it's likely the 2013 season increases fan interest in a sport already supremely popular.

The biggest reason? Try the addition of a quarterfinal playoff round.

Creating four conferences per division generates the need for a Round of 8. Tournament berths will be awarded to the first- and second-place teams in each conference.

Specific to the larger schools, introducing quarterfinals also eliminates the non-league crossover games that previously did not count in the regular-season standings.

Here's the best part: Corbin said the quarterfinals — matchups between the top teams in each conference — serve the purpose of “sectional” finals.

“I think it'll spark some interest,” Corbin said. “A team could win their section and at least go home to their town and say, 'Hey, we're section winners.'” And winning a conference crown is likely to come at a regional rival's expense.

Imagine Seacoast teams Exeter and Winnacunnet of Hampton meeting in the Division I East conference quarterfinals. It's possible.

How about a quarterfinal that includes a combination of Nashua schools Bishop Guertin, North and South? They'll compete in the Division I West conference.

Manchester public schools Central, Memorial and West play in Division I North. Mack Plaque rivals Pinkerton Academy of Derry and Londonderry could fight for the Division I South semifinal berth.

“Quite frankly,” Corbin said, “this is the way many states do it.”

Consolidating divisions could also renew rivalries. Plymouth Regional and Souhegan of Amherst — heading for Division II — last clashed in 2007 as Division III finalists. (The Bobcats won, 34-0.) Of course, no plan is perfect.

Goffstown (1,201 students) will compete in Division I South. Aside from BG (854), which petitioned to play in Division I, Goffstown is the smallest football school in a league whose minimum enrollment is 1,200.

The five-team tier features Pinkerton (3,168), Londonderry (1,707), Salem (1,543) and Merrimack (1,450).

That's a tough draw, considering Goffstown competed in Division III last year.

Goffstown head coach Justin Hufft chose his words wisely. He settled on these: “They have to draw the line somewhere,” he said of identifying a cutoff point to create divisions. “That's the way the numbers fell, unfortunately.”

Jim Desmarais was NHIAA executive director when the 1993 super league formed. Corbin's predecessor said on Monday that football “was always a fluid classification,” which remains true today.

“It was a full-time job trying to get it right,” Desmarais said. “That's what the NHIAA tries to do.”

The plan for 2013 is a step in the right direction.

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Marc Thaler covers high school football for the New Hampshire Union Leader & Sunday News. He co-hosts the “N.H. Sports Show” Saturday morning on WGIR-AM 610 and the Seacoast's 96.7. Send e-mails to mthaler@unionleader.com and follow him on Twitter: @marc_thaler.