Tate, PHS, Central Begin FIT Play Thursday Night. What Is The FIT?

November 13, 2025

The Tate Aggies and the Central Jaguars will host FIT regional semifinals on Thursday, while the Pensacola High Tigers will travel. But what is the FIT?

FIT — Florida Invitational Tournament

In addition to the traditional playoff path to a state championship, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Florida Invitational Tournament (FIT) will see additional teams continue play.

FIT stated last year as an experiment in the rural class. The Northview Chiefs made the cut to take part in the FIT last year, but the school  opted out because it might have meant the Chiefs would travel 800 miles to near Key West to take on Marathon High School — a trip the program just could not afford.

With the FIT, teams that do not make the traditional playoffs receive an invitation to the tournament and a chance to continue postseason.

FHSAA  expanded the FIT to two 16-team brackets for high school classes 1A-7A. One bracket is for Class 1A-3A, and the other bracket is for Class 4A-7A. The third FIT bracket is 12 teams in the Rural Class.

Rural FIT – Northview, Central

In the 2025 Rural FIT,  the Northview Chiefs were seeded at No. 5 with a first round bye in the regional semifinals on November 13. The FHSAA scheduled Northview to travel to No. 4 Moore Haven, about 600 miles and over nine hours away, for the November 20 regional finals, but we are told that Northview will not participate in the FIT this season.

Thursday night, No. 7 Central will host No. 10 Wewahitchka at 7 p.m. in the Rural FIT semifinals.

4A-7A FIT Regional Semifinals – Tate

In the 4A-7A FIT, the No. 2 Tate Aggies will host No. 7 First Coast at 7 p.m. Thursday at Pete Gindl Stadium.

1A-3A FIT Regional Semifinals – PHS

The No. 8 Pensacola High School Tigers will travel Thursday night to No. 1 Dunnellon High School, just outside Ocala for the 1A-3A FIT regional semifinals

Pictured: The Tate Aggies beat the Pensacola High Tigers 41-0 in early September. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Archive