Ryan Bishop, the new executive director of the Utah High School Activities Association, has overseen two policy changes that will reshape playoffs for Sandy-area teams.

Bishop, a Heber City native in his 29th year as an educator, started July 1. He succeeded Rob Cuff, who retired July 31 after 17 years leading the UHSAA. Bishop is the association's seventh executive director in its 99-year history, the Daily Herald reported when his hiring was announced in March.

Before the statewide role, Bishop spent 14 years teaching and coaching in Davis School District, where he led Davis High to the 2004 5A state football championship. He later served as a UHSAA assistant director from 2014 to 2017, overseeing baseball, basketball, football, golf and other sports. He then returned to school administration as principal of Wasatch High.

Bishop told the Sandy Journal that he and his former coaching staff still get together with players from that 2004 team, calling the championship bond something that "lives on forever."

The biggest early policy shift is a Board of Trustees vote to revert all classifications to 16-team playoff brackets, scrapping the 24-team format used in larger classifications. For Sandy-area 5A programs like Alta and Hillcrest, and 4A programs like Jordan, fewer bracket spots mean tighter postseason fields.

Alta earned a No. 1 seed in 5A boys soccer and a No. 5 seed in 5A boys basketball during the past school year. Hillcrest entered the 5A boys basketball tournament as a No. 24 seed. Under a 16-team cap, that seed would not have qualified.

Bishop acknowledged the tension in an interview published Aug. 19 by the Deseret News. He said he had "mixed emotions" and noted a girls soccer coach approached him at a football game to voice concern.

"They're like, 'We work our whole year to have a chance, and then we don't because of this,'" Bishop said. He added that principals felt the 24-team format created more problems than it solved for lower-seeded teams.

A second major change is coming. The UHSAA Board of Trustees finalized a new Composite Realignment Index (CRI) on Aug. 21 for the 2027-29 cycle, KSL reported. The CRI replaces a system based primarily on enrollment. It weighs three factors: school enrollment, socioeconomic status and competitive performance. Bishop said enrollment will still account for roughly 75 to 80 percent of the formula.

The realignment will determine whether Alta, Hillcrest and Jordan stay in their current classifications or shift. Competition under the new alignment begins in August 2027.

UHSAA Board of Trustees Chair Luke Rasmussen, who also serves as Ogden School District superintendent, praised Bishop's range of experience when the hire was announced in March. Rasmussen called him "widely respected across the state" and said Bishop leads with a focus on students.

Sandy-area teams open the fall season with ground to make up. Hillcrest lost to Desert Hills 40-0 and Jordan fell to Canyon View 35-0 in Week 1 football on Aug. 15. The next milestone for all three programs is the UHSAA's Dec. 8 public hearing on realignment, held via Zoom, with the final classification map set for Dec. 17.