Artesia Bulldogs soccer fans can forget about gathering around the TV, eating pizza, and watching to see which teams make the field and where they are seeded in the 2026 state soccer championships. There won’t be a selection show.
The brackets are still coming, but the rollout and opening round will look different after extreme weather disrupted the final stretch of the regular season.
In a statement released Sunday afternoon, Oct. 25, New Mexico Activities Association spokesperson J.P. Murrieta said extreme weather and a resulting state of emergency in northwestern New Mexico over the previous 48 hours had forced numerous athletic and activity events to be postponed or rescheduled.
The disruptions pushed bracket releases for the state soccer championships and Class 2A through 6A football championships back one day, according to the statement. Murrieta initially said several soccer teams would finish their regular seasons Monday, Oct. 26, with the selection show that evening.
Soccer brackets coming without a show
The NMAA plans to release the state soccer brackets at 10:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, so fans will get the tournament field without the usual seeding and selection show.
Instead, the association will distribute the brackets by email, through its social media accounts and on its website. The change is intended to get the information to schools and the public as early as possible that evening.
The first round has also been pushed back one day for both the boys and girls divisions. The Artesia boys will play at home Wednesday, Oct. 28, and the girls will play Thursday, Oct. 29. The quarterfinals remain as originally scheduled.
Football selection show moves to Sunday
In football, multiple games will now be played Saturday afternoon and evening, Oct. 31. The seeding and selection show and bracket release for the Class 2A through 6A state championships will take place at about 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1.
