By Anthony Guliza, Globe Correspondent

FRANKLIN -- The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association's basketball committee today discussed the possibility of adding a Super Eight-style postseason tournament, but the idea won't be revisited until April.

The event would follow the format used in ice hockey. The top eight teams in the state would be invited, and if teams chose to compete, they could not compete in their respective state tournaments.

“We would take the best teams, and put them in a double-elimination tournament,” MIAA assistant director Tony Romano said after the meeting. “Conceivably, you can be a Division 2 school that has such outstanding talent that they might consider for the tournament. This is the first time that the committee has introduced this and it’s not going to have any real discussion until the April meeting.”

Romano added that there are several obstacles.

“You have to have structure - you have to have some sort of recommendation process,” Romano said. "There’s a lot of work to be done before we could even crystallize what it might look like.”

Methuen Athletic Director Jim Weymouth said that he would like to see a Super Eight format.

"I think it’s a good idea, I like the way hockey does it," he said. "It gives some of elite teams the opportunity to play better competition right away, rather than going through first round games which are often lopsided.

"It’s going to take some time to develop a system that works and each year the teams can change. You might need a few more teams than hockey, but I like the idea."

The MIAA also explored the possibility of expanding the Division 4 boys and girls tournament to include central and western Massachusetts schools.

The matter will be discussed further at the statewide Division 4 alignment sub-committee meeting Jan. 18.

‘‘We’re looking to explore whether there is a feasibility that we could do this doing this state wide,” Romano said after the meeting. “And we’re looking to explore this because we’re getting some interest from the smaller schools in central and western Mass. When they advance in the tournament, they end up going against larger schools.”