O'Brien: Give new PIAA classifications a chance
It's no cure-all, but it's a step in the right direction. The PIAA's board of directors voted last week to expand classifications in football and seven other sports beginning with the 2016-17 school year.
It's no cure-all, but it's a step in the right direction.
The PIAA's board of directors voted last week to expand classifications in football and seven other sports beginning with the 2016-17 school year.
The PIAA's goal was to create a more even playing field. For football, the proposal for six evenly distributed classifications (576 schools currently play football) passed by a 26-4 vote. Only three Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) representatives and one from the Pittsburgh City League opposed it.
"I think the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive," said Robert Lombardi, executive director of the PIAA. "I think the vote says the membership wants this. It speaks loud and clear to me."
In another huge move, the board suspended protocol (by skipping a second reading of the proposal) and voted by a 23-7 margin to expand to six classifications in basketball, baseball and softball; to four in soccer and volleyball; to three in field hockey; and to two in lacrosse.
Schools must submit enrollment numbers (males and females in grades 9-11) for the next two-year cycle (2016-18) by Thursday. The classification breakdown in all sports will be released in mid-November.
Schools then have a month to choose the option of playing up in classification. In mid-December, the PIAA will release the breakdown of schools for each classification. Meetings to determine playoff brackets are scheduled for January and March, with a likely finalization in May.
Among area schools, North Penn (enrollment number of 1,861), Pennsbury (1,385), Upper Darby (1,354), and Northeast (1,341) will be near the top of the largest classification.
Schools that are on the bubble when it comes to being slotted in Class AAAAAA or AAAAA for football include Cheltenham (608), Penn Wood (607), Hatboro-Horsham (605), and Plymouth Whitemarsh (597).
"I'm hearing we're going to be a 5A school," Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Dan Chang. "If we're in 6A, that's a world of difference."
A potential problem for some Class AAAAAA squads, in their bid to gain enough points to qualify for the postseason, is playing multiple smaller-classification league foes. For example, Spring-Ford and Perkiomen Valley are likely to face four AAAA opponents in the Pioneer Athletic Conference.
"That doesn't seem good for anyone," Downingtown East coach Mike Matta said. "It really puts you in kind of a bind. I'd like to see the possible reformation of certain leagues be discussed."
No matter how the pie is sliced, a team near the bottom of a classification is going to face an uphill playoff battle.
While there is a continued - and understandable - outcry for separate tournaments for public and private schools, Lombardi says it's not a topic for discussion. Not now and maybe never.
"It's not on the table," Lombardi said matter-of-factly. "Private schools were included in the PIAA as an act of the state legislature in 1972. We're not going against that ruling. We want inclusion, not segregation."
And what about the grumbling when it comes to alleged widespread recruiting by private schools?
"If someone wants to say that a school is violating the rules, there's a process in place," Lombardi said. "We have committees, hearings, and an appeals board for that. You just have to follow the process."
No system is perfect. But give this one, which can be tweaked in two years, a chance.
@ozoneinq