TSSAA meeting-Classification

[Indian]

It was on the agenda for the meeting held the other day, I don't think there would have been any action taken but does anyone know what was discussed. I never saw a report on it.

[KCHSCoach]

I hear the z-plan is getting a lot of play

[PBandJ]

Here is a quick video from two Tennessean sports writers:

 

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl.../VIDEO/80115148

 

And I agree with them. Soon, my child will be able to claim a state championship for being the state champ of schools that originate from a town that uses two words for the town name! (Mount Juliet) And sadly - my tongue isn't quite all the way in my cheek either.

[Indian]

I am not surprised the rural-city thing is being discussed, I posted on here a couple of months ago there was some legitimate talk about it. For those that don't watch the video, there was discussion-no action-on possibly classifying the teams either rural or urban, and from there going by size. The big question would be deciding on some schools with both urban and rural characteristics. Lots of schools are officially in metro areas but certainly aren't in big cities, and then you have some schools in areas much more rural than others, Van Buren and nearby White County are examples. A total split with public and private schools would be much more reasonable, especially since most of your private schools would be cut off from the rural schools anyway with this plan.

 

I do think it's a good idea to add a volleyball classification for A schools. I saw Sale Creek with about 125 students having to face 900-950 student schools such as Hixson and East Ridge in the district tournament the last couple of years, there's no reason for that. They said it would water down the competition and make for a bad level of play but I don't see it, Grace and Boyd-Buchanan were the top finishing local teams around here in A/AA and Grace would be in the A classification.

[Antwan]

I am not surprised the rural-city thing is being discussed, I posted on here a couple of months ago there was some legitimate talk about it. For those that don't watch the video, there was discussion-no action-on possibly classifying the teams either rural or urban, and from there going by size. The big question would be deciding on some schools with both urban and rural characteristics. Lots of schools are officially in metro areas but certainly aren't in big cities, and then you have some schools in areas much more rural than others, Van Buren and nearby White County are examples. A total split with public and private schools would be much more reasonable, especially since most of your private schools would be cut off from the rural schools anyway with this plan.

 

A while back I posted which schools I'd consider urban and rural, when it was being talked about. I'll look for it later and post it again since it's getting TSSAA consideration now.

 

I do think it's a good idea to add a volleyball classification for A schools. I saw Sale Creek with about 125 students having to face 900-950 student schools such as Hixson and East Ridge in the district tournament the last couple of years, there's no reason for that. They said it would water down the competition and make for a bad level of play but I don't see it, Grace and Boyd-Buchanan were the top finishing local teams around here in A/AA and Grace would be in the A classification.

 

 

I don't think the rural/urban thing matters in larger schools. It's in 1a and 2a where it matters most.

 

Also...I would think the number of classes won't necessarily increase. They may lump urban public schools with urban private schools. I would think that will be the case.

[Indian]

Here is what I came up with very quickly for football playing schools. These are before multpliers which might get thrown out if such as drastic change takes place. No doubt there are some that would belong in the opposite group than what I came up with.

 

If you go by all rural including current 5A, I counted 157 in rural and 145 in urban. If you cut it off and include only current 1A, 2A and 3A rural, it's changed by about 35 schools. It would be hard to include the likes of Cookeville or Warren County in a three-class rural division since the division is so heavy with smaller schools. Some of those large schools might not want to be divided anyway. If you divided the rural schools I came up with into three equal groups, the cutoffs would be roughly Humboldt at 433, Claiborne at 804, everyone higher in 3A.

 

Rural:

Zion Christian 104

Oakdale 163

Gleason 166

Greenfield 169

Columbia Academy 174

Sunbright 179

Pickett County 192

Red Boiling Springs 201

Copper Basin 208

Friendship Christian 217

Cloudland 218

Huntland 222

Bruceton 224

Greenback 226

Coalfield 227

South Fulton 244

South Pittsburg 247

Clay County 249

Lake County 258

Midway 268

Cornersville 281

Moore County 286

Harriman 301

Eagleville 310

Collinwood 324

McEwen 329

Perry County 336

Wayne County 339

White House Heritage 341

Whitwell 343

Gordonsville 345

Watertown 347

Unaka 348

Jellico 353

West Carroll 354

Jo Byrns School 356

Middleton 356

McKenzie 382

Halls 383

Mt Pleasant 385

Union City 391

North Greene 400

Forrest 402

Huntingdon 407

Peabody 407

Cosby 411

Trousdale 414

Cascade 422

Oneida 424

Houston Co.425

Wartburg 425

Dresden 432

Humboldt 433

East Robertson 436

Richland 441

Adamsville 442

Hampton 443

Decatur Co. Riverside 451

Rockwood 455

Marion Co. 478

Upperman 479

Oliver Springs 492

Jackson County 494

South Greene 497

Westmoreland 507

Meigs County 513

Tellico Plains 519

Loretto 526

Bledsoe Co. 532

Lewis County 553

Chuckey-Doak 568

Polk Co. 569

Happy Valley 576

Milan 577

Sequatchie 578

Gatlinburg-Pittman 588

Camden 605

West Greene 608

Sweetwater 611

Cumberland Gap 618

Harpeth 627

Smith Co. 644

Waverly 653

Stewart Co.661

York 668

Cheatham Co. 672

Cannon Co. 674

Loudon 675

Grundy Co. 676

Kingston 677

Johnson Co. 683

Sullivan North 703

Chester Co. 706

Scott 741

Gibson Co. 754

Unicoi Co. 754

Pigeon Forge 769

DeKalb County 771

Elizabethton 774

McNairy 775

Crockett County 778

Marshall County 779

McMinn Central 802

Claiborne County 804

Covington 807

Rutledge 814

Macon Co. 820

Greenbrier 821

White House 827

Greeneville 864

Sycamore 865

Bolivar 865

Spring Hill 875

Obion County 888

Union Co. 888

Livingston Academy 889

Ripley 900

Lexington 903

Haywood 911

Stone 920

Montgomery Central 927

Sequoyah 943

Dyersburg 948

Giles Co. 967

Springfield 977

Dyer County 1,014

Portland 1,049

Seymour 1,079

Hickman Co. 1,108

Lawrence Co. 1,110

Volunteer 1,125

Cocke Co.1,142

Hardin Co. 1,159

Cherokee 1,160

Shelbyville 1,172

Tennessee 1,178

Lenoir City 1,183

Tullahoma 1,189

Cumberland Co. 1,200 (estimate after losing students to Stone)

White Co. 1,205

Daniel Boone 1,229

Munford 1,269

Henry County 1,338

Campbell Co.1,362

McMinn County 1,363

David Crockett 1,390

Rhea County 1,398

Dickson Co. 1,436

Columbia 1,464

Franklin County 1,498

Lincoln Co.1,552

Lebanon 1,564

Coffee County 1,597

Sevier Co. 1,640

Warren County 1,802

Cookeville 2,004

Jefferson Co. 2,047

 

 

In the urban division, 21 of the first 25 would be private schools so you're basically splitting the top small private programs from the small publics anyway.

 

Urban:

David Brainerd 89

Temple 106

Mt Juliet Christian 135

Knoxville Grace 139

Clarksville Academy 142

Silverdale Academy 165

MTCS 171

Chattanooga Grace 181

Nashville Christian 182

Trinity Christian 214

Lookout Valley 233

Fayette Academy 233

Jackson Christian 251

Ezell Harding 279

Franklin Road Academy 279

Donelson Christian 286

CPA 310

Boyd-Buchanan 347

Manassas 358

Goodpasture 360

CAK 373

USJ 378

Chattanooga Christian 405 (starting a team)

Westside 456

Alcoa 473

Treadwell 484

Oliver Springs 492

Oakhaven 498

Lipscomb 526

Tyner 536

Knoxville Catholic 548

Memphis South Side 557

Notre Dame 561

Carver 632

B. T. Washington 636

Frayser 672

Pearl Cohn 686

Austin-East 702

Sullivan North 703

Howard 797

Covington 807

Jackson South Side 807

Page 813

Central-Merry 835

Sycamore 865

Bolivar 865

Gibbs 871

East Ridge 875

Sheffield 889

Carter 896

Station Camp 906

Haywood 911

Fayette Ware 911

Memphis East 939

Mitchell 947

Brainerd 949

Hixson 957

Memphis Northside 960

Creek Wood 971

Fulton 982

Sullivan East 989

Sullivan Central 999

Liberty 1,007

Chattanooga Central 1,009

Whites Creek 1,022

Stratford 1,036

Kingsbury 1,037

Jackson North Side 1,044

Anderson County 1,051

Maplewood 1,054

Hillcrest 1,056

Red Bank 1,074

Trezevant 1,083

Knoxville Halls 1,085

Beech 1,109

Powell 1,139

Cleveland 1,146

Clinton 1,160

Kenwood 1,162

Fairley 1,175

Hillsboro 1,225

Northwest High School 1,234

Melrose 1,238

Raleigh Egypt 1,241

South Doyle 1,266

Munford 1,269

Knoxville Central 1,273

Kirby 1,281

Centennial 1,304

Morristown West 1,308

Brighton 1,310

Brentwood 1,311

Walker Valley 1,314

Morristown East 1,321

West High School 1,329

Memphis Central 1,333

Glencliff 1,352

Rossview 1,356

Gallatin 1,358

Clarksville High School 1,362

Ravenwood 1,379

Maryville 1,381

Craigmont 1,387

Hendersonville 1,389

David Crockett 1,390

Hillwood 1,390

Oakland 1,409

Soddy-Daisy 1,425

Oak Ridge 1,433

Northeast 1,435

Heritage 1,449

Mt. Juliet 1,465

Wilson Central 1,506

Independence 1,523

William Blount 1,539

Overton 1,551

Millington 1,557

Bradley Central 1,571

Wooddale 1,571

John Overton 1,572

Arlington 1,580

Ridgeway 1,589

Smyrna 1,594

Blackman 1,614

Bartlett 1,636

Franklin High School 1,715

Karns 1,735

Ooltewah 1,742

Siegel 1,753

Whitehaven 1,754

Dobyns Bennett 1,799

LaVergne 1,826

Hunters Lane 1,869

Riverdale 1,943

Bearden 1,948

Germantown 1,987

Science Hill 2,031

Cordova 2,035

Collierville 2,114

White Station 2,152

Farragut High School 2,153

Bolton 2,202

Houston 2,266

Antioch 2,373

McGavock 2,592

[Indian]

In this area, such groupings might result in regions like these:

 

Chattanooga-Cleveland area regions:

 

(using all "rural" schools, cutoffs at roughly 450 and 800)

1A: Copper Basin 208, South Pittsburg 247, Whitwell 343

2A: Marion Co. 478, Meigs County 513, Tellico Plains 519, Bledsoe Co. 532, Polk Co. 569, Sequatchie 578, Grundy Co. 676, McMinn Central 802

3A: Stone 920, Sequoyah 943, Cumberland Co. 1,200, McMinn County 1,363, Rhea County 1,398

 

using only current 1A, 2A and 3A rural schools:

Three classes, cutoffs at roughly 400 and 670

1A: Copper Basin, South Pittsburg, Whitwell

2A: Marion, Meigs, Tellico, Bledsoe, Polk, Sequatchie

3A: Grundy, Stone, McMinn Central, Sequoyah

 

Around here, I could see Whitwell and South Pittsburg moving up a class to join old rivals Marion, Sequatchie, Bledsoe and possibly Grundy. Otherwise they might be sent to a region with Moore County and other midstate teams. Copper Basin might have to do that as well since there would be nobody else in their region. That might give you two area regions, one east of Chattanooga and one west.

 

You could also use other numbers and not necessarily put equal amounts of teams in each class, say a cutoff of 350 and another of 600. I think you'd definitely have to have set cutoff numbers and not go by numbers of teams, in the urban class, as having three equal amounts would make the smallest class go up to about 800 enrollment. Just a guess, maybe to 400 in 1A, up to 1000 in 2A.

 

That would make the urban regions around here look something like this:

1A: David Brainerd 89, Temple 106, Chattanooga Grace 181, Lookout Valley 233

Boyd-Buchanan 347, Chattanooga Christian 405 (starting a team), Signal Mountain (starting team)

 

2A: Tyner 536, Notre Dame 561, Howard 797, East Ridge 875, Brainerd 949, Hixson 957, Chattanooga Central 1,009

 

3A: Red Bank 1,074, Cleveland 1,146, Walker Valley 1,314, Soddy-Daisy 1,425, Bradley Central 1,571,

Ooltewah 1,742

 

Anyone in other areas can look at these numbers and get a rough idea of what their own regions might look like. Right now it's all just being talked about but who knows what might happen later. If this went into effect in football I'd like to see it for the other sports. It would help lots of schools with numbers attending games, too many times the school here will have a ton attending road basketball games in Chattanooga, often outnumbering the host, and some of those same schools literally bring about 5-10 people here not counting players or cheerleaders.

[PBandJ]

Wow! I woke up this morning to a barrage of posts that act like the rural-urban thing is a good thing. Nothing quite like 12 state football champs to dumb-down or wimp-down what being a true state champion means. /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

[BigG]

I think the most ironic thing about this, is that about 3 years ago, so many people said "watch out, next will be an urban and rural split"...

 

What's next?

[Indian]

Wow! I woke up this morning to a barrage of posts that act like the rural-urban thing is a good thing. Nothing quite like 12 state football champs to dumb-down or wimp-down what being a true state champion means. /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

 

 

 

I didn't necessarily say it was a good thing, only showing what it might look like. It would help attendance for some schools.

[Antwan]

I think the most ironic thing about this, is that about 3 years ago, so many people said "watch out, next will be an urban and rural split"...

 

What's next?

 

 

Next will be what should have happened already...a total public/private split. Multiply open zone/tuition paying schools. You can then forget the urban/rural thing.

[Indian]

The rural-urban divisions would in effect be a public-private split anyway, so why not go ahead and do it? In the smallest urban class, if it went to 400 like I was guessing, you'd have Lookout Valley and Manassas as the only public schools. If it went to 500 you'd have only four or five more and one of those, Alcoa, I'm guessing would move up to play more local teams such as Fulton or Austin-East.