TSSAA proposed 5-class football regions

[Butchie]

Aha!..Video Proof!

[coach1076]

Thats a great video.

[mrbigster]

Saw this article from a writer about reclassification.He has some good points overall about the reclassifications but seems to lack intelligence when it comes to overall champions.Talking about playing for an overall championship.I have watched the movie Hoosiers and as good as South Pitts burg has been over the years there is no way they could play with the true heavy weights .Not saying they can't beat some 3A or 4A schools etc.Just not the elite that are in the State title games in their bigger classes.A lot of teams that have moved up in classifications just one class realizes how hard it is to win against bigger schools.The writer makes it sound good,but no way the Single A teams beats the bigger powerhouses that have close to a hundred players.Lake Co played Alcoa years ago when Alcoa was Single A but a lot different now.Not saying a Single a champion couldnt beat a AA champion or a least in some years but when you start going up to the 3A etc,probably a 2 touchdown difference at least at each level,if not more.Not talking about South Pitts playing a regular 4A team.They may could win a few but would be difficut in doing that.I think the writer needs to really watch football before he wants an overall champion.Just my opinion.What do some of you guys think?Below is his post.

 

 

Last week the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association tabled a decision about reclassifying and structure of its current divisions. The Board of Control of the state's governing body for high school sports now expects to vote July 12 on classification.

 

There always has been at least one problem in high school sports. Depending on someone's point of view, there generally are more than one, whether it's a lack of coverage, an over-abundance of attention toward some schools, competitive imbalances or financial discrepancies. There are next to zero true solutions, however.

 

So it goes when you are trying to answer multilayered questions that involve thousands of athletes, and there are no true yes-or-no questions. Every issue has a "Yeah, but ..." exception to it.

 

And once there is an answer, the questions and the problems change.

 

The original TSSAA split between Division I (public schools and private schools that do not offer financial aid for athletic prowess) and Division II (private schools that do offer financial aid for athletics) was designed in an effort to curb the recruitment of star athletes to the big-time private schools, and if not curb it, then allow those schools to compete among themselves. And it worked for the upper-level private schools.

 

It did not address the issues about facilities or funding or 10-person coaching staffs or being able to attract student-athletes from anywhere.

 

To try to level those inequities, the TSSAA added a multiplier for private schools that compete in the public-school division. Multiplying a private school's enrollment by 1.8 generally has raised most private schools at least one classification.

 

The multiplier has merits but obviously is not a true solution because the smaller schools in Georgia -- which used a stronger multiplier before dropping the system -- have had the same complaints about that state's successful private schools.

 

Depending on the color of the bumper sticker that says your kid is a star student somewhere, every person is going to be swayed by his or her vested interests. And when that vested interest is a child, it becomes a Bullet-Proof Vested Interest.

 

There is no complete solution, but if fair competition were the only goal (sadly, it's not), here's a suggestion:

 

-- Split the public and private schools completely;

 

-- Separate them by size and have two private-school divisions and four public-school divisions;

 

-- Group regions geographically as best you can and allow the top two teams into the playoffs (Side note: Allowing four teams from the same district into the playoffs is nuts. There are 3-7 football teams going to the state playoffs, and there are basketball teams that could have postseason records of 2-4 and still advance.)

 

-- While the TSSAA will be reluctant to cutting back the number of classifications and the postseason games (i.e., more coin for the TSSAA), here's a way to add postseason games on the back end.

 

After the champs are crowned in Public 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A and Private A and 2A, put all the winners in a tournament and crown a Tennessee champion. The schools still will get to claim a state title in Class A, Class AA, etc., but the chance to play for an overall state title would be awesome. Give the teams with the best records a first-round bye and have a six-team championship draw.

 

What the TSSAA loses in a couple of bogus postseason rounds, it gains in potential TV revenue. You think a state football bracket of South Pitt, Signal, Alcoa and Maryville against a CAK and a Baylor or McCallie wouldn't be marketable?

 

Plus, it gives public schools a complete split and the private schools will get a chance to win complete state titles.

 

Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6273.

[rlh]

. . . Single a champion couldnt beat a AA champion or a least in some years but when you start going up to the 3A etc,probably a 2 touchdown difference at least at each level,if not more.Not talking about South Pitts playing a regular 4A team.They may could win a few but would be difficut in doing that.I think the writer needs to really watch football before he wants an overall champion.Just my opinion.What do some of you guys think?Below is his post.

. . .

 

You are right to a degree. However, SP plays Signal Mountain and they are hardly a "regular" 4a team. They have also been playing Polk County who has been pretty darn good in 3a the past few years. They also have been playing GCA losing 3 -0 in triple overtime. GCA beat the 3a state champion last year. SP plays about 3 3a teams a year long with several 2a. Last year the had to fillup the schedule with a 6 a team. That is why they went into the palyoffs 8-2 and didn't get a bye and played on the road the 2nd through 4th rounds. The current system is worse for 1a and 2a teams (Class A) than the other 4 playoff groups. The public schools with open enrollment are the ones that make 3a and 4a tough and they regularly beat 5a and 6a teams or at least play them close.

[slimshady]

In 2005 TC won 1A and Livingston Academy won 3A...they played in regular season...guess who won?

[mrbigster]

In 2005 TC won 1A and Livingston Academy won 3A...they played in regular season...guess who won?

 

So you think a Single a could beat Alcoa or Maryville the past 6 or 7 years?Huntingdon had some very good teams a few years ago in AA when they could have been a Single A team and it probably could be done every once in awhile. It may would happen in a blue moon beating a legit playoff team and like I said,maybe a Single A could beat some good AA or AAA teams during the season but would put my money on a team in the 3A or 4A title game 9 times out of 10.

Edited June 23, 2012 by mrbigster

[mrbigster]

You are right to a degree. However, SP plays Signal Mountain and they are hardly a "regular" 4a team. They have also been playing Polk County who has been pretty darn good in 3a the past few years. They also have been playing GCA losing 3 -0 in triple overtime. GCA beat the 3a state champion last year. SP plays about 3 3a teams a year long with several 2a. Last year the had to fillup the schedule with a 6 a team. That is why they went into the palyoffs 8-2 and didn't get a bye and played on the road the 2nd through 4th rounds. The current system is worse for 1a and 2a teams (Class A) than the other 4 playoff groups. The public schools with open enrollment are the ones that make 3a and 4a tough and they regularly beat 5a and 6a teams or at least play them close.

 

I agree the setup is worse for the smaller schools,especially for Single A schools having to play AA schools and counting on their record and then part ways playoff time.I know Signal Mountain scored about 65 points on South Pittsburg a couple years ago and they had lost to a team themselves by about 30 points.

[slimshady]

So you think a Single a could beat Alcoa or Maryville the past 6 or 7 years?Huntingdon had some very good teams a few years ago in AA when they could have been a Single A team and it probably could be done every once in awhile. It may would happen in a blue moon beating a legit playoff team and like I said,maybe a Single A could beat some good AA or AAA teams during the season but would put my money on a team in the 3A or 4A title game 9 times out of 10.

 

Just stating facts, oh and by the way, LAST YR. single a Knox Grace defeated 3a state champ CAK , who defeated Alcoa twice last yr.

 

 

AnD ThOsE aRe ThE FaCTs.

[rlh]

I agree the setup is worse for the smaller schools,especially for Single A schools having to play AA schools and counting on their record and then part ways playoff time.I know Signal Mountain scored about 65 points on South Pittsburg a couple years ago and they had lost to a team themselves by about 30 points.

 

Actually, that was last year. SP beat Signal at Signal in 2009 and lost a close game at home to Signal in 2010. The route was in 2011. However, you missed the part about GCA beating CAK. Grace eeked out a triple over time win be a field goal in a monsoon on a flooded field at GCA this past year. Signal got beat by a Polk County team that was routed by SP. I guess getting busted for the No Athlete Left Behind program had its impact on SP in that game with signal and Signal in that game with Polk County. :roflol:I didn't say anything about Maryville. Plus, both they and Alcoa are open enrollment. However, Alcoa wasn't all that hot last year getting beaten twice by a CAK team that lost to GCA not to mention Austin-East. However, the 2009 and 2010 Alcoa teams were some of the best ever.

[rlh]

So you think a Single a could beat Alcoa or Maryville the past 6 or 7 years?Huntingdon had some very good teams a few years ago in AA when they could have been a Single A team and it probably could be done every once in awhile. It may would happen in a blue moon beating a legit playoff team and like I said,maybe a Single A could beat some good AA or AAA teams during the season but would put my money on a team in the 3A or 4A title game 9 times out of 10.

 

The top teams in AA and AAA should be able to with strings of 70 to 100 players. That is why A, AA, AAA came into being in 1969.

[warhawk]

There seems to be concern over 2 groups

1)Private schools

2)Open zoned schools or schools that take students that are NOT in their school zone-whether they pay tuition or not

 

Just wondering...for football only. put all the above schools in one group(OPEN Division) and put all remaining schools in another group(Traditional Division). Divide each group by 3 and you have 6 classes of football. TSSAA gets their 6 classes for financial purposes, and the football classes will be very competitive....

[Butchie]

Ban The Privates...Let Em Get Thier Own Funding...Thier Own League..Heck I Don't Even Wanna Know Who Won Or Lost...