Friday, March 12, 2010
Playoff changes proposed
varsity.roanoke.com
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RICHMOND -- Basketball is far from the only hot topic in VHSL circles this week.
The Group A Board adopted a proposal Thursday during the league's annual membership meeting that could radically alter the Group A football playoffs beginning with the 2011-12 school year.
The proposal, which must pass a three-fourths vote by the 29-member VHSL Executive Committee in May, could significantly improve the postseason chances of some of the state's smallest schools.
Among the highlights:
n There would be an enrollment dividing line between Division 2 and Division 1 at 475 students.
n Both divisions would have a 32-team playoff bracket with a five-week postseason. meaning 64 Group A schools will qualify for the postseason.
n Instead of holding playoffs within the current regional structure, the state would be divided into two sections. Sixteen playoff teams in each division in the western end of the state would come from Region C and Region D schools. The other 16 would come from the eastern end of the state from schools currently in Region A and Region B.
n Travel for early-round playoff games likely would be increased.
n It would be possible for teams in the same region to meet in a state semifinal.
Group A Board vice chairman Dante Lee of Coeburn High School said the Group A membership voted 66-11 in favor of the proposal.
At the heart of the proposal is the enrollment dividing line.
Because Region B contains a substantial number of the VHSL's largest Group A schools, all the current Division 1 schools in Region B are projected to be larger than all but one Division 2 school in Region D by 2011.
The proposed new dviding line would mean many current Division 1 schools in Region B will be kicked up.
"Finally, using hard numbers will produce equity throughout the state in Group A," Lee said. "We feel like this is a great thing for the small schools.
"It allows teams from regions A, C and D to play for championships against teams that are their size."
Lee said Region B schools were at the forefront of the change.
"Region B was 100 percent in support of this proposal," Lee said. "And they lost more than anyone."
Other sports expand
The Group A Board also voted to divide three other sports -- volleyball, baseball and softball -- into divisions beginning in 2010.
The split was approved last May by the executive committee and will take effect this fall barring a last-minute change of heart by the committee in May.
