Published: August 23, 2008 04:33 pm            

Cut a class

This past winter, 2006-07 Class 2A boys basketball champion Northwestern High School moved to 3A. It was assigned the Frankfort Sectional – about an hour’s drive from home.

The year before, Northwestern kicked off its championship run at the Taylor Sectional – and against familiar competition: Eastbrook, Eastern, Madison-Grant, Oak Hill and, of course, Taylor. Three Howard County squads competing in the same sectional made for enthusiastic crowds and large gate receipts.

Still, Northwestern won the Frankfort Sectional this past season. It traveled to Plymouth – about an hour and a half away – for a four-team regional the following week. The host Pilgrims defeated the Tigers, 59-58.

The year before, Northwestern competed in the Blackford Regional – about a hour’s drive east. There, it opened against old rival Lewis Cass. The decibel levels during that game were somewhere between a ’77 Led Zeppelin concert and a Space Shuttle launch.

An association of state athletic directors lately has considered the ramifications of a three-class system in basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball. It is expected the decide this week whether to recommend the proposal to the Indiana High School Athletic Association.

We encourage the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association to do so. Such a move would likely ensure sectionals and regionals that pit rival against rival.

What’s more, a three-class system, particularly in basketball, would eliminate byes, create four-team sectionals at most tournament sites, and reduce traveling expenses, LaPorte athletic director Ed Gilliland told the Journal & Courier of Lafayette.

In the next few years, school corporations across the state will see reductions in funding because of the property tax caps of the last legislative session. The cost of diesel fuel is at an all-time high. School budgets will benefit from a three-class tournament system.

And the IHSAA will see higher tournament attendance and increased fan interest.

        

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