How the IHSA’s sweeping football changes would work...... Posted: Friday, November 28, 2014 10:35 am allthingsaces Member schools of the Illinois High School Association will be voting on a radical football proposal that would usher in the most sweeping changes in the history of the sport in Illinois. This would mark the first time the IHSA would be allowed to take control of a sport from the beginning of the regular season until the state tournament. It would mean the end of conferences (at least for football), creating an entirely new system similar in form to Kentucky. Because of the unique position Mount Carmel High School has as the only Illinois school in an out-of-state league, the implications are extremely serious. How would it work? The following text is the system outline that IHSA member schools will see as they consider the proposal, according to ihsa.org, authored by Tim Carlson, principal at Sycamore High School: By-law 3.173 I. CREATING A NEW BY-LAW TO GOVERN IHSA FOOTBALL a. This proposal is creating a system for how the IHSA runs football. i. Establishes a nine (9) game regular season schedule for all teams eligible for the IHSA Playoffs. ii. Establishes how the regular season determines the IHSA Football Playoffs. iii. Establishes how the playoffs are run. iv. This proposal would allow the IHSA Board of Directors to decide if we start region football in 2015 or 2016. II. ESTABLISHING EIGHT CLASSES (1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, 6A, 7A, 8A) a. Enrollment i. Each school will average the official enrollments for the two years prior to the seasons in which the seasons will be played. ii. Here is an example: 1. If approved for the 2015 and 2016 schedules will be established by the enrollment from the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 schedules. 2. Schools with a single gender will apply all by-laws before the average is determined. iii. When the average enrollment is determined, the multiplier will then be enforced to the schools that have met the criteria during the seasons in which the enrollment were used. iv. A list will be formed from the greatest number to the smallest number. b. Placing Schools in a Classification i. The IHSA will divide the state into eight (8) classifications. ii. The number of regions in each classification will be eight (8). iii. The number of schools in each classification will be set by the IHSA. 1. Each region will consist of seven (7), eight (8), or nine (9) schools. c. Moving Up in Classification i. Any school interested in playing up a classification needs to notify the IHSA by Monday of Week 28. III. ESTABLISHING REGIONS WITHIN THE EIGHT CLASSES a. The IHSA will set the regions in all classifications. b. The regions will be set by geography. c. These regions will be announced by the Monday of Week 31. d. Each region will be labeled by their classification and a number. i. Example – 8A-Region 1 IV. ESTABLISHING SCHEDULES FOR A TWO-YEAR CYCLE a. Region Schedules i. The IHSA will develop the schedules. ii. Teams will be placed in alphabetical order in each region. iii. Numbers will then be drawn for 7 team, 8 team, and 9 team regions. iv. The first number drawn will be given to the team at the top of the list, subsequent numbers will be placed in the order they are drawn. 1. All seven numbers will be drawn for the 7 team regions. 2. All eight numbers will be drawn for the 8 team regions. 3. All nine numbers will be drawn for the 9 team regions. v. The regular season rotation is listed in Appendix A. vi. Home teams will be established so that the number of home games during the two year cycle is even. 1. Seven-team regions – three home games and three away games each season. a. Plus three non region games, two home games one season, one the other season 2. Eight-team regions – four home games one season, three home games the other season. a. Plus two non region games, one home and one away each season 3. Nine-team regions – four home games and four away games each season. a. Plus one non region home game one of the two season. vii. The numbers will be drawn by the Monday of Week 31 of the year prior to the resetting of the regions. b. Non-Region Games i. Nine-team regions will play one non-region game. 1. These non-region games will be with a neighboring region. 2. These regions will have a bye week in their region. 3. The week of their bye in their region, they will play the team with the same number. 4. These games will be announce by the Monday of Week 35. ii. Eight-team regions will play two non-region games. 1. These non-region games will be weeks one and two of the season. 2. Each team will submit six teams they would like to play. a. They will list them in the order of priority 3. If two teams list each other as first Please turn to page 2B choice, they will be guaranteed to play in either week one or week two. 4. All other games will be played based on geography and the priority list. 5. The IHSA will set all non-region games. 6. These non-region games will be announced by the Monday of Week 35. iii. Seven (7) team regions will play three non-region games. 1. One non-region games will be with a neighboring region. a. These regions will have a bye week in their region. b. The week of their bye in their region, they will play the team with the same number. 2. Two non-region games will be weeks one and two of the season. a. Each team will submit six (6) teams they would like to play. b. They will list them in the order of priority c. If two teams list each other as first choice, they will be guaranteed to play in either week one or week two. d. All other games will be played based on geography and the priority list. e. The IHSA will set all non-region games. f. These non-region games will be announced by the Monday of Week 35. c. Levels of Play i. Schools will be playing all levels that schools offer. 1. The preference would be to play one play one game before the varsity game. 2. Other levels could be played on Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Monday. 3. If a school has a level and their opponent does not, they are free to seek another school to play for that specific week. d. Game Times, Dates, Locations i. Schools must mutually agree upon dates and times by the Monday of Week 1 of the IHSA calendar. ii. Schools need to be flexible for conditions that may necessitate dates of specific games. (Examples – Religious Holidays, Homecoming Traditions, Community Events, Travel, Stadium Availability) e. When the schedule is set for year one, year two will set be set to play at the opposite sites. V. ESTABLISHING PLAYOFF TEAMS a. The top 4 schools in each region will make the IHSA Football Playoffs. i. Each playoff spot will be determined in each region in the following order: 1. First Place 2. Second Place 3. Third Place 4. Fourth Place b. If two schools are tied for a place, the following criteria will break the tie: i. Head to Head Competition c. If three or more schools are tied for a place, the following criteria will break the tie: i. Head to Head Competition. ii. Total Point Differential for all games within the Region. iii. Total Point Differential for all games won within the Region. iv. Total Point Differential for all games lost within the Region. v. Schools will be eliminated from the tiebreakers, when one position is determined, we will then return to the appropriate criteria for any remaining schools. d. Point Differential i. A maximum of +/- 12 can be earned for point differential in a single game. 1. If Team A defeats Team B, 28-14, Team A has a +12 point differential, while Team B has a -12 point differential. 2. This number is set so that there is no need to ‘run up’ the score during a game. ii. If a game goes to overtime, the winning team will have a +1 point differential, with the losing team having a -1 point differential, regardless of the final score. VI. BRACKETING THE IHSA PLAYOFFS a. For all classifications, four regions will be placed in the North and four regions will be placed in the South. b. The four champions of each region will be seeded.i. Seeding will be done by the total number of playoff points earned by a team. 1. Playoff points will be the wins of all your regular season opponents. ii. Once the champions are placed on the bracket, the 2nd place teams will be placed on the opposite side of the bracket from their champion. iii. The 3rd place teams will be placed next, the same side as the 2nd place team, but the other quarter bracket. iv. The 4th place teams will be placed next, the same side as the champion, but the other quarter bracket. v. A copy of the bracket is in Appendix B. VII. HOME SITES FOR THE IHSA PLAYOFFS a. In the first round, all games will be hosted by the championship and 2nd place schools. b. In the second round through the semi-finals, the host will be the school that has hosted the least number of games. i. If that number if games hosted is equal, the school with the most playoff points will be the host. ii. If the total playoff points are equal, the school with the best regular season point differential will host. iii. If the point differential is equal, the IHSA will conduct a coin flip. VIII. OFFICIATING a. For the regular season the home team will be responsible for the payment of officials i. Each region may hire an assignor to contract officials for the all regular season games. 1. Many conferences currently use assignors, this could be done for each region as well. b. For the playoffs the IHSA will assign all games. Rationale: Conference Stability In the last five years, 20 conferences have changed alignment do to departures or additions In the last five years, 4 new conferences have been formed. Eliminates teams playing outside the state of Illinois 38 schools are playing out of state schools 49 games versus out of state schools Games played in 11 different states Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin Eliminate creative scheduling to get the magic 5th win Schedules are set by the state Place in the region determines your playoff status Give some type of system that the public understand The public can see the standings to see where their team is in the standing Similar to how they follow their favorite pro teams Can keep a running total of the tiebreakers with the records Creates additional interest in certain areas. Teams earning playoff bids versus like schools Every year there are teams that earn playoff berths on the backs of schools that are significantly smaller. The same can be said in reverse, some schools do not make the playoffs due to playing schools significantly larger.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 03:45:39 +0000
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