Realignment under consideration
Football playoffs would be doubled
FRANKLIN -- The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association football committee heard a presentation from the realignment subcommittee at yesterday's spring meeting, but the process is far from complete.
The subcommittee scheduled an open forum June 17 at 10 a.m. at Waltham High School to gather feedback from principals, coaches, and athletic directors in response to the plan, which doubles the amount of playoff teams in EMass and extends the season a week.
According to subcommittee chairman George Usevich, the committee will gather feedback from that forum and decide whether to proceed at an Aug. 10 meeting.
The plan calls for EMass to be split into eight divisions of 24 teams. Eight teams from each division would make the playoffs, with league champions receiving an automatic berth while the rest of the slots would be determined by a point system similar to that used in EMass prior to the current system.
The divisions will be divided by enrollment, with distinctions made among vocational, Catholic, city, public, and coop schools so competition will be balanced. The exact formula on how those distinctions will be made has not been determined, according to Plymouth North's William Burkhead, who made the presentation on behalf of the subcommittee.
Leagues will be kept intact, meaning teams from the same league may be in different divisions come playoff time and that leagues could have multiple Super Bowl champions.
The playoffs still would begin on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, and the next game still would be the following Saturday. The Super Bowls would be the next Saturday. Committee members hope the week break will allow scheduling flexibility in case of inclement weather, because the new plan does not allow for an extra week following the Super Bowls for makeup games, as the current plan does.
The plan would result in 64 playoff teams, meaning 33 percent would qualify for the playoffs instead of the 15 percent under the current system. The higher percentage is closer to the ratio of playoff teams in other major boys' sports like basketball (60 percent) and soccer (55).
Committee members hope the chance to increase participation in the playoffs will offset fears of the football season running too far into the winter sports season.
"We hope people will see that a little inconvenience is not worth taking away benefits from almost 2,000 kids," Xaverian athletic director and subcommittee member Charlie Stevenson said.
Still, the subcommittee expects to have to convince its fair share of visitors to the forum.
"I expect the athletic directors will bring in the concerns of the winter coaches and the principals will bring in the concerns about the season lasting another week," Usevich said. "After the forum, we'll judge the reaction, reconvene, and decide what to do in regards to a recommendation to the committee."
The plan, if accepted, will take effect in 2009.
The committee also made proposals to update the rules in accordance with those made by the NCAA, move playoff games to 5:15 and 7:45 p.m. and schedule them in optimal geographic proximity to both teams, and employ neutral officials for playoff and Super Bowl games.
