Jerry Mathis
Tullahoma athletics director Jerry Mathis believes there will be a change to high school classification when the TSSAA’s Board of Control meets at 9 a.m. Wednesday at its Hermitage office.
What that change is, he’s not exactly sure. But he believes something must be done to “get these schools closer to enrollment.”
“You can’t go and have (schools with) 1,000 kids playing against 2,500,” said Mathis, who is the vice president of the Board of Control. “I think that change will happen, even if it stays three classes.
“We have to get them closer together.”
The new classification will take effect for the 2017-18 school year.
In June, the TSSAA made its Division I recommendations. Now, the Division II committee has made its recommendations. The Board can choose to accept or reject any part of those plans, vote on a different plan or table the issue again.
The TSSAA staff’s DI recommendations were:
- Staying in six classes for Division I football. The TSSAA shared a plan for keeping the largest class with 32 teams and a plan that included splitting them evenly.
- Going to three classes in soccer, splitting the classes evenly by participating schools.
- Keeping volleyball at three classes, but splitting it evenly by participating schools.
- Keeping two classes for cross country, golf, tennis and track and field, splitting them evenly by participating schools.
- Keeping wrestling at two classes and bowling at one class.
The Division II committee’s recommendation include splitting the division into three classes for football, while maintaining two classes by a predetermined enrollment number (450) in all other sports.
“I think the Division II committee is looking at how to grow independent school athletics,” said CPA Headmaster Nate Morrow, whose school currently competes in Division I. “We’ve never been in Division II, so it’s really hard for me to look at it from any perspective other than the outside looking in.”
Mathis said he believes a system adding a Division I classification or multiple classifications to baseball, basketball and softball could work, although he admits it could change the postseason landscape.
“You would do away with districts and district tournaments,” he said. “You’d have regions, super regions and super sectionals.
“But you could lose a lot of money by losing the districts.”
TSSAA Executive Director Bernard Childress has said previously if more classes are added in Division I the high school association would need to reel back from bringing eight teams to the state tournament to four because of facility logistics.
Hillwood principal and TSSAA Board of Control member Steve Chauncey.
Hillwood Principal and Board of Control member Steve Chauncey said there are many that want a change.
“I do know there are coaches across the state and it feels like the voice is that they’d like to see an increase in the number of (Division I) classifications in basketball, baseball and softball,” Chauncey said. “I really think there will be some strong attention paid to the voices of coaches across the state.
“I think if you look at basketball now, I think there are over 100 schools in each of the three classifications. I think the voice is to give more schools the opportunity to be involved in the state championships, and that could be done by adding more classifications.”
Mathis’ plan for three classes includes dividing three classes by the largest enrollment. If the largest school in the sport had an enrollment number of 2,600, then that would be the largest school in Class AAA. The cutoff for Class AA would be 1,300 and the cutoff for Class A would be 625.
However, not all board members believe change is a necessity.
Longtime board member Tommy Layne, principal at Sequatchie County, said his fellow board members must step away from voting what’s best for their school or their area and vote for what is best for the entire state.
“Sometimes you have to put your feet up on the table and see what is best for the majority of the state of Tennessee,” Layne said. “I’d love to not go into Chattanooga to play ball. It’s going to happen because that’s where we’re located.”
Reach Tom Kreager on Twitter @Kreager. Reach Michael Murphy at 615-259-8262 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.