MSSportsGuy

I've posted more than one rant here about the silliness of 7 classes and won't provide anything new to add but to summarize: 1. The gap between the top and bottom of 6A for the 32 teams wasn't a bad point to make. However, I contended it wasn't new and something that had just happened, it had always been there to some degree. 2. A better solution would have been for 6A to become the top 24 teams, with 5A also being the next 24. There are approximately 240 MHSAA members so 240 minus 48 is 192, which divided by 4 means 48 teams per class. That's basically one more team per region in classes 4A down, which we know 1A has several who don't play football. 3. The director claimed it would "increase excitement" which is one of the most disingenuous things I've ever heard. Everyone knows darn well it was a money grab under the guise of giving students a chance to play for a state championship. 4. I recall Grenada being one of schools saying how unfair the gap was since they were towards the bottom of 6A under the old system. This season Grenada voluntarily played Oak Grove, Oxford, Clinton, Desoto Central and Bartlett TN (their enrollment per TSSAA is 2,822 for 9-12 so much larger than Tupelo). They won all those games besdies Oak Grove. They clearly have a talented team this year but seems a bit overblown they "couldn't compete" with top schools due to enrollment numbers. 5. School consolidations will continue to happen and decrease the total number of schools overall in the state. Why continue to spread out schools among more classes and regions when the enrollment differences are miniscule beyond the top layer? Almost everyone on this board agrees 7 classes is silly yet it will not go back unless coaches and administrators vote to change it. They should but won't.

At the risk of being too negative, Desoto County in general isn't what it was even ten years ago. The student body tends to be very transient and the OB zone is one of the smaller ones in terms of geography and population. That being said Desoto County schools just don't have good football cultures and isn't a priory for the communities in general. The Memphis influence keeps increasing there and they are dealing with more challenging behaviors from students and families as well. A good friend of mine teaches at one of the better schools in the county and due to his wife being in a more lucrative career, his kids attend Briarcrest in Collierville rather than the public school near their house and it's considered one of the "better" ones.

I inquired with my Tippah connections yesterday and the candidate opposing consolidation lost the race. It was on the November 5 ballot,. Saw the Ripley coach is retiring. This year was a struggle for them but I've heard he's a great coach. They've had some up and down years but it's not a bad situation.

From what I was told yes and I'd say it's not likely to be reversed. I didn't grow up in Tippah but in that region. I have relatives in Ripley and with students there and at Pine Grove. It's been a little contentious as one would suspect but I figure it will go through. It's overdue.

This is where the obsession with keeping an even number of teams in each division despite the travel challenges can lead. Ripley will struggle to get fans and take fans to those places other than Senatobia. This won't just be for football but other sports as well. This one jumped out at me when I saw the lists which overall aren't that bad.

Outside of a few weird ones this looks as reasonable as can be expected. I don't know why Tupelo and Oxford would trade places in 1-7A. However, I'm glad the association kept a 7 team region on the coast since WH and Meridian tied rather than scramble multiple teams and regions. Ripley in 3-4A gets a weird placement that will likely hurt their ticket sales as I would be surprised if a couple of those teams travel well. I would also suspect their fans won't travel as well to a few of those spots. Why in the world would you keep 8 regions in 1A? It's beyond dumb. Several regions have teams with less than stellar football programs historically and will find themselves in the playoffs virtually by default. I guess this will "increase excitement". 7 classes is ridiculous. 6 was plenty and 5 wouldn't be as awful as people may think. I recall Grenada being one of the schools chirping about being at a disadvantage due to the 6A gap. Considering they voluntarily played Oak Grove and Bartlett TN this year (Bartlett's enrollment is 2822 per the TSSAA and much larger than any school in MS) perhaps they weren't as disadvantaged as they claimed.

We probably all agree that even 5 classes are adequate for a state our size, particularly in light of the consolidations that are coming down the line. I still maintain district consolidations are more needed than individual schools in most cases but also know school consolidations will happen as populations drop and facilities decline which will mean even fewer schools spread out over more classes.

No doubt, could cut those and the legislature almost in half and not see much of a difference in services. Like I said I'm a native of NE Miss and the districts probably need to be consolidated as much as schools but it would start a domino effect. Tippah, Union, Alcorn, Prentiss, Pontotoc all have two different districts. Why? "It's the way it's always been". I won't name names about who I think should be closed but if each of those counties just had one district, you'd have at least a couple of candidates since the "city" and "county" would disappear in some of them. Ingomar and Pine Grove are schools with excellent basketball traditions and (as safely as I can put it) demographics that favor what the parents want. I didn't say who I think should be for sure but I have my thoughts. As far as BM and Ripley, I was told by a Tippah relative that the board fears pushback from the justice department if they close a minority serving school (BM) while keeping a larger yet still small school with no minority students (PG) open. I won't swear that's legit but given what Tate County went through trying to get Coldwater closed, I wouldn't be surprised.

I've posted earlier in this thread and before the association has often been too inflexible on region and classifications where it would make sense from a travel perspective to let schools play up or down if the enrollment difference is miniscule while also letting a region have maybe one more school. Based on the numbers we just saw, what would be the harm in letting Murrah play 6A or if not, keeping HC down on the coast rather than drive to Jackson or Hattiesburg for game? Football may only make one trip a year but there are sports beyond that. They should go ahead and let 3A have 41schools with OLA and 2A as well with New Site who don't play football. At least that makes every region have 5 teams and it's not as though the 1 school will greatly impact the level of competition in other sports. Of course we usually don't do things that make sense in Mississippi.

Continuing school consolidations are another reason why I've been so insistent on not needing 7 classes. More will happen and more would likely have already happened if there were fewer school districts in our state. Districts need to be consolidated more than schools to save on administrative costs and may pop up again in the near future. The county where I grew up in Northeast MS has two districts for no reaon beyond "that's the way it's always been". People are quick to say school and district consolidations should happen but when it's their school system being impacted they tend to fight it. I never predict who will consolidate and I've repeatedly said bigger doesn't mean better but there are many communities where it would make sense on paper but that doesn't mean it will happen.

I'm glad Leflore County is moving forward with consolidation and has the bond backing to help them get it built. Too many schools are in terrible condition physically and new spaces are needed. I don't think bigger is necessarily better but our state just has too many small schools in aging and poor condition that are very close to one another. It makes sense from a financial and logistical standpoint to combine some of them. This is yet another reason why 7 classes isn't necessary in a state with a shrinking public school count and total student population.

To me this just illustrates why the larger regions of 8 teams are preferrable. It makes filling a schedule easier. Of course that would mean fewer classes overall and we know that's not going back in the bottle.

Several of the blowouts demonstrate why winless teams don't need to be in the "playoffs" by default just because of a 4 team region. 1A should go back to 4 regions between 7 and 10 schools the next cycle and be on the same playoff schedule at 7A - 5A. It would also help with scheduling for the schools.

I've always perceived and believed the association has been way too rigid about schools on the lines playing up or down to possibly create more equity in travel. If there is a situation where a school just at or below the cutoff would find themselves making too many long trips for all sports just to keep things even when the enrollment difference is miniscule, then they should be willing to let them appeal their placement. I gather that doesn't happen and maybe never has but it should. Fuel isn't cheap and we are talking about kids making lengthy trips, sometimes during school days and nights, just to play a regular season game and also parents and fans who are often unable to travel due to the circumstances. This impacts both the traveling and hosting schools.

If this is in fact "the" list, I would put Murrah as 6A and allow for the Jackson schools to be grouped together as much as possible and if there are in fact 25 7A, let West Harrison play with the coast teams for a 7 team region. The association has always been more rigid than necessary when it comes to making teams play up or down slightly if it helps with travel or being placed in a particular division and also obsessed with keeping an equal number of teams as much as possible. . If the school is on the line or no more than 2 or 3 difference, it has no bearing over if they have an advantage. Given OLA and New Site don't play football, I'd also have 41 schools each in 3A and 2A. (of course if I were in charge we would only have 5 classes but oh well lol).