7 Classifications

[Former Coach]

16 hours ago, coastfootballfanman said:

Each class 4-2A will have 40 teams that play football in them. The schools that don’t play football will be added into the regions for the other respective sports is how I was told it will work out. 

That is incorrect. There will be 40 schools per classification regardless if they play football or not. If a region has a non football playing school then all four football teams would make the playoffs.

[Rebel Bert]

13 minutes ago, Former Coach said:

That is incorrect. There will be 40 schools per classification regardless if they play football or not. If a region has a non football playing school then all four football teams would make the playoffs.

Region 8 will be 3 teams in playoffs when OLA and St Patrick  are placed with Say Perry Central, West Marion, and Seminary/maybe Columbia if they drop down.

[Rebel Bert]

Just now, Rebel Bert said:

Region 8 will be 3 teams in playoffs when OLA and St Patrick  are placed with Say Perry Central, West Marion, and Seminary/maybe Columbia if they drop down.

I should have added St Stanislaus. You will have a new Region 6 that includes JDC and Seminary 

[MSSportsGuy]

It appears I am in the minority but I don't like the idea at all and actually think we only need 5 classifications. 

 

Hear me out: there have been many consolidations over the past twenty or so years. Those will not stop. The public school enrollment in the state is decreasing while the overall population is stagnant. There likely won't be many new high schools built due to growth in a geographic reason or overcrowding in one. 

 

I too recall the days where only two teams from a seven or eight team division made the playoffs and once my 8-2 high school team was left out due to two division losses. I think four playoff spots isn't a bad thing if the divisions are larger than five or six schools to avoid the obvious blowouts that occur in round 1 when a 2-8 team plays a 10-0 team on the road. 

 

Five classifications are enough. We can keep the top 32 in 5A, next 32 in 4A, and divide the remainder of the schools evenly. That does not create a large gap from top to bottom in any class beyond what is already there. The number of schools in the state will continue to shrink due to consolidation. There is no reason to spread out competition even more. 

[pancho]

I'm with ya but this skips over the MHSAA's top priority, CA$H........

[Rebel Bert]

Next thing we see is 5-5 Tupelo being seeded #1 hosting 7-3 #4 Warren Central 

[coachfball87]

5 minutes ago, Rebel Bert said:

Next thing we see is 5-5 Tupelo being seeded #1 hosting 7-3 #4 Warren Central 

Depends on how tough the divisions are. 

[Vott]

14 minutes ago, Rebel Bert said:

Next thing we see is 5-5 Tupelo being seeded #1 hosting 7-3 #4 Warren Central 

Thats not really uncommon. You see teams all the time who may lose all their non region games but then go thru region play with maybe one loss but still win the region. That would put a team at 6-5 and region champs. 

[CrimsonUnit1988]

1 hour ago, MSSportsGuy said:

It appears I am in the minority but I don't like the idea at all and actually think we only need 5 classifications. 

 

Hear me out: there have been many consolidations over the past twenty or so years. Those will not stop. The public school enrollment in the state is decreasing while the overall population is stagnant. There likely won't be many new high schools built due to growth in a geographic reason or overcrowding in one. 

 

I too recall the days where only two teams from a seven or eight team division made the playoffs and once my 8-2 high school team was left out due to two division losses. I think four playoff spots isn't a bad thing if the divisions are larger than five or six schools to avoid the obvious blowouts that occur in round 1 when a 2-8 team plays a 10-0 team on the road. 

 

Five classifications are enough. We can keep the top 32 in 5A, next 32 in 4A, and divide the remainder of the schools evenly. That does not create a large gap from top to bottom in any class beyond what is already there. The number of schools in the state will continue to shrink due to consolidation. There is no reason to spread out competition even more. 

Disagree. The disparity is between 6A and 5A. With your concept it would be the same situation. there would be a team in 4A on the 5A bubble. It's literally the same in the top 64 like it is now which is where there is a gap. The 7A concept creates better parity and it also creates better travel for most schools. 

[coastfootballfanman]

1 hour ago, MSSportsGuy said:

It appears I am in the minority but I don't like the idea at all and actually think we only need 5 classifications. 

 

Hear me out: there have been many consolidations over the past twenty or so years. Those will not stop. The public school enrollment in the state is decreasing while the overall population is stagnant. There likely won't be many new high schools built due to growth in a geographic reason or overcrowding in one. 

 

I too recall the days where only two teams from a seven or eight team division made the playoffs and once my 8-2 high school team was left out due to two division losses. I think four playoff spots isn't a bad thing if the divisions are larger than five or six schools to avoid the obvious blowouts that occur in round 1 when a 2-8 team plays a 10-0 team on the road. 

 

Five classifications are enough. We can keep the top 32 in 5A, next 32 in 4A, and divide the remainder of the schools evenly. That does not create a large gap from top to bottom in any class beyond what is already there. The number of schools in the state will continue to shrink due to consolidation. There is no reason to spread out competition even more. 

That is the point of going to 7. To stop having such a large gap at the top. Roughly 750+ separates largest 6A from smallest 6A. Travel for smaller classes are a nightmare in a lot of cases. Going to the 7A format tackles both of those issues and allows teams to schedule more geographic non-region games which helps with travel. 7 classes probably does water down the playoffs and all,  but it creates more parity and makes the most sense for all involved in my opinion. I do understand why some would be against it though

[CrimsonUnit1988]

27 minutes ago, coastfootballfanman said:

That is the point of going to 7. To stop having such a large gap at the top. Roughly 750+ separates largest 6A from smallest 6A. Travel for smaller classes are a nightmare in a lot of cases. Going to the 7A format tackles both of those issues and allows teams to schedule more geographic non-region games which helps with travel. 7 classes probably does water down the playoffs and all,  but it creates more parity and makes the most sense for all involved in my opinion. I do understand why some would be against it though

The gap is actually closer to 900 from top of 6A to bottom.  There was a smaller gap between George County and Taylorsville than there was between Tupelo and George County. Also, I don't get why people would be against it at all. It literally harms no school involved and only helps pretty much every school. 

Edited January 26, 2022 by CrimsonUnit1988

[Rebel Bert]

Resurrection may have to travel to say Mt Olive, Salem to Taylorsville, Saltillo to Jackson in Region play. You will still have some coaches who refuse to play their neighbor to avoid the blowout game.

[coastfootballfanman]

21 minutes ago, Rebel Bert said:

Resurrection may have to travel to say Mt Olive, Salem to Taylorsville, Saltillo to Jackson in Region play. You will still have some coaches who refuse to play their neighbor to avoid the blowout game.

Resurrection travels that now and has since moving into 1A. They are in a bind because there are not very many small

schools nearby. Their closest opponent region wise is Sacred Heart in Hattiesburg - roughly a 2 hour trip on a bus. 

[TK_on_the_Coast]

16 minutes ago, coastfootballfanman said:

Resurrection travels that now and has since moving into 1A. They are in a bind because there are not very many small

schools nearby. Their closest opponent region wise is Sacred Heart in Hattiesburg - roughly a 2 hour trip on a bus. 

Sacred Heart is no longer a Region opponent for Resurrection 

 

SH played an Independent schedule for football in 2021 and will again in 2022.  

[MSSportsGuy]

Well I said I was in the minority and it really doesn't have any bearing on me since my kids are out of the school competition days but I think the gap between big and small 6A is less of a problem than others. There are always going to be big outliers. In Georgia, which has 7 classes, the largest 7A has 3,651 students with the smallest having 7A having 2196. That's a pretty significant gap. Again, different state and maybe that small 7A feels slighted. Having 7 classes won't automatically solve having a disparity in enrollment even if it does shrink. 

 

I understand the desire to have a smaller gap but rather than add a new class, just cap 6A at 24 and 5A at 24 then divide evenly. I know MHSAA won't go back to 5 classes, just think it's silly for a state as small as ours to spread them out so much .Having more teams in a classification or district can help travel. Look at some of the lower classes and there are certainly outliers but there are frequently a razor thin difference between who is a 1A or 2A but these squads have to play separately due to having so many divisions. 

 

I maintain consolidation will continue to play a role in reducing the number of schools and the number of students in public school will keep decreasing. 

[pancho]

Which school systems do you recommend be combined?

[Rebel Bert]

1 hour ago, pancho said:

Which school systems do you recommend be combined?

Any County with 2-5 schools, 2 school districts and 1A-3A:

Perry-Richton 

Marion-Columbia Supt only

West-East Jasper Supt only

Smith all 3 schools 

Copiah Hazlehurst Supt only

Scott-Forest Supt only

[pancho]

Several counties up north here with 4 or 5 schools and you better pack heat to bring this topic up.  No idea of the situation at all the other one that you listed.

[TigersFan]

I saw they go to 10 classifications. Bring back Bowl Games like the Red Carpet Bowl, The Shrimp Bowl and The Toilet Bowl for teams that don't qualify for playoffs and everyone get a participation trophy!

[CrimsonUnit1988]

16 hours ago, MSSportsGuy said:

Well I said I was in the minority and it really doesn't have any bearing on me since my kids are out of the school competition days but I think the gap between big and small 6A is less of a problem than others. There are always going to be big outliers. In Georgia, which has 7 classes, the largest 7A has 3,651 students with the smallest having 7A having 2196. That's a pretty significant gap. Again, different state and maybe that small 7A feels slighted. Having 7 classes won't automatically solve having a disparity in enrollment even if it does shrink. 

 

I understand the desire to have a smaller gap but rather than add a new class, just cap 6A at 24 and 5A at 24 then divide evenly. I know MHSAA won't go back to 5 classes, just think it's silly for a state as small as ours to spread them out so much .Having more teams in a classification or district can help travel. Look at some of the lower classes and there are certainly outliers but there are frequently a razor thin difference between who is a 1A or 2A but these squads have to play separately due to having so many divisions. 

 

I maintain consolidation will continue to play a role in reducing the number of schools and the number of students in public school will keep decreasing. 

If the new plan goes through and 7A is top 24 then the top school and bottom school (using the most recent count) would be Tupelo at 1907 and Terry at 1219. That's 688 students difference. Yes, that's a gap but compare that to Center Hill who has 1047 students and it's effectively a 5A school difference. High end 5A to be exact. 

I used the example earlier but I know when George County was smallest 6A school that there was a bigger gap between them and Tupelo than there was between GC and Taylorsville which was the smallest 2A school at the time. That's insane to think about. So you're idea of not solving the enrollment gap with 7 classifications  is pretty farce.

[Olcoach77]

South Panola has always been one of the smallest 6a schools I think they were pretty competive over last decade lol

[MSSportsGuy]

Just out of curiosity I checked Tennessee, which currently has 6 classifications. The largest on the last count I found online in 6A is Collierville which has 2,865 students. The smallest 6A is Shelbyville Central which has 1,512. That's a pretty significant gap. Tennessee does seem to divide their classifications evenly and there are 49 in each class per their site.

 

Again, I just think 7 classes doesn't make a lot of sense in a state this size. Capping the number of 6A and 5A schools at 24 would reduce the gap obviously but I there will always be outliers that skew things, just like the examples I gave in TN and GA. 

[coachfball87]

1 hour ago, MSSportsGuy said:

Just out of curiosity I checked Tennessee, which currently has 6 classifications. The largest on the last count I found online in 6A is Collierville which has 2,865 students. The smallest 6A is Shelbyville Central which has 1,512. That's a pretty significant gap. Tennessee does seem to divide their classifications evenly and there are 49 in each class per their site.

 

Again, I just think 7 classes doesn't make a lot of sense in a state this size. Capping the number of 6A and 5A schools at 24 would reduce the gap obviously but I there will always be outliers that skew things, just like the examples I gave in TN and GA. 

And Collierville openly recruits from around all of Shelby County and DeSoto County. 

[Rebel Bert]

My hunch:

1) 7A R2 Tupelo or Oxford here

2) 6A R2 Warren Central vs Columbus

3) 6A R3 Picayune and PRC here

4) 5A R3 Natchez is happy: Wingfield, Provine, Brookhaven, Florence, North Pike

[CrimsonUnit1988]

On 1/29/2022 at 8:31 PM, Rebel Bert said:

My hunch:

1) 7A R2 Tupelo or Oxford here

2) 6A R2 Warren Central vs Columbus

3) 6A R3 Picayune and PRC here

4) 5A R3 Natchez is happy: Wingfield, Provine, Brookhaven, Florence, North Pike

Picayune will be 5A still if it goes to 7 classifications.