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New Classification Numbers Released... Thoughts?

Started by beeroe, May 03, 2017, 09:55:38 am

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MB Hog

May 03, 2017, 10:26:39 am #1 Last Edit: May 03, 2017, 10:28:12 am by MB Hog
Two changes I see that affect 5A Central... looks like Mills is moving down to 4A and Sylvan Hills moving up to 6A.  I'm looking at it from a soccer perspective.  Does this change for all sports?

beeroe

As I understand it the classification is based totally on school size relative to other schools which have football and not athletic performance. Private schools get a 1.5 multiplier.

I dont think there are ever any exceptions for other sports. There are rumors of maybe combined classifications for soccer next year. Particularly for the 4A and 5A conference as this past year the 4A was huge while the 5A was somewhat modest. It would be nice to consider as the distances of travel for the 4A can be pretty lengthy. So having a combined 4/5A may help to alleviate this a bit.

And always I am a huge advocate for some kind of post season option for 3A and below schools as they nearly always struggle to compete.

Go Postal

With Huntsville moving back to the 5A, and probably the West conference, will Maumelle be in Central conference since Sylvan Hills moved up?  In this sport and other sports?

tevez

An additional rumor I have heard is that for the next cycle, for all sports except Football, the sixteen teams from 6A and the top 16 5A schools by enrollment will combine into a set classification, followed by the bottom 16 5A schools by enrollment combined with the top 16 4A schools by enrollment into a classification...anyone else hearing this?

4real

That rumor is out there among the AD's so it may be legit and it's not a bad idea

jimmyt

Thats a terrible idea. Here's what should happen.

Go back to each classification only playing each other. For the 6A and 7A, since the travel might be a concern for regular season, then find neutral sights that each team could cut driving down on. That way teams like Mtn Home and El Dorado could meet in Little Rock and play each other on a neutral field.

The conf tournaments are a joke and this new idea isn't "fixing" anything.

pantherdad

I totally agree with JimmyT.

The current combined 5A/6A conferences aren't good soccer. I wish we would go back to each classification only playing it's own. In the 7 games we played in our combined conference, we scored 65 goals giving up only 1. How does that prepare us for the conference tournament, and how does that help the 5A schools?

pantherdad

Sorry, I think my comments may have been unintentionally rude. There are multiple 5A schools who are as good, if not better than some 6A schools. I was only referring to the experience that our team has had this season.

4real

There is a legitimate cause for keeping 7A to itself.  and for arkansas standards, 16 in that class half way makes sense in order to keep parity.
Not sure the same argument holds true for keeping only 16 6A schools.  I like the idea of putting 32 teams in 6A, 32 in 5A, and bumping the others up.
I agree that blended conferences is a waste.  Oklahoma has a regular season that doesn't even have any standings for the post season, outside of fb.  Allows schools to keep travel down.  Play who you want, then go to district play to begin post season.

MB Hog

I'm glad my daughter is graduating this year so I don't have to worry about all the changes.   ;D

Go Postal

Quote from: tevez on May 03, 2017, 01:09:06 pm
An additional rumor I have heard is that for the next cycle, for all sports except Football, the sixteen teams from 6A and the top 16 5A schools by enrollment will combine into a set classification, followed by the bottom 16 5A schools by enrollment combined with the top 16 4A schools by enrollment into a classification...anyone else hearing this?
Then you also have the private school factor that they could move to a conference, up or down. For instance, Catholic/MT St Mary might want to go to the 6A instead of 7A.  4A private schools might want to move to 5A or 5A private might want to move up or down. Of course there are some schools that haven't started a soccer program yet. Plus there is always the travel time problem for any schools from game to game.  I'm not sure if there's a good solution for everyone.

Sir Alex


The logic behind the new class system that has been proposed shows merit.   I believe it will become a bit confusing when the same school could possibly be in different classifications depending on which sport you are referring to.  But what you will get in the end is probably an appropriate number of classes based on the number of schools partiicipating in each sport. As I understand it, football would be left in their current classifications. Baseball, basketball, softball and track would have 6 classes.  Depending on what sport it is the rest not named above could have anywhere from 2 to 5 classes. Should be interesting to see the final product that is proposed to the AAA Board in August.

Travel is always going to be an issue for someone in Arkansas. 


beeroe

Quote from: tevez on May 03, 2017, 01:09:06 pm
An additional rumor I have heard is that for the next cycle, for all sports except Football, the sixteen teams from 6A and the top 16 5A schools by enrollment will combine into a set classification, followed by the bottom 16 5A schools by enrollment combined with the top 16 4A schools by enrollment into a classification...anyone else hearing this?

I kind of like this idea... What if you broke each classification into 4 divisions and then had a home and away schedule between those four teams. This provides seeding or qualification for conference tournaments. It could cut down on travel.

Fox 16 Arkansas Fox 24 Arkansas