Overhaul to Arizona's high school athletics proposed

The plan includes reclassification of every high school into a division based on its size and would limit the number of state championships offered in each sport. The changes could go into effect in the next school year for individual sports and in 2011-12 for team sports, if the AIA's executive board passes the proposal next month.

Gone would be the current conferences: 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A-I, 4A-II, 5A-I and 5A-II. Those would be replaced by divisions. The current regions, including Southern Arizona's big schools - Gila, Kino, Sonoran and Southern - would be replaced by sections in the same geographic region.

The number of divisions would vary by both sport and participation. For example, under the new plan, football would be split into six divisions. Basketball, baseball, softball and soccer would be split into four divisions, and tennis would have three.

The changes would replace the AIA's old system, which had 114 state team championships up for grabs this year. Under the new proposal, the AIA would offer just 67.

Many athletic administrators criticized the exceedingly large number of state championships awarded, saying it watered down the competition.

The reclassification and reorganization "makes logical sense" for Southern Arizona, said AIA Executive Director Chuck Schmidt. "Will it benefit them? Flat-out yes," he said.

Coaches approve

News of a potential overhaul was met with enthusiasm by Southern Arizona coaches and athletic directors. Many are tired of the cost and hassle of traveling to Phoenix throughout the school year.

Herman House, the Tucson Unified School District's director of interscholastics, said he is particularly excited by the reduced number of state championships.

Game attendance has slipped statewide since the divisions were split four years ago, according to the AIA. Revenue has dipped, and competition - once a strong point in major sports such as football and basketball - has weakened. The new system would make a state championship harder to achieve in every sport, an idea that House supports. "I'm one of those who thinks that the state tournaments need more validity, and this proposal strengthens competition," he said.

Basketball, baseball and softball face the most changes among the major sports.

Using a format similar to Indiana's, the basketball state champion would be decided in a 24-team, single-elimination tournament in each division.

Twelve of the 24 teams in each bracket would be be automatic qualifiers, with the top eight earning first-round byes. The rest would earn at-large bids based on power points.

"It creates more of a March Madness feel," Schmidt said.

Baseball and softball would be decided by a 24-seed, single-elimination tournament - though that could change. Schmidt will meet today with baseball coaches, some of whom believe a double-elimination tournament is a better way to gauge a champion.

The AIA spent a year studying the systems in a handful of states, including Indiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pennsylvania, before crafting the overhaul.

"Looking at the whole picture, we took the best practices from every other state," Schmidt said.

Athletes know the move could mean tougher competition.

"I think it would be a bigger challenge playing with the bigger schools, and I like that, but right now I think we have a better chance to win than we would then," said Aaron Esquivel, a Catalina High freshman baseball player. "I think I'd like it both ways."

Desert View girls tennis coach Stacy Haines said the current system is "too much."

"The seasons are running longer, and it's taking kids out of class more and more," he said.

And then there are the finances. Haines will take three of his Jaguars players to Phoenix on Friday for the individual state championships, "and being able to afford hotels is a real strain on our athletic department."

Less travel during the season would mean more money to spend on state, he said.

"We'd have a lot of money left over," Haines said.

Impact on SMALLER SPORTS

Football, basketball and softball teams would play roughly the same amount of games in the postseason. However, smaller and individual sports would be completely overhauled.

Centrally located state championship tournaments and meets, and "qualifying standards" in timed and scored sports would cut the number of regional and state participants drastically.

Regional and state wrestling meets would be cut from 16 to three under the new plans. Postseason golf tournaments would be cut from 34 to three.

And swimming and diving postseason meets would be consolidated from 70 to four, a decrease of 94 percent.

Though the numbers mark a stunning change, many Southern Arizona officials, including Joe Paddock, support the change.

The Amphitheater Public Schools director of interscholastics watched last year as many of his athletes traveled to Phoenix only to get blown out in state tournaments.

The talent gap was particularly large in individual sports, such as golf and tennis.

"If you're scoring double or triple what most of the kids you're playing with are scoring, it's not that much fun for anybody," Paddock said.

The increased standards and fewer state champions would mean less travel and reduced transportation and lodging costs, and all that goes into transporting a team to Phoenix.

Travel can be a costly hassle for Southern Arizona teams gunning for state championships. Consider: The AIA held 28 team state championship finals in boys basketball, girls basketball, wrestling, boys soccer and girls soccer last winter. Just two of the games - the 4A-I boys and girls soccer matches - were held in Tucson. Of the 28 state champions, just four hailed from Southern Arizona.

The geographic-specific sections "make sense" both fiscally and academically, House said.

"It's going to keep kids in the classroom and reduce the amount of school time they miss while traveling," he said.