IHSA's two-class system wasn't broke
Comments (...)One of the oldest clichés in the English language is “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”
The IHSA’s two-class system for boys basketball wasn’t broke. In fact, it was nearly perfect.
Historically, Illinois has one of the most famous boys basketball tournaments in the United States. There’s a reason that. Before every postseason game (whether it be girls or boys), the PA announcer at the host school gives about a minute-long speech about how Illinois’ version of postseason basketball is the “original March Madness.”
From 1972-2007, the IHSA held two separate boys basketball state tournaments — Class A and AA. From the end of February through the middle of March the small schools and big schools would compete to join the elite ranks of Illinois basketball history.
Prep basketball fans would get to witness two great weekends in March when the Class A and AA tournaments featured eight strong teams from around the state competing down in Peoria.
Then, the IHSA had to try and fix what wasn’t broke with class expansion, which began for the 2007-08 school year. Of course, expanding to four classes (or three, depending on the sport) wasn’t just about basketball.
That doesn’t stop people from thinking about basketball when it comes to the topic. To me, that’s what class expansion affects the most (mostly because boys basketball is the most popular prep sport, with the exception of football).
I still enjoy the IHSA boys basketball postseason. It’s one of my favorite things to cover. But, there’s just something missing.
Now, I never actually covered high school basketball back in the good old days of two classes. But, I just think back to when I was in high school and followed the state tournament. The weekend of the Class AA Elite Eight was insane. You had eight of the best big-school teams in the state fighting to be the best team in Illinois over a two-day span.
I’m not someone who will watch high school basketball for eight hours or anything, but I like following the tournament, reading about different games and watching it on TV, even if that consists of me switching back and forth between the IHSA State Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
On a side note, can the IHSA please move the tournament up so the Class 3A and 4A finals aren’t the same weekend as the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament? I guess that’s a different column for a different day.
There are a number of reasons I don’t like four classes, in any sport. I hate how everything is watered down now, first of all. Worst of all, we don't get the eight best large-school programs and eight best small-school teams playing in Peoria.
Back in the two-class system, there are a number of teams that won the AA title that are in Class 3A nowadays. Peoria Central, Westchester St. Joseph and Chicago Westinghouse weren’t schools with 4,000 students, and they’ve all won state titles within the last 15 years. Peoria Manual had around 1,000 students (which would be considered 3A now), when the Rams won four straight Class AA state championships from 1994-97.
The proponents of four classes will always argue that a school like Morris (enrollment of 960) or Gardner-South Wilmington (enrollment of 191) were at an extreme disadvantage in the old system.
Do schools like that have a fair shot? No. But, you can never keep everyone happy.
Plus, Morris has won in the two-class system in other sports — a Class AA softball state title in 1992 and taking first place in baseball back in 1995.
Now, I’m just watching this stuff from a distance. I’m not a player or coach, nor do I have a son or daughter involved in high school athletics. I can understand why athletes and coaches would think differently than I do. In fact, I didn’t even bother talking to area basketball coaches for this story because I already know what their answers will be.
The Class 1A and 3A coaches probably love the new system. The 2A and 4A coaches are going to be on the opposite end.
I probably come off as arrogant and selfish in this column, because I’m thinking of Steve and only Steve when talking about why I don’t like having four classes in any sport — most of all in boys basketball.
Let me give readers other reasons why it doesn’t make a ton of sense for other reasons.
One big change when talking about four classes has to do with travel. A lot of enormous travel.
This season, Morris is playing its regional down in Kankakee, which is roughly an hour away. If the top-seeded Redskins advance to sectional play, that will be all the way down in Lincoln.
The length of that trip, according to Mapquest? One hour, 52 minutes. That’s a lot of miles and a lot of money for Morris High School.
Last season, Morris had another two-hour sectional trip in Peoria.
Look at the downstate pairings for Class 3A , and 4A. The travel is horrendous.
In 4A, Danville is hosting a regional, with two Normal schools making the hour and a half trip out there.
Last week, the Seneca girls had to travel two and a half hours to St. Joseph-Ogden after three hour-long trips to the Class 2A Beecher Regional.
The added travel also brought to an end (for the most part) sectional complexes.
Sectional complexes involved the top four seeds in each sectional being split up, while seeds No. 4-8 were placed in different sectionals as well. This still goes on in some sectionals (for example, the Class 4A Lockport Sectional where Minooka is), but the IHSA didn’t want to burden schools with even more travel.
Understandable.
Yet, the sectional complexes made for superior competition. It made sure the better teams met later.
Look, I understand why the four-class system was instituted. I see why it has its fans. I still enjoy IHSA’s “March Madness.”
Yet, it still just isn’t what it used to be. Four years after four classes were instituted, I still prefer the old system. Maybe it’s because that’s what I grew up with. Maybe I’m just old school.
But in the end, the two-class system wasn’t broke. Why fix it?
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