Better check your math.

The current system is not right IMO. We disagree. No big deal. Not gonna change so it doesnt matter.

 

What math needs to be checked?

Here is my opinion on all this. The one thing nobody ever seems to sit back and look at is what is best for the High School Kids and coaches. Nobody. Fans only care about what they want. Guess what, High School Athletics is about the kids. What is best for them? I think it is giving the kids in basketball the same oppurtunities that the same kids in these schools have in football and other classified systems.

 

Would it be fair to have all colleges to play in one tournament just becasue it is the Best Show on Earth. No it wouldn't. Same difference. In kentucky high school basketball there are such gaps in talent level. Do you think it would be right for Division 2 college teams, NAIA teams to be in the same tournament as UK. No. Makes no sense.

 

This post makes a lot sense. Hard to justify classification in some sports, but not others.

Exactly. Those schools that have won the All A classic take pride in those victories. For me this is even another reason to not have classification.

 

It does, but it is not an "A" title. It is an "A" - half of triple "AAA" title. The 15th Region has every school except Johnson Central, Belfry, and Pike Central participating in their All "A".

So will the basketball classification be the same as football? If so, LexCath will likely dominate 4A, Mason County will own 3A, Newport Central Catholic will own 2A, 1A already has their tourney, now that the 2A schools are eliminated from that what one 1A school that is a basketball power will dominate that? Hazard? BG, Warren Central, Christian County and Hoptown will own 5A and Louisville/Lexington will dominate 6A. Honestly after breaking it all down the only tournament I would go to would be 6A unless BG and Boyle were in their respective tournaments. The complaints would get louder because there would be more people with something to complain about.

 

 

And I'd be shocked if Trinity and Highlands wouldn't love to play each other in a football Sweet 16 scenario. One true champion. Well, the kids would. And it's about the kids right?

4 private schools have won state championships since 1918. 4 out of almost 100 years. Your words are ringing hollow.

 

If there's any confusion, it could be from schools vs. total championships. Four schools have won but they have generated seven championships.

 

St. Xavier: 1926, 1935, 1958, 1962

Flaget: 1960

Lexington Catholic: 2002

Trinity: 2012

 

Still, that's seven titles of nearly 100 awarded championships... and only two in the last 50 years. I'm willing to entertain discussion of big school vs. small school in this matter, but history doesn't back up the notion of private schools having a huge advantage in basketball.

I think University Heights in 1992 is another private school champ.

Classification fixes none of these problems. Bad small schools will not be competitive in a classified system. Powerhouse programs will develop. They will likely be the same programs that dominate other classified sports. Even the large schools will have a watered down field. Leave the sweet sixteen alone.

Classification fixes none of these problems. Bad small schools will not be competitive in a classified system. Powerhouse programs will develop. They will likely be the same programs that dominate other classified sports. Even the large schools will have a watered down field. Leave the sweet sixteen alone.

 

Bingo

Classification fixes none of these problems. Bad small schools will not be competitive in a classified system. Powerhouse programs will develop. They will likely be the same programs that dominate other classified sports. Even the large schools will have a watered down field. Leave the sweet sixteen alone.

 

Thank you for one of the most concise AND correct posts in the thread.

For those who want schools to have the same "opportunities" that are enjoyed in football and the other classified sports - maybe there's a reason that only football, track/field and XC are classified.

Never ever gonna happen...period.

First, this is never going to happen. We're all arguing a moot point, I think we all know that.

 

And, while I'll likely regret weighing in, the matter is simple really. If the KHSAA is truly only interested in the best for it's student athletes, you classify. No way around it, no spin you can put on it. Any argument ever made for football to exand classes from three to four and four to six, applies here. It has to, it's the same pool of student athletes.

 

It's all about the money the Sweet 16 format generates for KHSAA, and that's that. Unfortunately, that comes at the cost of the student athletes.

First, this is never going to happen. We're all arguing a moot point, I think we all know that.

 

And, while I'll likely regret weighing in, the matter is simple really. If the KHSAA is truly only interested in the best for it's student athletes, you classify. No way around it, no spin you can put on it. Any argument ever made for football to exand classes from three to four and four to six, applies here. It has to, it's the same pool of student athletes.

 

It's all about the money the Sweet 16 format generates for KHSAA, and that's that. Unfortunately, that comes at the cost of the student athletes.

 

While I generally agree with your comments, I do think the impact of dramatically different enrollment numbers is not as significant in basketball (where you need 7-9 good/very good basketball players to compete against other schools with 7-9 good/very good players and to win a championship) as it is in football where you need 22 or more to do so. Granted, I've acknowledged and will continue to acknowledge that if your pool of students is 1400, your chances of finding 7-9 good to very good basketball players is much higher than finding them in a pool of 200.

 

I do think you are failing to fairly state the impact of the KHSAA's need to generate big dollars from basketball in order to administer high school athletics, which administration benefits every Ky student athlete. Unfortunately, some folks think the KHSAA is awash in cash and/or spends money lavishly. I can assure those people that it doesn't. The KHSAA staff is significantly underpaid in comparison to what the staff of neighboring states associations' staff get paid. I was on the finance committee for a while when I was on the BOC. I was a stickler in looking for wasteful and unnecessary spending. I think the KHSAA has been pretty good about looking for ways to cut expenses and wasteful spending. One of the reasons we went with inside legal counsel (and trust me, the KHSAA is not overspending in that area) was to reduce expenses. Reducing expenses was one of the reasons we removed the BOC from the eligibility process (no longer a need for the BOC to meet monthly but rather can now meet every other monthy, which saves about $15,000 or so a year). There have been lots of expense reduction measures taken by the KHSAA in order to keep membership dues and ticket prices as low as possible. The catastrophic insurance the KHSAA provides for the benefit of all student athletes and their families is a big ticket item.

 

The simple fact is that the student athletes, coaches, parents, fans and supporters of every sport understandably want their state events to be something special. That takes money and on almost all sports other than basketball and football, the KHSAA loses money. The KHSAA is being called on to sanction and administer more and more sports. That takes money. Me, I think sanctioning bass fishing is silly. But obviously enough schools felt it should be a KHSAA sport, and under the KHSAA by laws, if a sufficient number of schools want a sport sanctioned, the KHSAA has to sanction it. And running that sport will take money.

 

If the KHSAA was to classify basketball, I think revenues would plummet and in order for the KHSAA to be able to continue to operate two likely very unpopular things would need to occur: the member schools would see their annual membership dues skyrocket and ticket prices for state championship events would go through the roof. Rather than complaining about the cost of a program, people would be complaining big time about schools charging $10-15 to get into regular season basketball and football games and the KHSAA charging $25 per ticket to get into the state championship games.

 

I hope no one suggests the KHSAA needs to cut staff or reduce salaries. The KHSAA is way understaffed as it is now. Having worked with the staff for two terms I can personally vouch for how hard those people work in order to provide the best administration and the best championship events for the student athletes. And they are definitely not over paid.

 

I get where you are coming from Sandman; I really do. Heck, I was a proponent of classifying basketball for quite some time for the very reason you stated. But I cannot ignore the adverse financial impact it would have on the KHSAA and ultimately all of Ky high school athletics. It's not as black and white as you seemly think it is when you state that if the KHSAA is truly only interested in the best for its student athletes, they should classify basketall. I used to think the way you do, but having had the benefit of serving two terms on the BOC, I realize it is not so black and white.

 

Perhaps if the larger schools come to dominate basketball year in and year out, the KHSAA will have to classify but if and when that happens a whole lot of schools, student athletes, fans and supporters are not going to like the financial changes that accompany classification. Hate to admit it, but that scenario is the very reason I cheer and root for the smaller schools to win the basketball championships.

According to the financial statement from KHSAA, the 2009 Boys state basketball tourney made $1,770,085. In 2010 it made $1,676,448. Those totals were 39% and 36% respectively of the organizations gross revenues and support for those fiscal years.

 

There ain't a snowballs chance in Hades that we classify basketball.

Is the current All A Classic title really that meaningless? Do the small schools not value that title as a true small school state title? If they do value it, then why do we need classification?

 

We have road signs and banners signifying Class A championships in basketball. It means the same to our schools, plus they have the opportunity to play in the Sweet Sixteen.

The All "A" Classic made this debate almost meaningless. That's why some people resent it.