Like any change, this change is going to be positive for some schools/coaches and negative for others. Obviously, one of the most positive changes is that there will more teams in the "State Championship" hunt every year which will increase interest in high school football all over the state.

 

Here in Eastern Kentucky, the change is really going to be positive for the larger (previously 4A) schools since these rural 4A schools have been unable to compete with the larger urban based schools and would probably never be competitive on the stae 4A level. I am a Whitley County Fan. This change will literally propel Whitley back into the "State Championship" hunt for the first time since the last realignment. Further, at least, for Whitley and the other teams in their district, travel times have been reduced and some of the more natural mountain rivalries are going to be reinstated.

 

This change is very good for Whitley and I am very pleased with it.

Due to difference in enrollments, I endorse the move to 6 classes. Many larger states that use this number of classifications have many more teams that share similar enrollments. Let's face it, outside Jefferson, Fayette and the Boone, Kenton, etc (Northern KY) areas, there isn't much population to go around.

 

Personally, this opens up the scheduling for Trinity and that's awesome. This also places less emphasis on regular season and teams can try more new game plans during the regular season without the fear of missing the playoffs. If a star goes down early, the team can hope he's back in time for the playoffs. I feel it's a win for evryone, including those who may lose in the first round because they get to share in the gate for an 11th game!

 

This also modifies the great debate on how to split up the game times at Papa John's for the finals:D

I think it will be a positive once everyone gets settled in. Change is hard to get used to in anything so this will be no different. It will open some doors for some & close a few for others.Let's just keep the kids in mind and give them our support.

I like the way it benefits Corbin as well for two reasons. First and foremost, it puts the Redhounds back in the mountain district in which they belong. It renews old district rivalries with Middlesboro and Somerset. With Middlesboro being a permanant opponent, it also opens up a game to play another school now that they are in the same district. It also will help build a solid rivalry with a solid Leslie County program.

 

Second of all, it will better prepare the Hounds for the playoffs. With all due respect to the Taylor, Russell, Green, Casey, Garrard, Adair, and Wayne Counties of the world, the competition just hasn't been that stiff in district play for the Hounds. Yes a team that was a district foe for the past 5 years would have a good team one year and give Corbin a run but it all bounced back to being Corbin and everyone else.

 

I do hate to lose the Wayne County game though because Corbin and Wayne has played as long as I can remember. Maybe Wayne and Middlesboro can just swap places on the schedule where Mboro is the district game and Wayne is the Out of district game.

I think a silver lining might be that it will encourage some of the largest schools to schedule games against more powerhouse, out-of-state competitors. Trinity already does this to some extent - X, Male, and a few of the others I beleive should to.

There are some schools in western Kentucky that have a history of doing this ... Mayfield and Paducah Tilghman, in particular. But they didn't always do it entirely because of their desire to play tough out-of-state opponents. Sometimes it was because nearby schools chose not to try and compete with them if they didn't have to, forcing them to go out of the way for competition. I hope six classes doesn't allow more of that to happen, but I wonder.

Maybe more "Jackson Counties" out there who want to start a program but did not think they could compete, may now take the leap and start a program.

In this day and age, school systems that choose to start football programs do so, I believe, to provide additional opportunities and activities for their students ... not because they believe they "now have the chance to compete."

 

Did the schools that have started programs in recent years do so for the reasons I stated, or because they thought the talk of six classes would give them a better chance to win?

There is no equity when a school has the enrollment of boys to dress 65 kids and be single a and the opponent can dress only 20 . I love this plan for the small schools!

I understand the point, but the fact that some schools don't have great numbers in their program isn't always attributable to their enrollment. Can we agree on that?

Like any change, this change is going to be positive for some schools/coaches and negative for others. Obviously, one of the most positive changes is that there will more teams in the "State Championship" hunt every year which will increase interest in high school football all over the state.

 

Here in Eastern Kentucky, the change is really going to be positive for the larger (previously 4A) schools since these rural 4A schools have been unable to compete with the larger urban based schools and would probably never be competitive on the stae 4A level. I am a Whitley County Fan. This change will literally propel Whitley back into the "State Championship" hunt for the first time since the last realignment. Further, at least, for Whitley and the other teams in their district, travel times have been reduced and some of the more natural mountain rivalries are going to be reinstated.

 

This change is very good for Whitley and I am very pleased with it.

In all honesty, will Whitley County really be in "the state championship hunt" in a class with such established programs as Christian County, Hopkinsville, Bowling Green, Warren Central, John Hardin, Dixie Heights, Ashland and Southwestern, among others?

 

The fact that some programs haven't enjoyed a great deal of success often has little to do with their competiton. The answer often lies somewhere within.

Little school that dont make the playoffs will get a chance which will make them more money with commissions.

I think this is something that gets lost in the shuffle when people talk about too many teams making the playoffs. Most schools don't have many budget problems, but schools like Jenkins or Fulton City or Edmonson County doesn't have a strong or dominant team in ANY sport, which means they draw a lot of their athletic budget from football and boys basketball. Why not allow more teams in for this reason, to supplement a small school's athletic budget. Jenkins may not be able to travel to Pikeville and win, or Fulton city knock off Mayfield. But an additional gate where they split the money with the other team could mean more money in the football budget the following year or it may just be enough for the school to keep a non-revenue sport that it otherwise could not have without the playoff game.

 

Not everything about the move to six classes is about winning trophies and bragging about who's better than who. For some schools, it could decide the life or death of a school's sport...maybe even football.

I believe this puts everyone on more equal footing, this also puts teams in the actual classes they belong in and not "cherry picking" in a smaller class.

I like the fact that it allows teams to schedule more non-district games as many of ppl have commented. I think this will make football around the state better as a whole and allow for some very competitive districts throughtout the state.

I think this is something that gets lost in the shuffle when people talk about too many teams making the playoffs. Most schools don't have many budget problems, but schools like Jenkins or Fulton City or Edmonson County doesn't have a strong or dominant team in ANY sport, which means they draw a lot of their athletic budget from football and boys basketball. Why not allow more teams in for this reason, to supplement a small school's athletic budget. Jenkins may not be able to travel to Pikeville and win, or Fulton city knock off Mayfield. But an additional gate where they split the money with the other team could mean more money in the football budget the following year or it may just be enough for the school to keep a non-revenue sport that it otherwise could not have without the playoff game.

 

Not everything about the move to six classes is about winning trophies and bragging about who's better than who. For some schools, it could decide the life or death of a school's sport...maybe even football.

 

 

ON POINT as always!!!!!!:thumb:

Add one to the list of "less travel distance and time."

 

Old system district travel times Ihr, 1hr30min, 1hr30min, 2hr, 2hr30min.

 

New system district travel times 20min, 30min, 1hr, 1hr15min, 1hr30min

 

Now I can get home from road trips in time to watch "Friday Night Lights" and get the car loaded up to go watch the CATS on Sat.

Westsider Posted

 

" In all honesty, will Whitley County really be in "the state championship hunt" in a class with such established programs as Christian County, Hopkinsville, Bowling Green, Warren Central, John Hardin, Dixie Heights, Ashland and Southwestern, among others? "

 

Westsider, You must not know much about Whitley Football, Whitley and Southwestern were in the same district with Southwestern prior to the last realignment. I would say they were very similar in terms of talent and wins against each other. Nobody on list you provided would intimidate Whitley most of these teams would lost to Whitley (at least at Whitley) in the typical year. Whitley was a perinial top 10 3A team before the last realignment.

 

To answer your question the larger mountain schools like Whitley will be much more competitive on the state level than are with the current alignment.

Westsider Posted

 

" In all honesty, will Whitley County really be in "the state championship hunt" in a class with such established programs as Christian County, Hopkinsville, Bowling Green, Warren Central, John Hardin, Dixie Heights, Ashland and Southwestern, among others? "

 

Westsider, You must not know much about Whitley Football, Whitley and Southwestern were in the same district with Southwestern prior to the last realignment. I would say they were very similar in terms of talent and wins against each other. Nobody on list you provided would intimidate Whitley most of these teams would lost to Whitley (at least at Whitley) in the typical year.

Did I understand you correctly? Are you saying that you feel that Whitley County is on par with the likes of Christian County, Hopkinsville, Bowling Green, Warren Central, John Hardin, Dixie Heights, Ashland and Southwestern on a year-to-year basis?

 

If so ... with all due respect, no way.

Whitley was a perinial top 10 3A team before the last realignment.

They were? They won only one playoff game in their last three years in 3A.