Kentucky Sports Classification

[maysvilleky]

Last 20 years:

2018: Cov. Cath 592, boys only vs. Scott Co. 2514

2017: Bowling Green, 1237 vs. Cooper, 1365

2016: Dunbar, 2058 vs. Doss, 1111

2015: Owensboro, 1312 vs. Bowling Green, 1237

2014: Cov. Cath, 592 boys only, vs. Scott Co. 2514

2013: Madison Central, 1969 vs. Ballard, 1882

2012: Trinity 1205, boys only vs. Scott Co. 2514

2011: Christian Co. 1241 vs. Rowan Co. 928

2010: Shelby Valley, 565 vs. Ballard, 1882

2009: Holmes, 795 vs. Central, 1184

2008: Mason Co. 778 vs. Holmes, 795

2007: Scott Co. 2514 vs. Ballard, 1882

2006: Jeffersontown 1099 vs. Apollo 1446

2005: South Laurel 1248 vs. Warren Central, 928

2004: Warren Central, 928 vs. Mason Co. 778

2003: Mason Co. 778 vs. Ballard, 1882

2002: Lex. Catholic, 840 vs. Paducah Tilghman, 810

2001: Lafayette, 2297 vs. Male, 1958

2000: Elizabethtown, 764 vs. Lex. Catholic, 840

1999: Ballard, 1882 vs. Scott Co. 2514

 

This is the last 20 years. Plus this is the enrollment for 17-18. I wasn't going to click each year to look up the enrollment. So some could be a little higher or lower when they actually made it to the finals.

 

Thank you for doing this. So IMO what this tells me is that if Basketball were to ever classify, that there really is only a need for 2 classes. Below 500 and above 500 (or maybe as much as 700). Now the question is...How many public schools only have 500 (or 700) or less? I think that isn't a great number and likely could get smaller with consolidation.

Edited January 16, 2019 by maysvilleky
Edit size of school

[magicfan217]

I see no issue with the current setup. The All-A is a great way for the smaller schools to get a chance to compete on a yearly basis for a region/state title. Having been at both a large school and an A school, the setup seems to work out great. As far as people who don't like the All-A winner calling themselves a state champion, who cares. I promise you the kids/parents/coaches involved in the all-A feel like a regional/state champion when they win and that experience is what is important.

[sweet16]

Thank you for doing this. So IMO what this tells me is that if Basketball were to ever classify, that there really is only a need for 2 classes. Below 500 and above 500 (or maybe as much as 700). Now the question is...How many public schools only have 500 (or 700) or less? I think that isn't a great number and likely could get smaller with consolidation.

 

Great question. Using this link that has the enrollments in numerical order you can see about halfway on the list would be in the upper 600 in total enrollment (boys and girls). I am not sure how many of those real small schools have teams in basketball so that could move the mid-line a little.

 

https://khsaa.org/reports/enrollments/20172018schoolenrollmenttotalsbyenroll.pdf

[Voice of Reason]

You are correct up to the point where you say it makes the sport "stand alone." To think that the size of the school has no effect on the available athletes for, say volleyball, or baseball is foolhardy. Same for basketball. There have been a multitude of studies, analyses and reports on the average size of schools making the finals for soccer, baseball, basketball, etc. and the overriding factor on who makes it and who doesn't is size of the school. Are there anomalies? Yes. Rarely. Student population is the primary factor that separates the haves and the have nots in the vast, vast majority of Region winners and non-winners. In the studies I have seen not even Public versus Private has as much effect as does student population (with the clear exception to that premise being volleyball in this state). When you eliminate 50 to 60 percent of the schools from even remote consideration for a state or even Regional title BEFORE they even field the team, there is a flaw in your system. This isn't an "everybody gets a trophy" position, this is the reality of single class competition. Classification is long overdue. The realities of the current system are that a very limited collection of schools have the ability to compete for state titles in the various sports and to think otherwise is unrealistic.

 

None of that changes my opinion that football is its own animal. That doesn't mean there should not be classification in volleyball or baseball or perhaps other sports. I am saying don't use football as a point of comparison to make the argument for classification in those other sports.

[sweet16]

As far as people who don't like the All-A winner calling themselves a state champion, who cares. I promise you the kids/parents/coaches involved in the all-A feel like a regional/state champion when they win and that experience is what is important.

 

I agree with you. The schools that participate love it and it is important to the schools. The ones that usually have the problems with it are the ones that haven't participated and see how important it is to the smaller schools. For some schools it is the only realistic chance to ever win a regional title.

[bulldog77]

None of that changes my opinion that football is its own animal. That doesn't mean there should not be classification in volleyball or baseball or perhaps other sports. I am saying don't use football as a point of comparison to make the argument for classification in those other sports.

 

Absolutely. Point taken. However many of the arguments that I have both heard and read (obviously not you, good sir) have hinged on football's larger number of participants as to the need for classes. Indeed it may be true, but it is no less true even with the fewer numbers needed in other sports. Hence my comments. No sir, I don't disagree with you, just making the case for other sports in light of reasons given by others previously. All good.

[The Double Deuce]

I wanted to look at two other sports' finalists to see if there were Private / Public trends, or Lex / Lou / NKY vs the rest of the state trends. Not sure why, but it occurred to me it may be interesting in reading this thread (although I knew what to expect, generally, in Volleyball).

 

Boys Soccer Since 2000:

16 Private School Finalists

22 Public School Finalists

 

29 Finalists from NKY / Lex / Lou

9 Finalists from the rest of the state

 

 

Volleyball since 2001:

34 Private Finalists

2 Public Finalists (Henry Clay and Greenwood)

 

34 Finalists from NKY / Lex / Lou

2 Finalists from rest of the state (Owensboro Catholic and Greenwood)