Calico Jack

Love everything about this hire. Get'em, Will!!

**Again, this is just the '24-'25 boys only enrollment numbers, ranks, etc** 1A 2A 3A

Posted these the other day, but these are boys enrollment numbers only from '24-'25 reports . Middle 4 rows are, from L-R ('28, '27, '26 and the graduated '25), then rank in order (smallest to largest), followed by the boys total. ** 32 in both Class A and 6A- well, 6A I just added Hoptown and Christian County, didn't combine them into just one for the new consolidation ** 40 in 4A and 5A ** 39 in 2A and 3A (No idea if that's how they'll actually separate them or not, but for fun) 4A 5A 6A

As I'm sure you know, Meade used to be in the 5th for many years. It only makes sense for them to be. I don't think Fort Knox will get that granted to them, though. If the high school was actually in Bullitt County like some of the base is (as well as being in Meade, and obviously Hardin), then they'd have a case. But, they are closer to all three of the Hardin County high school's as well as E-town moreso than they are to what would be any of the potential 6th region/district teams.

Just for fun Can get a general idea (ie: Top 5 biggest in each class, Top 5 smallest? USUALLY where any/all movement comes from) All listed smallest-largest for each class Total Boys Enrollment= Far Right Column Class Enrollment Rank= 2nd from Right Middle Four Columns= L-R ( c/o '28, '27, '26, '25) 1A (Yellow) & 6A (Blue)= 32 Teams (I listed Christian Co and Hopkinsville both as "32" in 6A) 2A (Orange), 3A (Green)= 39 Teams (** Have no idea if that will be the case or not, just how I split them up**) 4A (Light Blue), 5A (Red)= 40 Teams (** See 2A, 3A justification**)

Neither. ......Fairdale.

Seneca Driver The end. (and, that's nothing against any of the others mentioned, but he's just that good. What he does on both sides of the ball? The freak of nature he is physically? His speed to go with it? The P4 player he will be? Stays healthy the next few years and we are looking at a future 1st round draft pick.)

Dude is the best there is in the league at coffin cornering them.

Nah. No need to leave and shouldn't be in a rush to leave. Has his whole career ahead of him- don't leave a Camelot as a top assistant for just anything (and, Greenwood isn't just "anything". I didn't mean that. Far from it. Great school, really good programs across the board- boys & girls, facilities and just so happens to be in THE best town in Kentucky)

Jason would be a great hire, too, but he's got a heck of a program going in his own right as the Head Baseball Coach out on Scottsville Road. I THINK continuing to do the offense for G'wood in the fall will continue. If by chance Tony isn't named as the next HFC? It's simply because he didn't/doesn't want it.

Agreed. Nothing about January 23, in high school football, is late. This job will go to Tony Adams, as it should- whether Will resigned in November or now.

This will be an inside hire & go to Tony Adams (as it should). Congrats to Coach Howard on a heck of a career at Greenwood!

IF a success multiplier were used & a guideline of "making it to the state finals"? Using every 2 years? Add these to the list. Owensboro Catholic Trinity (but, again, that's the conundrum, for now...where would they go? Which is why, as I've stated, I don't think the success multiplier is the way to go for KY until that path was sorted out) Using every 4 years? Add these also to the original list. Mayfield Pikeville Cooper

"I'm NOT Success Multiplier or Bust."

I know we keep framing a "success factor" as “punishment,” but is it really? Is it any more a punishment than Ohio County being expected to build a program while sharing a district/region with Bowling Green, Owensboro, and Madisonville-North Hopkins? Or Holmes constantly having to go through Covington Catholic and Highlands, and a region with Ashland and Johnson Central? Or Thomas Nelson, in a county already loaded with schools, knowing that if they’re in-district they’re staring at Bardstown, Christian Academy–Louisville, Central, and Lexington Catholic just to get out of the gate? That’s not even about winning a title—that’s about surviving. But context matters. Fun fact people forget: Boyle County never won a state title while being in the same class as Danville. Not one. What changed? In 1999, the KHSAA adopted the “you must play in your class” rule. Danville had always played up. You can’t convince me that rule wasn’t influenced by programs realizing that playing up was impeding their own path to improvement. Bowling Green had only one in it's school history until 6 classes. Raceland had never been to a state final in old 4 or 3 classes. You get the point and THERE ARE OTHERS. Outside changes have happened for years to the structure of this thing, allowing programs to thrive & continue to do so more than before That’s not “everyone gets a trophy.” That’s acknowledging reality. I’m not anti-multiplier—but I’m much more in favor of population density / demographic factors (Urban/Suburban/Rural) like Florida uses. That addresses the real imbalance without pretending success itself is the problem. A long-term success review might eventually lead to an Open/D1-type tier anyway. I’d rather be honest about that than act like moving a few programs up is some moral punishment. That’s not complaining. That’s just saying out loud what a lot of people already know but won’t say.

First, let me say this clearly: I’m "Success multiplier or Bust". A move from the archaic, outdated, antiquated ways of doing things? Absolutely I understand the intent behind it. When the same programs keep showing up late in November and December, people naturally ask, “Who would this apply to?” If we’re strictly answering that question—based on recent sustained success—you’re obviously talking about programs like Christian Academy–Louisville, Boyle County, Raceland, Beechwood, and Bowling Green—programs that have either won multiple state titles or played in multiple championship games over a short window. Those are the names that would get flagged. No mystery there. But here’s where I start to pause—not because those programs don’t win, but because the real question isn’t who’s winning… it’s why they’re winning. And this is also where the success multiplier gets really tricky—especially once you hit 6A. Because what exactly do you do with 6A programs? There’s nowhere to move them. No higher class. No clean solution. So now you’ve built a system where the “penalty for success” applies unevenly depending on class size. That alone should make us slow down. The only way a true success-based model works long-term is if you let it play out over time—cream rises to the top style. And if you do that, whether people want to admit it or not, you eventually end up with something that looks an awful lot like an Open Division… or what I laid out months ago as a Division 1 concept. And honestly? That might not be a terrible idea—if it’s done intentionally and transparently. But here’s why I’m still much more in favor of population density and demographic factors as the primary driver—similar to Florida’s Urban, Suburban, and Rural classifications. Because Kentucky’s imbalance problem isn’t really about trophies. It’s about environment. Two schools can have the same enrollment and live in completely different realities: different population density different feeder systems different access to participation different depth and margin for error A rural program can be a good—well coached, disciplined, tough—and still not have the same ecosystem as a suburban or metro school. That doesn’t make one “better.” It makes them different. And this isn’t some brand-new idea—we’re watching the same debate happen right now at the college level. The Power Four vs Group of Five discussion is basically the same argument in a different uniform. Programs like Western Kentucky Hilltoppers are good football programs. Anyone who knows the game understands that. They’re well coached. They develop players. They win games. But they also operate in a different ecosystem—and they have zero structural path to the same ceiling. That doesn’t make them bad. It just means the system acknowledges reality. High school football is no different. Bad programs are still going to be bad—no matter what multiplier you use. What we’re really talking about is how to classify good programs fairly without sending the message: “Congrats on doing everything right—now here’s your "punishment".”

I disagree with the premise that multipliers or success factors “punish teams for being good.” What they actually do is acknowledge that not all success is created equal, and not all programs operate under the same structural conditions. This argument treats success as if it exists in isolation—purely the result of coaching, buy-in, and culture—while dismissing context, which has always mattered in high school football. Community support absolutely matters, but community support is not evenly distributed. Some schools draw from talent-dense population bases, some are independent schools with condensed enrollment zones and zero transportation barriers, and some exist in football-centric towns tied to industry or college programs. Those realities are not insults—they are advantages, and they compound over time. The fact that some of these programs win regardless of who the coach is should not be used as evidence against reform—it should be evidence for it. When success transcends individual coaching staffs, that tells us the foundation is structural, not cyclical. Meanwhile, several of these same programs were not dominant under the old four-class system. They were competitive, yes—but not perennial title forces in the way they have been since six classes were introduced. That was a systemic adjustment, and it benefited certain schools significantly. Nobody argued then that reclassification was “punishing success.” So this raises a consistency problem. It was acceptable to restructure the system when it opened doors for some programs, but now that reform might be used to address modern competitive imbalances, it’s suddenly framed as an attack on football culture? That logic doesn’t hold. High school football has always evolved—classification changes, playoff expansions, enrollment formulas, district realignments. Reform is not new. Selective resistance is. The “two-year window” concern is fair—but it cuts both ways. Programs that reload annually due to enrollment pipelines, feeder systems, and geographic density are far less vulnerable to roster swings than small rural schools with limited numbers and long bus routes. Treating those two situations as equal in the name of “fairness” is actually what creates imbalance. As for the claim that this creates a ceiling for small schools—that ceiling already exists. It just isn’t acknowledged. Sustained dominance over similarly sized opponents while never facing programs with comparable structural advantages isn’t competitive purity; it’s insulation. Reform doesn’t punish excellence—it asks whether excellence should be measured only by wins, or by the conditions under which those wins occur. If competitive balance were truly just about enrollment, we wouldn’t have decades of evidence showing that enrollment alone doesn’t explain dominance. Participation rates, geographic access, population density, feeder continuity, and institutional structure all matter—and ignoring them doesn’t preserve the game. It freezes it. The real issue isn’t whether these programs are good—they absolutely are. The issue is whether we’re willing to admit that the system has already been adjusted before, that those adjustments helped certain programs flourish, and that continuing to evolve the structure now isn’t “bad for football.” It’s simply acknowledging reality. Because what was acceptable reform when it benefited some cannot suddenly become “harmful to the sport” when it’s applied more broadly. What’s good for some of the geese can still be good for the gander.

Wise man once said: "The hardest and most important wins you'll ever have are at the dinner table of your own players." Hard then. True then. Even harder and truer now, moreso than ever. The amount of people closest to them in their ears, that DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY DON'T KNOW (but, sure think they do) is staggering. For that matter, it doesn't even have to be the ones that are closest- they can just read/hear an endless amount of opinions, on endless amounts of platforms.

Very well might be....but, I was just going off the info that they gave and have posted on THEIR district website, so technically, they aren't accurate. ? All I could find was THREE listed assistant positions for HS football, however, they may very well be able to split that total pot up and the HC gets to divey it up as he see fits (some allow it, some don't). And, you're 1,000% right on that last part. Juice is becoming more and more not worth the squeeze. I totally believe that about the cut in stipends, adjustments to pay for extra services....several have done that. Uncanny how many have either done that and/or not bumped them up within the turn of this century.

They obviously don't, but sadly they aren't alone. I'm glad you mentioned the "Talent" part, because at the end of the day, in our state? It's the trump card. The beginning and the end.

Conner (Boone County Public Schools) Teaching R1, Yr 20= $79,314 R1, Yr 27= $87,645 Needless to say...pretty dang good, but it should be due to cost of living- namely real estate. HOWEVER HFC Stipend- $12,947 Asst Coach Pay Pool- 2 @ 5,934, 1 @ 4,855. So, $16,723 for assistant coaches. Not sure if you can split that pot up or not, but let's say you can and need a staff of 5. We can do the math....pennies on the dollar. There is a Weight stipend of $2,697. Either way...a school district the size of Boone County, a school and a program with the numbers of Conner and they don't even have $20K allotted for assistant coaches. They sure love BAND, though. Head Band Director- $1,996 + 55 Days So, a Head Band Director with: R1 & 20 years in makes a $25,323 stipend (Stipend with Ext Day Pay= Year of Salary Schedule Pay/ 187 x 55 + $1,996) Head Band Director R1 & 27 Years? $27,773 AND...they get to do BAND/MUSIC related classes ALL day as their teaching assignment, WHICH THEY SHOULD/NEED TO BE DOING & one of those classes (at least) is ALL of the Marching Band/Pep Band members...usually last period/block of the day. Guess what they probably get to do if like 99% of all high school band/music programs that last period of the day? GO OUT AND PRACTICE. Head football coach/staff members get that kind of pay? Day job where they are in the weight room all day? One period where it's ONLY FOOTBALL PLAYERS? Allowed to go out and start practice....during the day? Guessing not, but I could be wrong. I hope I am. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://files-backend.assets.thrillshare.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/5475/Bcs/05412a0d-3195-479b-a77d-2ca6d76a6b19/Certified_Salary_Schedules_-_Including_Adminis.pdf?disposition=inline chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://files-backend.assets.thrillshare.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/5475/Bcs/227bbf95-3e19-4dee-a83a-262d3b2f2f5d/Salary-Schedules-2025-2026---extra-duty.pdf?disposition=inline @DearToday

Absolutely my pleasure to do so. I'm going to start doing this for every opening, HC pay, assistant coaching pay, etc. I love this state and especially high school football in this state as much as anybody, trust me. Full on engrained into every fabric of my soul. Four generations deep as a player. Three generations (80 years combined) deep as a coach- myself included. So, while putting some this kind of stuff out there might come off as being "negative"? It couldn't be further from the truth. This is reality. And, reality matters- especially when communities, fans, parents, hiring committees form opinions without fully understanding the sacrifices, limitations, and expectations tied to these positions. Making sure people truly understand what these jobs are & what they are not, before attaching assumptions, expectations or judgement to them. Transparency is honesty.

Just when I thought Caverna might be the hard slap of reality? (and, this one even shocked me) WEBSTER COUNTY (smaller 3A, and 2A up until the most recent realignment) See a community like Ohio County, except Ohio County.....along with Science Hill & Eubank would all seem like a full blown metropolis when compared to Providence, Dixon & Seabree. Know the show "1,000 Lbs Sisters"? That's right. Meanwhile, Somerset/PC is home to "The Houseboat Capitol of the World". ...there is also plenty of BIG BODIED deer in those WKY fields, too. Huge plus IMVHO. Rank 1, year 20? $64,000 (while not much of a difference like the others, still almost a full $1K more than R1, YR 20 in PCS...and, STILL more than R1, YR 27 in PCS) Rank 1, Year 27-Year 28? $68,000-$71,000 https://files.smartsites.parentsquare.com/3016/25-26_certified_salary_schedule_1_1.pdf

Why I didn't think of this one first to drive home the reality of teacher pay in PCS? CAVERNA ...that's right. If not familiar with Caverna? Imagine the communities of Science Hill IND and Eubank being ONE. Independent? Yes. But one of THE SMALLEST in the entire state. Rank 1, Year 20? $70,822 ($7K+ more than Year 20 at PCS) Rank 1, Year 27? $73, 281 (Just shy of $10K more than Year 27 at PCS) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T-sjpK3wdGX_Q919O-5K_V9NnsJVdfKU/view

Ohio County Nothing like PC/Somerset, in any capacity, except teacher pay where IT is even FAR GREATER. "One horse" town? Yes. Geographically very large and spread out. Not close to Louisville. Not close to Lexington. However, "centrally located" between Bowling Green and Owensboro. By that? I mean, 30 mins to Owensboro, 45 to Bowling Green. Year 20, Rank 1? $70,649 Year 27-Year 30, Rank 1? $73,466-$74,021