Ardent followers of local high schools competing in state tournaments know that teams in this area typically compete in the south section. Schools in other parts of the state are placed in the north, central or west sections based on their location.
Once those sectional champions are determined, state semifinals are typically held at professional or college sites. The north and south basketball champs, for example, play on the parquet floor at the TD Garden while central and west titlists meet at either the DCU Center, MassMutual Center or at a college west of Interstate 495.
That may all change when representatives from Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association member schools meet next month.
Administrators from those schools will vote on a proposal drafted by the MIAA’s tournament management committee (TMC) to do away with the current format and operate statewide tournaments beginning in fall of 2021.
The TMC was charged with drafting a proposal by the MIAA’s board of directors after schools expressed concern about tournament inconsistencies.
One of the issues is that teams in the north and south sections often have to win six or seven postseason games in order to win a state championship; teams in the central and west sections, however, often only need to win four of five tourney games. The lack of high schools in those two sections also necessitates teams meeting up to four times a season.
The current system also sets up major enrollment disparities. When North Attleboro advanced to the 2017 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium they faced a school with 966 boys – St. John’s of Shrewsbury. The Red Rocketeers had a male enrollment of only 584.
If Shrewsbury was located in the eastern part of the state they would have played in the top division with Attleboro, Taunton, Xaverian and others. In fact, St. John’s has more boys than each of those schools.
St. John’s plays in the same football division as North Attleboro because there are not enough schools (three) to make up a division 1 or 2 tournament in the central section.
The current system is simply not fair. It may also be a reason why there are so many lopsided games played at Gillette on the first Saturday in December.
Under the proposed format, tournaments would be similar to the way colleges determine their champions.
MIAA member schools have already approved changing how tournaments are seeded and will do away with placing teams in a bracket based on winning percentages. This results in schools with an inflated record over weak opponents getting a top seed. There is currently no incentive to play a difficult nonleague schedule.
The new seeding system will be determined using a rating system devised by MaxPreps. The organization provides ratings for a majority of states across the country and factors in the strength of schedule of not only the schools your team plays, but also their opponents.
The formula goes multiple layers to help determine a true strength of schedule.
Those ratings will be used for seeding divisions beginning this fall. Qualifying will remain the same: finish first or second in league play or finish .500 or better.
Under the statewide plan, the top 32 teams in each division will automatically qualify and be seeded using the MaxPreps rating.
Schools not in the top 32 could still make the tournament by winning 50 percent of their regular season games, resulting a tournament field of more than 32.
Seeding would similar to the NCAA basketball tournament. The top four schools in the ratings would receive top seeds and be placed in separate regions. Teams five through eight would be the number two seeds. The process would continue until the 32 schools and those qualifying with at least a .500 record are placed in a bracket.
Another reward for top ranked teams would be more home games. The top seeds in each section would get four home games – assuming they keep winning – as opposed to the two they currently receive.
Opponents will argue that the proposal could force schools to travel across the state. Proponents should counter that it will also result in less travel by eliminating neutral sites for sectional semifinals and finals.
Games involving teams traveling a predetermined distance could be scheduled for a Friday night or weekend afternoon.
It’s important to note that football would most likely have only 16 teams in the statewide tournament due to scheduling conflicts with Thanksgiving Day games. The football committee would determine the actual number.
That same committee would also decide on the number of divisions moving forward. The TMC’s proposal calls for a reduction from the eight currently in use to five. Six would be a fair compromise.
Check out the entire proposal:
