State Tournament Ideas for the IHSAA

'The Renegade' proposes some changes to the IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament

A USA-365.com Special Report

(3-18-2004)

State Tournament Ideas

Not everybody wants to change the state basketball tournament because a lot of people resist change. We are a notoriously backward state where change is concerned. In Indiana, we are often a generation behind the times and proud of it. In prep basketball, virtually every other state in the union realized that one class of playoffs was unfair to the smallest schools and took away the basis reason for having a state tournament, which is to create an exciting playoff experience for the kids and the towns (Indiana revels in small town life) involved.

But because of a fluke victory 50 years ago, we pushed what is now called 'class basketball' back realistically 20 years after it should have happened. Illinois went to a two class system in the mid-70s and they like it a lot. Indiana screwed up and went to four classes, when they didn't have a well thought out plan for four simultaneous state tournaments.

Attendance plummeted. But what was forgotten was that attendance at the sectional level had been dropping for two decades, especially as folks migrated from the urban areas. The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) isn't a marketing organization so they can be forgiven for having no aptitude at it. There area several obvious problems with what we have now in March.

But, instead of blame, lets consider some ideas. Some conventional. Some pretty radical.

1. ALTERNATE SECTIONAL DAYS

There is no reason that all sectional games be played on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Most other winter sports (and that is an IHSAA concern) are over by March and there is no weekday athletics. How about Monday, Wednesday and Friday for Classes 1A ands 2A..while Classes 3A and 4A play on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

DRAWBACKS: No one wants to play a state tourney game on Monday because there's no practice allowed on Sunday. It's a hardship, but with six-team sectionals and a lot of byes, only about 60 percent of teams in two classes will play on Monday. If coaches hate it too much, shift the plan to Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday for two classes and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for the other two.

BENEFITS: Teams that are not playing on any given night can attend the games of teams that are playing. Teams that win Friday title games almost certainly will attend Saturday games. Ballplayers are the game's best fans. Attendance will go up from that fact alone. Radio stations will carry games five or six nights a week instead of three. That's more cash for the IHSAA and more publicity for the game. Newspapers will give more complete coverage to two classes of games on any give night. No paper adequately covers four classes of games on the same night.

2. Two-day REGIONALS

The IHSAA may have thought they were saving money with two games in one day regionals. Or they may simply have set them up because that's tradition in Indiana. Either way, it doesn't work. It wears out the players and fans largely come to the night game. Kids sometimes sit at home and wait to see if their team won before coming out to the title game.

Why not have Class 1A and 2A play semifinals Thursday and finals Saturday afternoon. Then have 3A and 4A play Friday night and Saturday night. Fans can see all four classes if they want to. The small schools lose Friday night, but they didn't have that at the regional anyway. Saturday afternoon playoff games work well at the semistate level so they should go at the regional level, too. No other sports occur Saturday afternoon in mid March. Even the gymnastics regional moved to Friday night.

DRAWBACKS: Travel and lodging. Teams that win Friday night will have to stay over for Saturday if they come from more than 50-75 miles away, which is very rare at the regional level. Small schools that win Thursday will have to come back Saturday. It's not much of a hardship, but it's two trips instead of one. Big deal. Teams make two trips on back-to-back Friday and Saturday dates during the season and think nothing of it.

BENEFITS: Many. The big schools get the preferred Friday and Saturday night dates. Big crowds are almost guaranteed Saturday night because 1A and 2A have played and everybody knows what the final matchups are. Many times on regional Saturdays, fans can't find out who won the semifinals so they don't know whether they want to see the title game. One game a day gives the daily newspapers a chance to promote the game. It's very hard to play two games in one day. It is not done at ANY OTHER LEVEL OF THIS SPORT. This format eliminates the two-games-in-one-day scenario.

3. Make the Semistate a BEST 2 OUT OF 3 SERIES

Who says you can't do it? The IHSAA can do whatever they want. Go back to one semistate per site and schedule game one for 7:30 Friday. 7:30 Friday is the preferred basketball date and I don't know why the IHSAA stops using it after the sectionals. Game two is set for 12 noon Saturday afternoon. Game three is set, if necessary, for 7:30 Saturday night. Two games in one day is hard, but both sides have equal rest and you're playing the same team.

DRAWBACKS: Too much basketball, fans might get tired of it (Yeah, I'm laughing, too). The teams will have to stay over, but in the days of the old two-game semistate, teams used to stay over at the semistate level anyway. They had to. There will be fewer upsets at the semistate level. In a best-of-3 scenario, the better team usually wins.

BENEFITS: Much more money for the IHSAA. Fans will pack the buildings for that extra Friday night game in mid-March. Towns will benefit when teams have to stay at local hotels overnight. The excitement of an NBA-style playoff series surpasses any one game. The best teams will win more. Great players won't be fouled out of a chance to go to the state finals. Everybody should want that.

4. Seed the Sectional Tournament

Give the best two teams something for being the best two teams. It doesn't matter who they play. The top teams in a six team sectional should get a bye. It will create more drama as the best two teams can't meet in a quarterfinal.

DRAWBACKS: An unlucky team which had a losing record will not be able to get a good draw and slip into the finals. Some feel that is the essence of the state tourney in Indiana. Besides, it will be hard to determine who the top two teams are.

BENEFITS: Hard to determine? Please. That's what the Sagarin Computer ratings could be for. It won't be just a win-loss scenario. Besides, nobody said that you seed all six teams. The top seed doesn't have to play the sixth seed. Seed teams one and two so they get a bye and then draw the tournament the way they do it now. What you will ensure is that the top two teams CANNOT meet until the title game. That means a potential big gate and a possible climactic matchup. Drama. A big show. In short. Marketing your game.

5. Go to a Two-Class Tournament like Illinois

This is my dream. Two classes would rejuvenate the Indiana state tournament. Large urban schools like Gary Roosevelt and Hammond high would again be in the same bracket with big suburban schools like Merrillville and Valparaiso. The cutoff would be 600-700 students, just about where is is now. The state finals would consist of six games. Four semifinals and two title games. The small schools could play at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. while the big schools could play at one p.m. and three p.m. The small school state title game could start at 6 p.m. and the big school title game could start at 8 p.m.

DRAWBACKS: Schools of 800 would still have to face schools of 3,000 in the upper class. Small private schools like Bishop Noll and Lafayette Catholic would rule the small school bracket. The one class 'old school' proponents would still whine. Six games in one day would be a stretch. Kids would again play two games in one day.

BENEFITS: Get ready for the return of the two teams semistate and the four team state finals, which will boost attendance. Fans will stay in Indianapolis on title day instead of watching their game and going home. The IHSAA could charge a bigger ticket fee for six games. Teams would again be required to play eight or nine games to win the state title. Some busters can win six times and take the title now.

The feel of the old state final would return as the 'Final 4' would be back.

What do YOU think? Write 'The Renegade' at usa365@ameritech.net. We'll post some of the more creative responses and alternative suggestions the week of the IHSAA state finals.