New WPIAL Classifications

[eastcoasthoops]

Can someone help me out with the PIAA's logic? The one 6A classification has Canon-Mac and Altoona in the same section. How does that benefit the kids? Are parents from Canonsburg going to get to Altoona by 7 on a Friday for kickoff?

It's crazy. Maybe the PIAA should reimburse the schools for gas.

 

[rpost3]

All this just so 2 more teams can call themselves champions? If this is real then the WPIAL should just drop out of the PIAA.

 

[ncyajleel]

All this just so 2 more teams can call themselves champions? If this is real then the WPIAL should just drop out of the PIAA.

Not enough kids are winners. Everyone should get a trophy, but not have to work as hard for it.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

The Coach’s Corner says this was done to break up the WPIAL championships. The Central and Eastern part of PA think we care more about the WPIAL than the state. Many old rivals are now in jeopardy! PA sucks

 

[Swervin27]

The Central and Eastern part of PA think we care more about the WPIAL than the state.

We do.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

We are a parochial lot ….. aren’t we

We do.

 

[Saboteur]

This only happens because the WPIAL controls the scheduling. And if you haven't looked lately, the price of gas/diesel is half of what it was 2 years ago.
In Ohio where this has been the norm for over two decades, the state makes the classfication but the schools control their own scheduling. Playoffs are also determined by computer ranking (and Ohio has been this way since 1972) so teams play up or down as they please.
Now I understand that 2016 in western pennsylvania is actually like living in 1972, but for the rest of the world time has marched on.
As for me, i can't wait to see that Fifth Avenue/ Schenley hoops game this weekend!

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

The PIAA doesn't have anything to do with which WPIAL schools are in which sections. That decision was all on the WPIAL. The root cause of the problem is allowing Altoona, a non - WPIAL school that is 70 miles from the CLOSEST school even in their former section to play in the WPIAL in the first place.

Of course this is also the same organization that allowed Erie McDowell to be in their league for football a few years ago and then put them in the same section with the Westmoreland and Fayette County and schools for a couple of seasons. That drive from Connellsville to Erie was every bit as bad, probably worse in fact, than the one from Canon - Mac to Altoona.

 

[ClarkLotTgate]

Almost every single WPIAL school voted against this, but WPIAL agreed to go along with PIAA anyway. You think our area is a mess- what do you think this does to other regions of the state? You wanna see some real messes check out district 10.

It is ironic that the Eastern part of the state didn't like how WPIAL functioned for football, yet the Philly area didn't participate in state titles themselves (at least that's how it was when i was in school, early 2000's)

 

[eastcoasthoops]

All this just so 2 more teams can call themselves champions? If this is real then the WPIAL should just drop out of the PIAA.

Areed.

 

[Saboteur]

Areed.

 

[yourhired]

The classifications are really confusing I'm surprised Woodland Hills is in 5 not 6 you would have thought they would want to play up. The second placing PCC, NA, and PR in the same division I'm scratching my head on.

 

[ClarkLotTgate]

The classifications are really confusing I'm surprised Woodland Hills is in 5 not 6 you would have thought they would want to play up. The second placing PCC, NA, and PR in the same division I'm scratching my head on.

yea how Penn Hills fits in to that 6a section 2, makes less than no sense. (only eastern suburb team, and demographically couldn't be more different from the northern teams)
-PH must have just been over the limit to go into 6A. Which is a shame because every rival and neighboring school are 5A section 2.

Are all the non-football sports lined up with basketball?
-like i didn't see soccer, track etc.

 

[eastcoasthoops]

And if you haven't looked lately, the price of gas/diesel is half of what it was 2 years ago.!

You betting that gas is going to be under $2/gallon in perpetuity? Lol

 

[FourPanthers]

Not enough kids are winners. Everyone should get a trophy, but not have to work as hard for it.

Welcome to the new America! And if Bernie Sanders gets elected, NOBODY will ever have to work again...everything will be free!!!

 

[ClarkLotTgate]

Welcome to the new America! And if Bernie Sanders gets elected, NOBODY will ever have to work again...everything will be free!!!

deep breath...and the remember don't bring up politics unless it's germane to the sports topic being discussed.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

I want to see how it works out. Too many blowouts before.

 

[Saboteur]

You betting that gas is going to be under $2/gallon in perpetuity? Lol

Oh ...perpetuity is the timeline? You betting the WPIAL will last in perpetuity? What goes first? The WPIAL or the Mon Valley?

 

[ClarkLotTgate]

I'll tell ya who made out like bandits... North Catholic.
3A, easy section, and with their new campus etc, they can "not-recruit....recruit" and should be doing very well at that level for the foreseeable future.

 

[TempleBAPittMPA]

It is ironic that the Eastern part of the state didn't like how WPIAL functioned for football, yet the Philly area didn't participate in state titles themselves (at least that's how it was when i was in school, early 2000's)

The public schools in the Philadelphia suburbs have participated in the PIAA football playoffs since their inception. It was the Philadelphia Public and Catholic League schools that long resisted affiliating with the PIAA, largely because of a reluctance to adhere to a number of more restrictive PIAA rules. (I'm not convinced that they're adhering to them even though they've joined.)

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

It was the Philadelphia Public and Catholic League schools that long resisted affiliating with the PIAA, largely because of a reluctance to adhere to a number of more restrictive PIAA rules. (I'm not convinced that they're adhering to them even though they've joined.)

The main one being that you aren't allowed to recruit for athletics. When they joined the PIAA they had to learn to do it like other schools do, on the down low.

For the folks questioning why they did this, one reason is that the really big schools (all of which are out east) in AAAA were about five or six times larger than the small AAAA schools. It was getting to the point where it was hard for the smaller AAAA schools to compete. The idea was that more classes means that the difference between the biggest and smallest schools in a given class would be reduced. The problem, from a western half of the state perspective, is that almost none of those really big schools are on this half of the state. So the schools on this half of the state don't really get the benefit from this. Just to show the size disparity, in the last set of enrollment numbers, not the current ones that they are using, the set before that, of the top 50 biggest schools in the state there were something like five or six of them on the western half of the state. Seneca Valley, North Allegheny, McDowell, State College and Brasher was the list, maybe one other that I can't think of off the top of my head. None of those schools were even close to the top ten biggest in the state. So the huge school issue isn't a big deal out this way (the issue out here is that there are way too many wee little school districts, but that's a topic for a different day).

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Are all the non-football sports lined up with basketball?
-like i didn't see soccer, track etc.

No, they are not. Because football and basketball are the only two sports with six classes. Soccer, for instance, goes from three to four. I believe baseball and softball are the same. I have not seen the new sections for any sports other than football and boys and girls basketball. My guess is that they haven't thought that far ahead yet.

 

[ncyajleel]

I lived in Waynesburg and went to school at Edinboro, that drive from Pittsburgh to Erie is brutal!

The PIAA doesn't have anything to do with which WPIAL schools are in which sections. That decision was all on the WPIAL. The root cause of the problem is allowing Altoona, a non - WPIAL school that is 70 miles from the CLOSEST school even in their former section to play in the WPIAL in the first place.

Of course this is also the same organization that allowed Erie McDowell to be in their league for football a few years ago and then put them in the same section with the Westmoreland and Fayette County and schools for a couple of seasons. That drive from Connellsville to Erie was every bit as bad, probably worse in fact, than the one from Canon - Mac to Altoona.

 

[ncyajleel]

That's why I'm voting for Barry Sanders!

Welcome to the new America! And if Bernie Sanders gets elected, NOBODY will ever have to work again...everything will be free!!!

 

[eastcoasthoops]

That's why I'm voting for Barry Sanders!

You just can't trust Barry Sanders. He was always very shifty and side stepped everything.

 

[ratking17]

Almost every single WPIAL school voted against this, but WPIAL agreed to go along with PIAA anyway. You think our area is a mess- what do you think this does to other regions of the state? You wanna see some real messes check out district 10.

It is ironic that the Eastern part of the state didn't like how WPIAL functioned for football, yet the Philly area didn't participate in state titles themselves (at least that's how it was when i was in school, early 2000's)

As a former district 10 athlete I agree 100000 percent. Things have changed for the worst but when I was an athlete in high school our closest team in our division was 45 minutes away. The furthest was 2 hrs. We had d10 games out of division that were 3 hrs away. That was the norm.

 

[pittdan77]

I'm not sure what to think about this in terms of the WPIAL. The rest of the state outside of Philly and Pittsburgh have been dealing with this issue for quite a while now.

Take Johnstown for instance. They play in a "conference" with AAA, AA, and A teams. Laurel Highlands Conference. There is even a team from District 5 (Somerset) in the predominantly District 6 league. The amount of travel, especially for basketball in the winter is insane. That said, it's still much less travel than if they sought to only play schools in their "class". The only other schools close for Johnstown are WPIAL schools (who can't play them), Somerset, and Clearfield.

I guess my point is, the WPIAL could easily have set up a similar scheduling format in order to keep travel to a minimum. The notion that you have to keep everything partitioned the whole season is either being done deliberately to create controversy (the 6 classifications was going to pass without the WPIAL), or it's just old school stupidity. Either way, it doesn't make sense to break out the regular season this way.

 

[passedout]

The PIAA resisted those Philly Catholic/Private schools for years because they DONT put butts in the seats for PIAA events like public schools do. Attendance fell when they started letting them play in state playoffs. That is a big reason why the state basketball championships were moved to State College several years ago. Hershey built the Giant Center and jacked the rate to host the events out there. Attendance was down because Philly private/catholic schools were making championship games, so PSU offered the Bryce Jordan Center to the PIAA for free. Money is always the reason for change with the PIAA.

 

[ClarkLotTgate]

WPIAL should just send our champions to Ohio.
certainly better football played out there, and PA basketball outside of Philly is generally not something to write home about.

 

[QuitCallingMeWanny]

They should have sent Altoona back to to The Land of Greg Croft and let Westinghouse join.....

 

[ClarkLotTgate]

allowing city schools into the WPIAL has been a bigger issue since the city started letting parents chose which HS their school would go to. Theoretically they could make a city league all-star team at one HS.
-yea thats terrible to think sports would outweigh education in HS....but it's reality.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

They should have sent Altoona back to to The Land of Greg Croft and let Westinghouse join.....

That's the truly ridiculous part of it all. They allow Altoona in. It is an 84 mile, 1 hour 30 minute drive from Altoona to the next closest school in their section, which is Hempfield. On the other hand they refuse to allow Westinghouse in, and you can drive from Westinghouse to several WPIAL schools in about 15 minutes. I don't know what class the school will be in with the Wilkinsburg kids going to Westinghouse next year, but they are a heck of a lot closer to the schools they would play than Altoona is to anyone in their section.

 

[ClarkLotTgate]

again it's about city school district parents being able to select which high school the kids go to, not something geographically related. that's why no westinghouse for football, no allderdice for basketball. It has nothing to do with distance.

 

[PSU_Nut]

again it's about city school district parents being able to select which high school the kids go to, not something geographically related. that's why no westinghouse for football, no allderdice for basketball. It has nothing to do with distance.

That not the reason. They could easily add all the city league school. You don't see the WPIAL kicking out catholic schools who can essentially add anyone they want. You know they have scholarships for athletes to attend those schools. The real reason is because they simply don't want to have the suburban schools with their McMansion have to play in a dangerous city leagues school. It ridiculous and the city league should be part of the WPIAL.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Yeah, of course it doesn't have anything to do with kids being able to go to different schools in the city. After all, city league schools already play in the WPIAL in several sports. Both boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, etc.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

By the way, if you go to the MSA Sports web site they have the new sections for all sports, not just football and basketball. They must have released all the other ones sometime today.

 

[Joe Pa Thetic]

I live on the eastern side of the state, and I hate the move to six classes. It waters down the champions while doing nothing to address the charters and Catholic schools. In the Philadelphia Public League (for basketball at least), the best schools don't even play AAAA with the explosion of charter schools in recent years. I could support the move to six classes if the PIAA would have at least addressed the inequity of smaller public schools being in the same classification as stacked charters and Catholic schools.

I went to a public school that bounced between A and AA depending on the year. Particularly with basketball, it increasingly has become a hopeless endeavor hoping to go deep in the state playoffs when there are so many charters and Catholic schools in the lower classifications.

 

[Joe Pa Thetic]

allowing city schools into the WPIAL has been a bigger issue since the city started letting parents chose which HS their school would go to. Theoretically they could make a city league all-star team at one HS.
-yea thats terrible to think sports would outweigh education in HS....but it's reality.

Philadelphia has open enrollment throughout the city. I follow basketball throughout the state more than I do football (my high school did not even have football until after I graduated in '92).

A kid can go anywhere he chooses in Philly other than some of the grade-restricted magnet schools (who are not sports powers anyway). Schools like Imhotep Charter, Math, Civicis and Sciences, and Constution that did not even exist 10-12 years ago became dominant forces overnight by cannibalizing the top talent from the giant public schools that were the traditional powers in the city for generations.

I try to keep up with the Philadelphia Public and Catholics leagues as much as I can for someone living 90 minutes away from Philly, but the Philly Public League can confusing as hell to keep track of from year to year. Schools constantly open, close, get renamed from one year to the next.

 

[ClarkLotTgate]

So we are basically all saying this entire this is a crock and does nothing at all o address any of the actual issues.

....yup this all sounds about right For piaa

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Couple thoughts:

1. What they should have done is, like in New Jersey, have separate classifications for schools not bound by geographic boundaries. New Jersey has 4 public school classifications and 2 private school classifications. You could lump in the charter schools which are not bound by geographic boundaries in with the private schools.

2. Why in the world is Clairton still playing single a football. Aliquippa is a single a school but are playing up to 3A. It would have been interesting to see Clairton play all the way up to 4A in that section with neighboring schools, Thomas Jefferson, West Mifflin and Belle Vernon. Clairton could be very competitive with those schools and even win that conference.

3. With all the talk of how they're going to do six different championships I think maybe they should do Single a Double A and Triple A on Friday November 18th at Heinz Field and then do 4A, 5A and 6A on Black Friday the next week. It gives the field a break but also puts the lower 3 classifications on center stage as they go first.