Agreed. We do. You need to get over your whole WPIAL fascination and join the rest of us...
New WPIAL Classifications
- Thread starter eastcoasthoops
- Start date
and what does the rest of you care about? Eastern PA football? Dubois High? Lycoming?? Why?
Can someone explain to the legitimate reasons why city league teams have been denied admission into the WPIAL?
WHO is afraid of them and why are they afraid?
They can't. Because the number of 6A, 5A and 4A teams in the WPIAL is, percentage-wise, much smaller than the number of 3A, 2A and 1A teams the WPIAL teams in the top three classes will enter the state playoffs in the quarterfinals. That means the WPIAL winners in those classes plays a state playoff game the weekend of November 25. So those finals HAVE to be played the weekend before that. On the other hand, the winners in the three smaller classes enter the state playoffs in the semifinals. That means that their first state playoff game is not until the first weekend of December. So if those three classes play the weekend of the 18th then those winners would have two weekends in a row with no games before the state playoffs.
Add in to that the fact that the Stillers have no interest in them playing six playoff games at Heinz and no interest in having the games on two days rather than just one and even if the logistics worked out six games at Heinz wouldn't be happening anyway. Just imagine what that field would look like if you had three high school games on the 18th, the Pitt - Duke game on the 19th, a Stiller game on the 20th, three more high school games on the 25th, the Pitt - Syracuse game on the 26th, and then another Stiller game on the 27th. 10 games in 10 days. Yikes.
Well, the only city team that wants to join the WPIAL for football is Westinghouse. The other city schools, at least to this point, have shown no interest in joining. The reason that Westinghouse wants to join is that Westinghouse is much, much smaller than the other city schools. I don't know where they fall in the new scheme (especially with them adding the Wilkinsburg kids), but in the current set up they are the only AA team in the city (for football). The other schools are either AAA or AAAA. Brashear is actually one of the biggest schools in the western half of the state, compared to Westinghouse they are gigantic. And Westinghouse simply cannot compete under the current setup. That's why they want in the WPIAL for football.
The excuse the WPIAL used to deny them entry was that without Westinghouse there is an even number of schools playing football the next two years and they wanted an even number of teams for scheduling purposes. That excuse is moronic for at least two reasons. One, toss out Altoona, who has no business playing the WPIAL in the first place given how far away they are from any teams that they will play and add Westinghouse and you are back to the magical even number of teams. Or even better yet, get with the leaders of the city league and come to an agreement that if you add Westinghouse that the City League will make one team each week available to play a WPIAL team in a non-conference game. I can't believe the other city schools wouldn't jump on that. Now, several of them have to go to West Virginia schools to schedule non-conference games because they can't find anyone closer available to play. Last year several of them also had weeks that they didn't play a game, because they couldn't find anyone close by who would play them and they didn't want to travel several hours for a game. I can't believe that they wouldn't jump on that in a heartbeat. It would solve the odd number of teams "dilemma". But my guess is that no one bothered to ask.
Isnt it the other way around? I thought the Pittsburgh City School District chooses to keep its own division for competitive and financial purposes. The city schools would get manhandled by the suburban football factories. What fun is it losing to NA 70-0?
Bball is a different story but City League hoops is no worse than WPIAL ball and there's tradition and rivalries in the City League that they want to maintain.
If the PSD wanted to join the WPIAL, they'd be accepted in 2 seconds.
Why should Clairton play up at all? They're actually one of the smallest schools in the state fielding a football team. You could create eight enrollment classifications and that wouldn't change. Besides, that great run of talent there won't last forever--history has shown that those things are cyclical.
By the way, I am an alumnus of the late, great Duquesne High School, which until the state shut it down was Clairton's biggest athletic rival--but I don't mind sticking up for the Bears.
Not to my knowledge. The WPIAL has denied 3 city league schools entry over the past 5 years.
Which three schools, at which times? Since the athletic administration in the City League is centralized that makes no sense.
As I said before, there already are city schools that play in the WPIAL in numerous sports. Allderdice, for instance, made the WPIAL boys soccer playoffs this season (the first time a city school made the WPIAL playoffs in any sport). Brashear also plays boys soccer. Allderdice, Brashear, Obama and Carrick play in baseball. Allderdice plays boys lacrosse, golf and tennis. Allderdice, Brashear, Obama and Carrick all have boys swimming teams in the WPIAL. And we could do something similar for girls sports.
The fact is that two years ago, before the last realignment, the city league voted on whether or not to petition the WPIAL to join for all sports. That proposal was shot down, not by the WPIAL but by the city schools. The city schools don't want to give up their football league. Or their basketball league. Or a few others. But at that time in every sport, boys and girls, that the City League asked to have their teams in the WPIAL the WPIAL agreed and added those schools. EVERY sport that the City League asked. If the city schools had gone to the WPIAL before this current realignment and asked to join the WPIAL en masse, they would have been accepted. Guaranteed, they would have been accepted.
SMF...are you sure that NJ charter schools aren't restricted by geography. In PA, charter schools are supervised by the district of their location. Is NJ different?? Private schools recruit everywhere. In PA, the district won't bus private school kids more than 10 miles, so you see carpools for North Hills kids going to Central or Oakland.
I was always interested in what Clairton could do against some of the schools in larger classifications, but when it comes down to it, depth and the size of the lines would be too much for them to compete with the big boys in 4A. But I am looking forward to their game against Aliquippa.
Me too and while Aliquippa plays up mostly to stick with their familiar opponents, Clairton doesn't have that. Surrounding schools, Jefferson, Elizabeth, etc want nothing to do with them.
Huh? That doesn't sound right. Altoona and Huntingdon get admitted but not the city schools? On what grounds?
I dont have all the details on New Jersey charters. What I am saying is that they have 4 public school classifications and 2 private school classifications. NJ charter schools would probably fall under the public school classifications but that isnt that big a deal right now in Jersey as the best athletes go to Catholic school, not charters. In PA, the best bball players (especially in Philly) are going to charters. So, my idea for PA would be to do what Jersey does but lump the charters in with the privates since in PA, prospective students are not bound by geography.
The championships at the BJ Center were an attendance disaster. Centre County hates basketball and the attendance showed. They were moved back to Hershey after 2 years.
I don't have any clue. I'm not impressed by the WPIAL. Strike me as power driven demagogues, but hey, if someone wants to live in 1973 in perpetuity, so be it.
Clairton is class A size and even though they have had good teams over the last 12 or so years the numbers can catch up to them so why put yourself in a class size that you may not easily be able to change if needed?
So, this is the plan that has been voted on (by secret ballot) by the WPIAL.
- 8 team playoffs for 3A-6A with finals at Heinz Field on Fri, Nov 18. I can only remember 2 other times that WPIAL finals were played on a non-Black Friday Friday so it'll be weird to have day games at HF during a workday/school day.
- 16 team playoffs for 1A and 2A. Their finals will take place Nov 25 or 26 but NOT be at Heiz Field.
- 3A AD's are up in arms over this because the WPIAL votes without asking for their input. There are 23 3A schools and their champion advances to the state semifinals just like 1A and 2A so that means the 3A champ will get a bye week the weekend of the 25th but that also means to preserve HF for the championship, only 8 of 23 make the playoffs, whereas in 1A and 2A, its 16 of 24 and 16 of 25. The McGufey AD took a poll of 3A ADs and all but 2 said they'd rather have a 16 team playoff, playing their championship game on the weekend of the 25th, not at HF rathet than the 8 team/HF/bye before state semi setup.
Aliquippa is Class a size also and they do it. Plus, what you said is untrue because classifications are reset every 2 years. We know Clairton had Lamont Wade and Harrison Dreher this year so dont tell me they couldn't potentially win that 4A league with neighboring teams TJ, WM, BV, and Ringgold. They'd surely make the playoffs.
If not 4A, maybe they should have done 3A and been in that league with EF. They would have won that league.
Aliquippa is Class A size under the classifications currently in use, but not, if I understand the cutoffs correctly, under the new classifications to be implemented. Clairton has played up in the past when warranted. I mentioned the historic rivalry between the Bears and my alma mater, the now-defunct Duquesne HS. That rivalry was actually on hiatus for football (the sport I played) during my high school years because at that time, Clairton was playing up.
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