WEST BEND - There's been quite a bit of fallout follwing a decision this week by the Sports Advisory Council regarding the WIAA's redistricting proposal. The Council voted 11-2 against the WIAA’s proposal. The main point of contention is splitting football teams into eight-team districts.
The goal of the WIAA Board of Control is to switch conference football to district football where schools would be grouped based on size in districts (enrollment) instead of conferences. Part of this plan would include changing the current system where teams play three games in 10 days at the end of the season and into the first two rounds of playoffs. Under the new system, it would merge week nine and week one of the playoffs.
The recent decision by the Sports Advisory Council comes on the heels of a 6-1 vote last month by the Football Coaches Advisory Committee which completely supported the measure. The WIAA Board of Control has stated, regardless of whether the football district proposal passes or fails, they will modify the traditional football season and playoffs.
School districts across the state have questioned the plan including Shell Lake which has concerns about cost, time and travel. The WIAA’s final meeting on the issue is slated for Jan. 27.
Following the council's vote, Preps on the Net was swamped with comments from coaches, athletic directors and football fans. Their thoughts are below.
MILWAUKEE - I am strongly against the district proposal. One of the biggest reasons for the district proposal is to create a more competitive balance between the schools. Enrollment does not mean a level playing field when you are talking about City Conference football. Even if they put 8 City teams in one district; the other 5 teams (Custer, South, Washington, Marshall, and North) will have a very hard time competing and may eventually drop their football program. I know some schools in the state would benefit from this proposal, but I do not think their advantages would outweigh the huge disadvantages some Milwaukee schools would have. Do we really want to see several teams get slaughtered until they decide to pull the plug on their football program? I don't think so; but it seems like many people just vote for how the proposal affects just their own school. I don't think many people know and/or care about what this will do to MPS football.
I think they should keep the current system and try to help certain parts of the state who may need realignment. There are several schools/conferences that need adjusting, but I do not think they need to "blow up" the entire state. I don't think there are as many problems with conferences in the southeast part of the state. Many of the top division 1 teams in the southeast do not want to play MPS schools but they probably don't all want to be in the same district. Imagine Homestead, Arrowhead, Menomonee Falls, and possibily Marquette in the same district. If they had to go to a district plan I would like to see all 13 MPS teams in one district (like we have now). The top 8 schools can play another district in that "playoff/extra" game in week 9 (top 4 are in the playoffs, next 4 are playing that seeding game).
The bottom 5 teams don't play week 9. It is not a great idea but I think it's better than the proposed plan. Any plan that puts an MPS school with other non-MPS schools will be terrible for that team. Morale and attitude would be awful; and many of these schools have enough problems already. Let them experience some success in their building. Milwaukee North is a great example. They made the playoffs this year and their kids enjoyed some success. If they were that proposed district, they likely would not have been successful and probably would have had many 35+ point defeats. Duke O'Keefe-Boettcher Milwaukee King head football coach
MAYVILLE - I actually think that the proposal has it's pros and cons. Pros-Currently there are several small schools that are competing in conferences that are too big for them. Even on a good year they are unable to make the play-offs because of the size of their school. Some small schools may be forced to drop their football program you can only continue to get beat for so long before the number of students who normally go out for football begins to drop thus not having enough to field a team. Some schools have been filing for independent status in order to get out of their conferences. Con- travel is quite far for some contests for some schools, but remember that ride to that school will be every other year. It has been undetermined what is going to happen with the JV and the frosh teams, will they play in the district causing late night returns in the middle of the week or play in our existing conferences or go out and get our own schedule. The school size issue affects football the most. Football seems to be the driving force behind most conf. realignment issues, so the District idea might be what we need so that conference realignment doesn't have to be changed so often, only football would have to be redrawn. It really is a safety issue with football and not so much with any other sport. Sig Schecher with the Mayville School District
KEWASKUM - As you probably know I am completely against the district plan. Here are my main reasons why the district plan is bad and it all has to do with everyone making changes just so a few teams have a better chance of making the playoffs. Can't the WIAA just adjust some conferences to help out some teams, instead of making a complete overhaul?
Here is a quick list of what's wrong:
1) travel- did you see West Bend East/West district? Their travel is a joke.
2 Fox Valley schools and 4 Green Bay schools? Every road game is 80 to 100 miles from West Bend. Wow. There are so many schools that hate this part of it that I can't even count that high.
2) Frosh/JV - the whole Frosh/JV scheduling now falls on the laps of the AD's.What happens if some of the teams in an "old" conference decide they want to play the in the new district for Frosh/JV?
3) Extra game- with a playoff game on week 9, it means that half of the playoff teams will lose a home game. This effects the bottom line as far as booster club and gate money.
4) Rivalries- the district plan eliminates some rivalries which also effects gate money and concessions. Does anyone in West Bend think that the admissions from Green Bay Southwest are going to be more than a Slinger or Hartford game? There is no way that teams will travel with as many fans. People like to watch rivals play. Kids like to play before a big crowd. That's what makes high school football fun!
The one common thing in all of the above is that the fans, players and coaches will share the whole burden of increased cost and time. It seems like a lot of people will be doing a lot more just so a couple of teams can make the playoffs. My plan could be adjusted some but the general idea addresses every concern above and also would help with 6 team or odd numbered conferences. I have actually even tweaked my idea a little more so that the travel will be minimized even more. I have to actually get back to work now. Vern Butz – Kewaskum School District
STRATFORD - I was one of those who had strong feelings against the plan. I have now gone over to the dark side! After meeting with Deb Hauser from the WIAA, I have been convinced that they will do the scheduling and they will establish the guidelines that everyone will follow. The concept is sound---now we need to tweak it to keep the majority of the schools happy. The details of the new plan are much better than the original plan. Cal Tackes Athletic Director, Football Coach, Stratford High School
NEW HOLSTEIN - I like the idea. I am sick and tired trying to compete in a conference where we are the smallest school and competing with schools almost twice our size. It's great for the big schools. Why would you want to change? But, I think we need to do what's best for everyone. I like our competition. It won't be easy but at least numbers will be the same. Our major rivals will stay be intact and traveling is a wash. Chuck Lefeber New Holstein Football
BIG FOOT - My name is Tony and I'm a junior at Big Foot, and I think that the new district thing is kind of a ridiculous idea, since it takes away the competition factor, and makes us play schools with 100+ more kids then us. Tony Zayas – junior at Big Foot High School
MARKESAN - I think the district plan is good for the entire state in terms of setting the same standard for each division. The situation will vary from school to school. Some schools have an excellent set-up among their current conference schools while some schools conference setup isn't ideal in terms of competition, size difference, and the constant threat of realignment. I think the biggest challenge among rural schools is the travel distance. Markesan's concern is that we may lose student-athletes and/or fans that choose not to follow us on long road trips. We also worry about losing money on gate receipts with teams coming from a farther distance. Our travel situation would be a little bit worse. Overall, I like the plan as I think it can set a good long term ideal to all teams and there will be less worry about realignment and as schools fluctuate with enrollment, they may be placed in the appropriate division. Kevin Wopat Athletic Director/Data Coordinator at Markesan High School
If you would like to comment on the WIAA realignment write judy@prepsonthenet.com. Please note your school affiliation and be aware your comments may be published in a future story.
