NCHSAA approves major changes to football schedule, seeding process

Playoff travel should shorten this fall and the football schedule will shrink by a week in 2011 after the N.C. High School Athletic Association approved a number of changes at its Wednesday board meeting.

The board approved a pod system designed to reduce travel in the early rounds of the football playoffs. Although full details haven’t been worked out, the East and West regions would each be subdivided into two geographical “pods,” cutting down on long trips.

The pod system could have saved schools 6,309 miles in the opening round in 2009, with many of those savings coming in the 1A West, NCHSAA spokesman Rick Strunk said. Another 3,700 miles would have been saved in the second round, assuming higher seeds advanced.

The board also voted to shorten the football regular season by one week to 11, starting with the 2011 season. If teams choose to play a full 11-game schedule, they will not have a bye.

In another board move, the winter sports season was reduced by one week for competition, although the starting date for practice was not changed. That move is effective this winter and is intended to reduce the overlap between football and basketball seasons.

The changes were recommended by a board subcommittee that was created to address concerns over cost containment, travel and length of seasons.

You can reach Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.

PRESS RELEASE FROM NCHSAA

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association board of directors on Wednesday approved a number of changes that address travel, length of seasons and cost-containment issues.

The board approved the following changes:

• Play 11 regular-season football games in 11 weeks (including the Endowment game, which is optional), rather than the current 11 games in 12-week format. The Endowment game would be dropped for seeding purposes, starting with 2011-12 academic year.
• Reduce length of winter sport season by one week for competition, but still start winter sports season practice on Nov. 1, starting with 2010-11 academic year.
• Add to the football seeding process the "pod" format, which means schools would be grouped into four different sections (East, Mideast, Midwest, West), effective with 2010-11 academic year, to help reduce some of the longest trips that occur under the current format.
• Allow an "opt-out" declaration for schools who wish not to enter NCHSAA playoffs, with a form that would be signed by athletic director, principal and superintendent and must be submitted by an established deadline prior to the release of the brackets in that sport, effective with 2010-11 academic year.

The board also took action on other matters:

• Approved wrestling state championships for a three-day event, with one specific classification to wrestle on Thursday night.
• Approved additional weekly combination for scheduling of one tri match and one tournament in wrestling.
• Approved holding 2010-13 NCHSAA state cross country championships in Kernersville at Beeson Park.
• Recommend approval if school does not pay outstanding fine by two days before the reporting deadline for a sport, it cannot play in playoffs in that sport, to go in effect academic year 2010-11; if a school has any unpaid fines by June 30 following the academic year, its teams will not be able to participate in playoffs in any sport in the next academic year until fine is paid.
• Eliminate mandatory use of NCHSAA-assigned clock operators for all second-round and subsequent rounds of football playoffs; it is still optional for schools to use if they wish.
• "Flagrant contact" will be added as a separate category to ejection policy, with the ejection penalty.
• Approved move to six-man crews in NCHSAA football championships in 2010 as pilot program, all eight games.
• Approved job title changes since the old job titles from the University are not necessarily applicable anymore and the new titles more accurately reflect the work being done, effective June 1, 2010.
• Increased the mileage allotment, lodging and meal allowance for schools in championships in a number of different sports
• Adjusted revenue shares to return more to schools; for sectional basketball share for NCHSAA, reduce to 15% to parallel other sports and could help eliminate some deficit games; for volleyball championships: 60% to NCHSAA, 40% to schools, makes volleyball consistent with other sports.
• Approved new employee policy and procedures manual for NCHSAA with some editorial changes.
• Approved of executive director's contract from June 7, 2010 to June of 2013