GHSA prepared to vote on radical ‘4/8′ reclassification plan on Monday
The GHSA’s Executive Committee will have the opportunity to vote on a radical reclassification plan for the state’s high schools on Monday.
On Sunday, the Reclassification Committee voted 7-5 to present what is dubbed the “4/8 plan” to the full board on Monday in Macon. Under the proposal, the state’s existing five classifications would be reduced to four, and there would be two state championships per class for an overall total of eight.
“I really don’t have a clue yet, and this sounds really strange after all these years, about how the [Executive Committee's] 50 members are going to vote on this,” Dr. Ralph Swearngin, the GHSA’s Executive Director, told the AJC on Sunday.
“Even with Sunday’s discussion, there does not appear to be any consensus. People who are for the ‘4/8′ are for it for a couple of reasons. People that are against it are against it for a couple of reasons. There appears to be nothing clear-cut that we’ve seen that is going to solve all the problems.”
The idea behind the “4/8 plan” is to allow member schools to play teams closer in proximity during the regular season and closer in student enrollment during the playoffs. For example, Class AAAA may have 100 schools in it, with 50 largest and smallest split up for the playoffs to compete for Div. I and II state championships in each sport. Some have expressed worries with the logistics with increasing to eight state championships, such as 16 overall championship games for girls and boys basketball.
“I think the people behind ‘4/8′ are going to spend more time at Monday’s presentation explaining how to work around some of the difficulties and problems associated with this plan,” Swearngin said. “It will be interesting to see how everything goes.”
The Executive Committee has three options: Approve, deny or table the proposal for further research. If passed on Monday, the new classification structure would take effect in the fall of 2012.
– Michael Carvell
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
109 comments Add your comment
wYLd hAiR
March 20th, 2011
10:08 pm
@ATL cracker: are you smokin’ crack?!?!?!? That sounds a lot like the “let them all play and make sure everyone gets a trophy for participation” junk that makes my skin crawl. 99% of these kids will never amount to anything and the sooner they come to realize that and cope with it the better. 5% of the world has 55% of the wealth, the best jobs, the best homes, and a better life than the other 95%. Teach ‘em that life is gonna $uck now and they’ll have the best chance to deal with it and be happy with their miserable little middle class existance.
Really?
March 20th, 2011
10:10 pm
old school is right and if you have ever have to deal with the GHSA’s office you will find Andy and Barney too. A real good ole boy network and a sad state of affairs for Georgia high school sports.
Educatedbeyondtheirintellegence
March 20th, 2011
10:17 pm
Don’t worry,,If the GHSA can screw it up, they will!
Frank
March 20th, 2011
10:19 pm
Georgia High School classification has always catered to the preferences of the football teams. As long as the interests of football are preferred, then the classification system will always need tweaking to adjust for waning and waxing teams. I am a former soccer coach for a Georgia high school, and can say without trepidation that the regions are always weighted towards what is best for football, and perhaps to some extent basketball and baseball. Travel considerations are usually next to last in consideration. Adjustments for growth or contraction are always expected every few years, and is common sense. But, it seems to me that these meetings are usually controlled by the football elite as an oligarchy, with little or no consideration for the “lesser” sports that don’t bring in the money.
WarEagle
March 20th, 2011
10:19 pm
This is about $ — more state championships means more money for the GHSA because there will be more playoff games. Simple as that.
coondog
March 20th, 2011
10:20 pm
It’s sad but the GHSA board is just a joke, made up almost entirely of bitter old worn out men who are now “important”…
ATLcracker
March 20th, 2011
10:31 pm
wYld hAir I don’t understand. Are you implying that all kids who go to a smaller school “suck” and should just get a participation trophy. What would be the difference in a kid who goes to a small school or plays for a pod drawn from an equal number of kids? Do you really believe that the only purpose of sports teams is to provide a feeder system for the professional leagues? If you do then your comment might make some sense.
Outside observer
March 20th, 2011
10:35 pm
People that keep talking about private school recruiting really have no idea what they are talking about. That may be your public school education or teacher union influencing your opinion not the facts. Private schools can not give out athletic scholarships. You have to pay to go there. A kid can not go to a private school without a big check to go along with them. Once they have the money the kid and his parents have to appeal to the almighty GHSA to become eligible to play. Please don’t say anything ignorant about how the booster club or other parents pay for athletes to go to private schools either. This isn’t college football at SMU. Most children attend private schools because the parents want their kids to have a better education than they would get at most of our public schools. Have you seen where our public schools ranked lately? Whiny people who are uneducated about private schools are one of the main real reasons GHSA wants to 2 division champs. GHSA just doesn’t have the sack to come out and say it. By the way I attended public school and don’t have a dog in the fight, but if you are going to make a general statement about something at least have the fact’s straight.
yo
March 20th, 2011
10:49 pm
There are only 2 (possibly 3) at the most schools in “all” of South Georgia with school enrollment over 2000. If you went to a mega classification I am curious as to which of the Atlanta and Gwinnett area schools are volunteering to play in the same region of Lowndes and Camden? The 4/8 idea is the “only” idea that allows the few big schools in S.Ga to play the schools around them without the Atlanta area coming down to play in their region. Then the (not mega) schools of populations of 1800 to 2500 could play against themselves for a state championship. It did not used to be the case that we had mega populated schools like we have today. Things have changed…..wake up and smell the roses. Good ole Bazemore (and all of the rest) didn’t have to compete against these schools. Also, there are a lot more schools in Georgia because of population explosion than there was when good old Bazemore (and all of the rest) were coaching.
Commonsenseagitator
March 20th, 2011
10:52 pm
stupidest thing I have ever heard of
Fred
March 20th, 2011
10:54 pm
Unless and until some magical governing authority can dictate where people live and the size of the schools that can be built, there will *always* be inequities. Gwinnett believes in mega schools. DeKalb doesn’t. Side by side but wildly different philosophies. Camdem County believes in a single mega school while Brunswick doesn’t. There just isn’t a good way to break it up, make everyone happy and satisfy some common since requirements like limiting travel on school nights. Yep, football is the 800lb gorilla as it pays many of the bills. I kind of like what someone mentioned about football competing in one division alignment and the other sports in a different one. In any event, I’m ready for some football!
Frank
March 20th, 2011
10:54 pm
Yo, what sport are you imagining when you reference Lowndes and Camden? Soccer? Golf? Tennis? My point is that most folks look at the football competition as the primary focus. I like the current proposal on the basic point that it creates regional rivalries in ALL SPORTS, and will result in participation in playoffs represented by teams from all geographical regions of Georgia, regardless of rank. I doubt seriously that the current proposal will change any college recruitment office’s player rankings for football.
Fred
March 20th, 2011
10:55 pm
Oops, make that common “sense” not “since”. Dang it, the mind knew what was right, why didn’t the fingers type it?
John
March 20th, 2011
11:02 pm
If adopted, this will ruin high school sports in Georgia. We would go from the best playoff system in the southeast to the worst. Intelligence hopefully will overrule this horrible idea.
Tom E. Gunn
March 20th, 2011
11:09 pm
Just say thankyou to the private schools and Buford, they brought this on by ‘buying” championships.
Frank
March 20th, 2011
11:23 pm
Thom, who do you think has been “buying” the system for the last 40 years? Only the football powerhouse schools have dictated the region classification because they draw the fans and the money, so the money talks. Don’t be so naive to think that it still does not, even under the current new proposal. John, I suppose it was the best system because it satisfied your desire to promote the football team that you favor. This is High School, folks, not the NFL, or the NBA. Only 0.5% of high school athletes make it through the rigors of college in this state to professional status. That means that all those scholarships are wasted? I would think not. College recruiting of elite athletes will not change because of the new proposal, just the aspirations of the football dynasties that dominate under the past system.
Chris
March 20th, 2011
11:31 pm
Why do a couple of morons on this keep commenting about teachers unions and the like?
The GHSA only governs athletics and has nothing to do with the schools workings.
guwinster
March 20th, 2011
11:33 pm
@Yo:
So basically, you’re saying that Lowndes and Camden automatically qualify for the playoffs in every sport because they are the only large AAAA schools in all of South Georgia? How can you seed the playoffs when you have a region (South GA) in which only 2 or 3 teams qualify to play in the largest division (AAAA upper class)?
Drago
March 20th, 2011
11:46 pm
If it will do something about the desparity of school size in AAAAA, I am for it.
ArkyTech
March 21st, 2011
12:28 am
Arkansas recently went from 5 classifications to 7 and it’s a complete mess. The conferences don’t match up with the classifications in some cases. And only 16 teams each in the 2 highest classifications. Really waters down the value of a state championship.
yo
March 21st, 2011
1:14 am
Frank I think we are on the same page by your comments.
Guwinster I don’t think it a bad idea that football be adopted into this system and other sports not.
As far as automatic qualifying it pretty much is that way now. Only 5 teams in 1AAAAA and 4 qualify. At least in the playoffs they would be competing on a more level playing field.
The super classification would require Atlanta area teams to compete in South Georgia in a humongous region mileage wise (assuming schools can’t play up).
John In Jacksonville
March 21st, 2011
1:24 am
I think we all need to hear more about the idea, and look at the potential real-world savings, before panning it. Most states are having to make huge cuts in education, which includes coaches and money to burn all those stadium lights. We are laying off teachers, firemen, and policemen. If there is a way for high school athletics to keep on going, but freeing up some money to keep teachers and coaches paid, then I am all for at least listening.
john norris
March 21st, 2011
2:13 am
in new plan make buford and calhoun move up to aaa ball or aaaaa ball they can beat any one of does teams because they recrute leave fitzgerald in aa and chalton county in a
j. warren
March 21st, 2011
2:36 am
Why do we put so much emphasis on athletics rather than concentrating more on educating our students and figuring out a way to pay our teachers. Now that would be a great idea for GHSA to have a discussion about on Monday.
Wildcat Nation
March 21st, 2011
3:27 am
I would rather see a 6A classification! To yo, Valdosta will always compete in the highest classification. Have you noticed how the CATS sports teams fare in 5A?
BehindEnemyLines
March 21st, 2011
4:20 am
Absolute insanity, almost as bad as the gigantic mess in TN. I feel sorry for anyone who believes this is about anything other than additional revenue from watered down playoff games & trying to save a few coaches by creating more “championships”.
BehindEnemyLines
March 21st, 2011
4:22 am
@Chris – who do you think the voting members of the GHSA are?
Goose
March 21st, 2011
6:17 am
Sad thing is that just like any other governming body they won’t listen to the majority. A decision will be made to satisfy the uninformed few and the kids and schools will take it in the shorts in the end. It would surprise me if they pass this without even reading itl, ala Nancy Pelosi on the health reform bill. Just another bad idea!
Mr Wonderlic
March 21st, 2011
7:11 am
How about this, spend your time and energy on fixing the EDUCATION system first. You know budget issues, and oh and maybe increase our state SAT rank from 48th.
Tigger
March 21st, 2011
7:35 am
They should just let MORE people who aren’t doing anything stand on the sidelines at the state championship games so that the working press will have even more people to work around when they are trying to do their jobs.
vg
March 21st, 2011
7:38 am
This blog isn’t about SAT scores, but we rank near the bottom on SAT scores because we allow all students to take the SAT. In many states only the elite students take the SAT, thus driving their state averages up. This realignment plan will generate more money for the GHSA because there will be more playoff games, but I still advocate that it will benefit the athletes, coaches by creating more excitement because they have an opportunity to compete against like-sized schools in the playoffs and if the regions are setup properly then travel time and cost will be reduced. Determining playoff seeds may be an issue, but the executive board is made up of coaches and perhaps they can come up with an equitable way to seed schools for the playoffs.
wardenerd
March 21st, 2011
7:53 am
heres the problem. Regular season means little and the seedings mean everything. We all know that the state has always favored Region1 4A so you can bet they will get the high seeds. No more seeding by your region finish.No more region winner plays opposite region 4th place team now seeding takes over. Many schools will not know if they are big or little til the school census comes back. In North Carolina last year some “small” schools with lower census than a “big” school ended up in the big division and the bigger school ended up in the small division. Again opinion seeding and TRAVEL will be considered as they are in NC. Do not go to split divisions . Go to 6 classes or something similar or you will not be happy.
BehindEnemyLines
March 21st, 2011
7:55 am
The only way I can figure the claim of reducing travel costs can possibly be remotely true is by truly going to 4 classifications for the regular season, then magically expanding to 8 for the post-season. That at least seems to be possible, since having larger pools for dividing regions makes it possible to make more geographic matches. In other words, it’s okay for teams to face this alleged disadvantage of size for an entire regular season, just as long as you can get teams with losing records a single playoff game at the end.
James in Athens
March 21st, 2011
8:03 am
Outside Observer knows not what he talks about….
Private Schools do recruit and have $$ for players
that can’t afford to pay- See Calab King- GAC.
Buford, Jefferson and others also recruit and anyone
can go there for a small($600 or so) yearly fee.
I say let the private schools have their own league
and playoffs. There are plenty of them around Atlanta
and North Georgia and let the public schools have a
chance in smaller sports like Golf, Tennis, etc at the
A-AAA level. If you check the state records most of the
smaller sports state titles are won by private schools
in recent years.(Athens Academy, Blessed Trinity, Marist,
Lovett, Westminster, etc)
They have deep pockets let them travel and beat up each other…
GHSA needs to work with the people not the rich Private Schools….
Private Vs Public
March 21st, 2011
8:06 am
Here is an idea…let private schools play other private schools while public schools play other public schools! I have never agreed that private schools should compete with public, they are not the same. A private school has many more financial advantages which offer them more training advantages and as we all know they “recruit” who they want and who they need to get the teams they have!
Wofpacker
March 21st, 2011
8:24 am
Stupid!!!!! Ask anyone who follows high school sports in N.C. It’s all about the money. More teams in the playoffs.
A Conservative Voice
March 21st, 2011
8:25 am
@figures
March 20th, 2011
6:45 pm
Why don’t they just call it what it is…they want to separate private and public schools…period.
To figures – Actually, this is an excellent idea. Private schools have, I believe, been recruiting players from the public school systems for years. This is why they’re always in the thick of things come playoff time; however, they are nice about it……they prefer to call it networking. This activity should be stopped……we need another Tom Murphy to step up to the plate and at least try to equalize the situation for the other schools in the regions in which these private schools participate. All these private schools should be put in a region by themselves to slug it out to see who’s the best recruiter
It’s a unfair advantage they have…..I know it, you know it, the GHSA knows it but is too weak to call these teams on their recruiting practices.
@Outside observer
March 20th, 2011
10:35 pm
Mr. Observer – you have to be extremely naive to believe that private schools don’t give financial aid.
What's all the hoopla about recruiting?
March 21st, 2011
9:06 am
The private schools have the advantage of no school boundaries. So, they recruit kids to play all sports.
No different than Buford College, uh, sorry, Buford High School (and many other public schools) “recruiting” kids to play.
Maybe address the “transfer in” rules??? GHSA refuses to address this issue. No reason to change the classifications until the recruiting issue is resolved.
goodideabut
March 21st, 2011
9:06 am
Great idea except for the championship titles. Numerical titles are not equal, geographical titles are. I and II sound like an order of finish. North and South sound much more absolute, but how long will that last until a State title is demanded?
Outside Observer
March 21st, 2011
9:08 am
I never said there was not financial aid. I believe that is need based though due to the parent’s wages. No one believes that there is not a kid here or there that gets in to a private school because who they are. I can promise you that recruiting happens at public schools just all the time. To transfer in a kid to a public school all you have to do is get their parents a job with the county. See Union Groves wrestling team a couple of years ago. They were masters of it. A lot of public schools recruit, don’t be naive. A lot of public schools have outstanding facilities. Most of your normal private schools don’t have the deep pockets you think they do. Not everyone is Marist or Westminster. There are a ton of small private schools with little budgets like ELCA and Landmark. But if your team does not win blame it on private schools. What are you going to blame it on when public and private schools are separated and your team still doesn’t win? Oh yeah you have already started telling us how the other public schools are recruiting.
James in Athens
Buford, Jefferson and others also recruit and anyone can go there for a small ($600 or so) yearly fee.
Neither are private schools.
GHSA needs to work with the people not the Rich Private Schools (this statement gets to the heart of the problem with you)
GHSA is for all high schools. I thought the people went to private schools also.
I guess as long as you give everyone a trophy then life will be good.
$$$ Talks
March 21st, 2011
9:26 am
Hey War Eagle, you should know that is takes $$$ to win a championship. Oh wait, that never happened. hehehehe
fitzgerald
March 21st, 2011
9:36 am
Tswan hit the nail on the head. This system does work very well in Texas. Perhaps having 956 teams playing 11 man football has something to do with it. There was grumbling in the beginning, but now everyone is happy because more teams at the end of the season have a chance of making the playoffs. Granted, some teams will have losing records but it evens out when the kids still have a chance to be in the playoffs. The GHSA should very seriously consider playing all the playoff games at neutral sites. Texas does this and it works very well. In the 2010 season, Waco had 30 playoff games and I can see Macon area doing the same. People will travel. West Texas teams travel 300-400 miles every weekend to play their opponents. Please give it a try over there in Georgia.
Ricardo Cabeza
March 21st, 2011
9:37 am
They will put lipstick on this pig and even try to get you to kiss it . . .but you’ll still be kissing a pig! As with most everything GHSA does, it will end up costing more, being more unfair, and causing more grief for our student athletes, their coaches, and their parents. Don’t ask me how . . . it just happens.
MRBIGUNS
March 21st, 2011
9:57 am
Of course the cheating schools of Atlanta Metro don’t like it…it offsets all the recruiting that goes on in Atlanta. Buford, GAC, Lovett and the rest of the cheating, recruiting and juice taking schools will have to compete on a closer more level playing field but they still have the upper hand and will continue to cheat to gain those state championships!!!!!!!!
Another Voice
March 21st, 2011
10:01 am
Better solution: Just save the money, cancel all football programs. No need to send multiple buses of players, cheerleaders and band to N. Ga for a game against an opponent of similar size. Put the money into academics.
Frankly, I’m tired of the whining about private vs. public, with the assumption that all recruiting is done by private schools, and that all private schools are flush with money for athletics. You trying to tell me that Buford, Norcross and other large schools aren’t recruiting? BS. Look at Milton’s boy’s basketball team. Sure they clalim that the AAU team all decided to go to enroll there … but you think that coach didn’t encourage them to come as a group? And as for “flush with money,” that may be true of some schools, but I see just as many public schools with huge booster club budgets putting in plenty of money to support the programs. Even in smaller towns, the town pulls together with fund-raising type events (Fish-fries, etc.) to raise money for programs.
And for those who say that public schools have to play up to win … just look at Wesleyan and Marist. Wesleyan was AA for many years and still managed to win multiple state championships in multiple sports. Marist plays up and still does very well.
So let’s just accept that there will always be discrepancies. I say stay with the 5 classification system and just suck it up fellas. Not everyone can win every year, and moving to this participation-award program is stupid.
Better solution would be for GHSA to identify some neutral site locations midway between schools when the competitors are more than 4 hours’ drive apart. Let both teams travel, eliminate home-field advantage, and let’s see which team wins.
Last note – Texas has the class/div system because of the sheer geographic size of the state. If they didn’t schools could end up traveling 12-13 hours to a game.
AVikingFan
March 21st, 2011
10:44 am
I agree with John in Jacksonville. Let’s hear more about it before judging it. However, IMO, I agree some with what Fred said about letting schools compete in one region in football – heck a school only travels to 4 or 5 away games in the regular season in football so travel then would not be as much of an issue – and let them compete in other regions in other sports. In other words, let Camden, Northside, and Warner Robins compete in Region 1-AAAAA in football and in their current region in other sports, ones that have more regular season games. (Yeah yeah, I realize each school has a Varsity, a JV, and a 9th grade team in football, and that does amount to a lot of travel expense, and JV and 9th grade teams do play on school nights. Extra travel for them does create educational issues. And I guess you have to consider 7th and 8th grade teams, and how you would classify them?) Heck, I’d better quit, I’m about to talk myself into liking this GHSA plan afterall. (NOT REALLY!)
Perhaps the people who vote shoould just table this thing and think it out more, and maybe they can then come up with a really good option.
WarEagle
March 21st, 2011
10:46 am
$$$ Talks — Wrong War Eagles — Marist not Auburn.
I Like it...IF
March 21st, 2011
10:50 am
You let the two “champs” play a final game for the overall champion! Dont let there always be a debate which 15-0 AAAAA team was better? Do it on the field!
matt
March 21st, 2011
11:03 am
They need to do something. They also need to group city and private schools together and let them compete against eachother. Recruiting puts teams at a MUCH higher level than their small public school counter parts.
GED's are available
March 21st, 2011
11:28 am
The GHSA should require all leader members to obtain at least a GED before holding a position! These 5th grade educations have got to go.
Oh, before I forget, Go Huskies!!! LOL