The Arizona Interscholastic Association unveiled a plan this week to dramatically reduce the number of state tournaments, beginning next school year. The proposal is both a cost-cutting measure for cash-strapped districts in hard economic times, and an effort to address what AIA executive director Harold Slemmer has called a watering-down of the state championship process by allowing too many teams (some without postseason credentials) to compete for titles.
Travis Dean, Hamilton
File photo by James Conrad
The proposal calls for a reduction in the number of classifications in Arizona. In 11-man football there would be four divisions based on school enrollment numbers. Each division would include three sectionals, based mostly on geography, and the top four teams from each sectional would receive automatic state tournament bids. Twelve at-large teams would then be selected based on power points, expanding the current 16-team tournament format to 24 teams, with the top eight seeds receiving first-round byes.
In sports other than football and basketball, the top eight teams in each sectional would automatically qualify for state. In a nod to tradition, basketball would be the only sport to keep sectional tournaments. Because the plan is also based on the number of schools competing in each sport, it would allow some schools to play sports in different divisions. The plan will be discussed further at the next AIA meeting on May 17.
The AIA is also proposing a tightening of the qualifying standards for individual sports. Here’s a look at the number of classifications each sport now has, and the number each would have if the plan passes.
Badminton 2-1
Baseball 7-4
Basketball 7-4
Cross country 6-4
Football 7-5
Golf 6-4
Soccer 6-4
Softball 7-4
Swimming 5-4
Tennis 6-3
Track 7-4
Boys volleyball 2-1
Girls volleyball 7-4
Wrestling 6-3
Other top storylines
Breaking new ground: The AIA is using a private investigator to help determine if Chavez (Laveen)'s football program recruited players. Based in part on public pressure to clamp down on recruiting, this is the first time the association has hired an outsider to investigate one of its 274 schools. The AIA is trying to verify if Cesar Chavez coach Jim Rattay and the parent of a former Chavez player recruited players to attend the school.
Two tragedies: The Arizona prep community suffered dual tragedies in a one-week span. Bisbee football coach Truman Williamson died in a single-car crash last week near Sierra Vista when his truck left the highway and traveled about 100 feet. In a coaching career that spanned seven decades, Williamson also coached at Morenci and Sierra Vista Buena. Peoria High senior sprinter K.J. Bowen was also killed in a car accident Monday afternoon while his family was traveling back from a funeral in New Mexico. Bowen was an all-region football player and ranked among the top six sprinters in Arizona in the 200 meters.
Tennis tourneys underway: The state team tennis tournaments got underway this week at the 5A and 1A levels. The 5A classes also begin their individual tournaments on Friday. In the 5A-I and 5A-Ii boys and girls team tourneys, all of the top four seeds advanced to next week’s semifinals except for Anthem Boulder Creek, which fell to Tucson Rincon, 5-3, in the boys 5A-II quarterfinals. You can view the brackets here: aiaonline.org.
Dorados’ run halted:
Canyon del Oro got off the bus Wednesday at
Catalina Foothills with a 22-1 record and a No. 7 national baseball ranking in MaxPreps’ latest poll. It boarded the bus saddled with an 8-0 loss. CDO’s No. 1 starter, Bubba Metz, had a fever and wasn't allowed to play. The schools will meet again, possibly with a 4A Sonoran Region title on the line, on May 5.
The Fab 5
1. Dylan Souza, Tucson Catalina Foothills, Jr.: Won the 800 meters at the Southern Arizona Distance Classic last week at Tucson Sabino with a time of 1 minute, 53.85 seconds. That is the second-fastest time in the state this season.
2. Christina Price, Sabino (Tucson, Ariz.), Sr.: Won the 3,200 meters at the Southern Arizona Distance Classic last week at Tucson Sabino with a time of 11:37.99, the seventh-fastest time in the state this year.
3. Preston Jamison, Tucson Catalina Foothills, Jr., P: Led Foothills to an 8-0 win over Oro Valley Canyon del Oro, the nation’s No. 7 team, by limiting the Dorados to just three singles. CDO entered the game with a .417 team batting average.
4. Forrest Vanlandingham, Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), So., P: Scattered six hits in a 3-0 win over Phoenix Mountain Pointe to improve to 4-0 and lower his ERA to 0.26.
5. Jason Gonzales, Mesquite (Gilbert, Ariz.), Sr., OF: Went 3 for 4 with four RBI, a home run, a double and a single from the leadoff spot as the Wildcats run-ruled powerhouse Gilbert, 10-0 in five innings, to move into a tie with the Tigers for the 5A-I Central Region lead.
On deck
The Red Mountain boys volleyball tournament opens Friday boasting perhaps the top four teams in Class 5A. Mesa Mountain View is currently the state's top team, but Gilbert Highland Tucson Salpointe Catholic and Glendale Deer Valley are capable of knocking off the Toros.
Craig’
s cranium
For years, prep football fans have been clamoring for Class 5A-I power Hamilton (Chandler) and 5A-II power Centennial (Peoria) to meet for a super-state title. If the AIA’s new proposal to reduce the number of classifications in Arizona passes, that could happen.
In football, the plan is to pare the seven current conferences to five. While it’s impossible to predict what schools’ enrollment figure will be in a year, if the change had been implemented this past season, 49 schools would have been in the top division. That means all of the 5A-I teams would have stayed, and 17 teams from 5A-II would be added. Centennial has the 14th-highest enrollment figure in 5A-II, which would push them up to the top division.
It should be noted that Centennial did not win the 5A-II title this year (Hamilton won in 5A-I). The Coyotes were upset in the semifinals by Tempe Marcos de Niza, 16-14.
Craig Morgan is a freelance writer who has covered professional, college and high school sports in the Phoenix area for the past 18 years. He currently serves as the Phoenix correspondent for CBSSports.com, covering the Arizona Cardinals and other local teams. He also writes a weekly column and other features for The Arizona Republic. You can reach him at craig@thewordsmithonline.com.
