What would Class 7A football look like?
There’s been a lot of buzz on Wednesday around the recommendations made to the OSSAA Board of Directors to consider adding Class 7A football in Oklahoma.
The class would be made up of the 16 largest schools in the state, while the next 16 would make up Class 6A.
Each class would have two eight-team districts, and 12 teams would make the playoffs, with the district champions and runners-up getting first-round byes.
Now, the proposal hasn’t even made it through the OSSAA Board of Directors yet, though it could come up for a vote at their December meeting.
After that, it would go to a vote of the 32 schools currently in 6A. If it gets that far, you’d assume the proposal would pass. The teams in the bottom 16, and some of those who are close to the line, would certainly be in favor of the idea that would greatly increase their chances of competing for a state championship.
If it passes, it would be instituted for the 2014-15 seasons when districts are redrawn. The rules for dividing Class 5A and below would not be impacted by the proposal.
Here are the current average attendance numbers, which are used to determine classifications. These numbers are recalculated after every school year, so these aren’t the same numbers that would be used to determine Class 6A and 7A. Those numbers would come out next July. But just for fun, here’s how the classes would break down, with attendance included.
Class 7A
1. Broken Arrow 4586.21
2. Union 4237.14
3. Jenks 3077.47
4. Owasso 2628.00
5. Mustang 2473.48
6. Edmond North 2445.33
7. Moore 2153.00
8. Yukon 2130.61
9. Norman North 2068.55
10. Edmond Memorial 2048.00
11. Westmoore 1982.00
12. Edmond Santa Fe 1973.00
13. Southmoore 1955.00
14. Putnam City North 1953.16
15. Putnam City 1731.95
16. Norman 1728.94
Class 6A
17. Lawton 1722.00
18. Bartlesville 1700.59
19. Enid 1678.19
20. Sand Springs 1549.63
21. Muskogee 1540.85
22. Ponca City 1477.64
23. Choctaw 1472.53
24. Putnam City West 1464.31
25. Midwest City 1443.35
26. Stillwater 1440.81
27. U.S. Grant 1415.04
28. Sapulpa 1392.89
29. Tulsa Hale 1358.70
30. Lawton Eisenhower 1339.00
31. Bixby 1335.39
32. Tulsa Washington 1287.39
Throughout the day Wednesday, as my Twitter account never stopped buzzing with people offering comments and questions about this idea, I became more and more fascinated by the discussion. I’m still torn about the idea, but I love the discussion.
So jump in and share your thoughts. What positives and negatives do you see in the proposal? What would you have done differently? Or should anything be done at all?
My personal proposal would have been similar to the Texas playoff system. I’d combine the current 5A and 6A classes, making a 64-team class with eight districts of eight teams each. The top four from each district make the playoffs, but the playoffs are split into Division I, made up of the 16 largest schools to qualify for the playoffs, and Division II, made up of the smallest 16 to qualify.
Any other good ideas out there?
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK
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