High school notebook: Class 6A coaches, ADs to discuss 7A ideas

And it would provide another option for teams with a late-season district bye week, rather than forcing them to play an essentially meaningless game late in the season and risk injuring players before the playoffs.

The proposal would have to be presented and accepted by the OSSAA then sent to the member schools for a final vote.

“That will be on our proposal to the OSSAA,” said Velma-Alma coach Greg Gothard, the spokesman for the OFBCA advisory committee. “It might only benefit a minority of teams, but if we can help those teams without hurting the rest, it seems like a good idea.”

CHANGE IN CLASS SIZES FOR 4A-A CONSIDERED

The OFBCA was still gathering feedback from coaches on a potential proposal that would increase the number of teams in Class 4A and shrink 3A-A.

It would change the makeup of each 11-man football class 4A and below to a 48-team class with eight six-team districts. Four teams from each district would still make the playoffs, so the postseason structure would not be impacted.

Opposition to the idea consisted of coaches who disliked the idea of having five non-district games every year. However, coaches frustrated by the current setup, which leaves many schools in districts with an odd number of teams, were in favor of it.

Currently, Class 4A has 32 teams, while 3A-A have 58-59 teams each. This proposal would also allow for a few Class A teams to drop down to the 8-man classes.

The OFBCA leaders were still getting feedback from coaches and had not determined if they'd present the proposal to the OSSAA.