Daily Herald article

[Simon "GHOST' Riley]

The Daily Herald carried this article on the new playoff format for football. Not sure what everybody thinks about it. But it has an interesting view from the Moline coach who says that the new format is going to crush the bottom line.

https://football.dailyherald.com/sp...-times-less-revenue-a-concern-for-all-schools

 

[tomloner]

The Daily Herald carried this article on the new playoff format for football. Not sure what everybody thinks about it. But it has an interesting view from the Moline coach who says that the new format is going to crush the bottom line.

https://football.dailyherald.com/sp...-times-less-revenue-a-concern-for-all-schools

I predict/hope it gets overturned. It never passes if only football schools got to vote. I make no bones about being SR guy. I hate this proposal. I'd rather play a tougher schedule than 4/5 running clock games. District football makes playoff berths a joke in many of these proposed Distrcts. Of all the teams in the state only 8 get the big trophy. Are all the other team failures? Hell no. It's the journey as a person and as a team. This proposal hurts High school football.

 

[PanthersWildcats86]

One of the proposals for potential districts put Hoopeston Area, the eastern edge of which is the Indiana state line, in the same district as Quincy Notre Dame, which is on the Mississippi River. Hoopeston has played some non-conference games against teams from the western part of the state, but I doubt they think very highly of a district with the longest possible east-west drive in the state...Right now the Cornjerkers are in a conference where the longest drive is probably 40 minutes...

And as an example of local ties in a conference...Cissna Park finished 2nd in 1A basketball this weekend. Cissna has 97 students. They could be in the VVC with Hoopeston and a bunch of 1A football sized schools...But no, they stick with the SVC despite the next smallest SVC school being Iroquois West, at 300 kids, and Cissna is the only school in the SVC that doesn't have a football team of its own (they coop 8 man with Milford, who is in the VVC for other sports). Tradition...its hard to kill. And Cissna Park is a survivor...

 

[Alexander32]

One of the proposals for potential districts put Hoopeston Area, the eastern edge of which is the Indiana state line, in the same district as Quincy Notre Dame, which is on the Mississippi River. Hoopeston has played some non-conference games against teams from the western part of the state, but I doubt they think very highly of a district with the longest possible east-west drive in the state...Right now the Cornjerkers are in a conference where the longest drive is probably 40 minutes...

And as an example of local ties in a conference...Cissna Park finished 2nd in 1A basketball this weekend. Cissna has 97 students. They could be in the VVC with Hoopeston and a bunch of 1A football sized schools...But no, they stick with the SVC despite the next smallest SVC school being Iroquois West, at 300 kids, and Cissna is the only school in the SVC that doesn't have a football team of its own (they coop 8 man with Milford, who is in the VVC for other sports). Tradition...its hard to kill. And Cissna Park is a survivor...

Yes, Quincy is too far away. But one of the circumstances critics of the current conference system find unfair is when teams qualify for the playoffs by playing schools half their size. The Vermilion Valley Conference presents one such instance. The Hoopeston Area Coop plays five conference opponents that are all about half its size.

There is an alternative proposal for districts that has Hoopeston's farthest district opponent being Seneca. The distance to Seneca is about half the distance to Quincy. The other schools in this proposed district are located in Fairbury, Bloomington, Herscher, Peotone, Paxton, and Dwight. Every one of these schools is closer in size to the Hoopeston Area Coop than any of the five schools Hoopeston currently plays in the Vermilion Valley Conference. As things presently stand, Hoopeston is a 4A football program playing in a 2A and 1A conference. Some individuals would consider that to be an unfair advantage when it comes to qualifying for the playoffs.

 

[Alexander32]

Yes, Quincy is too far away. But one of the circumstances critics of the current conference system find unfair is when teams qualify for the playoffs by playing schools half their size. The Vermilion Valley Conference presents one such instance. The Hoopeston Area Coop plays five conference opponents that are all about half its size.

There is an alternative proposal for districts that has Hoopeston's farthest district opponent being Seneca. The distance to Seneca is about half the distance to Quincy. The other schools in this proposed district are located in Fairbury, Bloomington, Herscher, Peotone, Paxton, and Dwight. Every one of these schools is closer in size to the Hoopeston Area Coop than any of the five schools Hoopeston currently plays in the Vermilion Valley Conference. As things presently stand, Hoopeston is a 4A football program playing in a 2A and 1A conference. Some individuals would consider that to be an unfair advantage when it comes to qualifying for the playoffs.

With the above having been said, and being true, nonetheless Hoopeston sure has taken a pounding from its "little" conference opponents the last few years. It has been awhile since Hoopeston last qualified for the playoffs.

 

[PanthersWildcats86]

With the above having been said, and being true, nonetheless Hoopeston sure has taken a pounding from its "little" conference opponents the last few years. It has been awhile since Hoopeston last qualified for the playoffs.

I've used Hoopeston as an example before...the Cornjerkers haven't made the playoffs since 1993, and only made the playoffs in 89, 92 & 93...Their enrollment is mid-2A, but they have two schools co-oping with them pushing the enrollment over 600 - 4A size. 2012 they failed to field a team for lack of players, and '13 they only played 7 games because of a small team - and were 0-7. Since then, three 1-8 and two 2-7 seasons...Hoopeston is the poster child for a "downward / lack of success factor"...And I suspect that they would drop football rather than become cannon fodder for the surrounding 3A/4A schools, forcing three schools to lose football...Evidence shows that these kids will quit...

What's sad is that I remember the Cornjerker hoops powers of the mid-'80s with 6'10" Dave Busch (SIU) and the Matta (Ohio State coach) boys...multiple final fours...and one of their co-ops is Danville Schlarman, who won football titles in the '80s. Looking for an inexpensive house? Nearly 40% of the houses in Hoopeston are empty...Gas expense is a potential real issue here...

 

[ramblinman]

The Daily Herald carried this article on the new playoff format for football. Not sure what everybody thinks about it. But it has an interesting view from the Moline coach who says that the new format is going to crush the bottom line.

https://football.dailyherald.com/sp...-times-less-revenue-a-concern-for-all-schools

I fully get that it will crush the bottom line at a school like Moline. They are the poster child for why districts suck for some schools.

Lost in all this bitching about why Districts won't work are the schools that will benefit from it. If you want to talk bottom line only, Coach Knar, then the bottom line at Loyola will improve big time with Districts. No more long Friday bus rides from Wilmette to Rice, Providence, MC, SR, etc., unless we schedule a non-District game there. No more home games against DePaul Prep, St. Joe, or Leo. Instead, there will be bus rides to Glenbrook South, Notre Dame, New Trier, Evanston, Maine South, etc., the longest of which will be about 20 minutes. Home games against those local schools will bring far more fans (both theirs and ours) to Wilmette on a Saturday afternoon than Leo and DePaul Prep ever could.

 

[EdgyTim]

Didn't I just see Moline building like a 13 million dollar field house?

 

[Alexander32]

I've used Hoopeston as an example before...the Cornjerkers haven't made the playoffs since 1993, and only made the playoffs in 89, 92 & 93...Their enrollment is mid-2A, but they have two schools co-oping with them pushing the enrollment over 600 - 4A size. 2012 they failed to field a team for lack of players, and '13 they only played 7 games because of a small team - and were 0-7. Since then, three 1-8 and two 2-7 seasons...Hoopeston is the poster child for a "downward / lack of success factor"...And I suspect that they would drop football rather than become cannon fodder for the surrounding 3A/4A schools, forcing three schools to lose football...Evidence shows that these kids will quit...

What's sad is that I remember the Cornjerker hoops powers of the mid-'80s with 6'10" Dave Busch (SIU) and the Matta (Ohio State coach) boys...multiple final fours...and one of their co-ops is Danville Schlarman, who won football titles in the '80s. Looking for an inexpensive house? Nearly 40% of the houses in Hoopeston are empty...Gas expense is a potential real issue here...

This story provides a good argument for remaining with the current system. There are many unique circumstances in the state that can only be addressed on a local level. Apparently Hoopeston is one. Forcing the majority's will on the minority with a one-size-fits-all solution is usually not the best way to go. Letting each school decide for itself what type of schedule is suitable for its particular set of circumstances is more in conformity with the American way.

I've read ramblinman's post above. There are clearly advocates on both sides of this issue. That is why I made an attempt (on a different thread) at proposing a district solution that melds the best features of the current conference system with the best features that a district system has to offer. I think the proposal has merit. However, in the end, one has to admit the use of districts imposes compulsory interaction amongst schools whereas the current system of conferences allows for voluntary interaction amongst the schools. Voluntary interaction is more in conformance with freedom (freedom of association).

 

[PowerI66]

Didn't I just see Moline building like a 13 million dollar field house?

They are barely scraping by over there https://www.molineschools.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=385710&type=d&pREC_ID=876980

 

[PanthersWildcats86]

The one problem I would hope Districts resolves is non-conference scheduling for perennial powers. I read complaints about schools that have to excessively travel for non-con games...Its not just the DVC schools and Catholic powers that have that problem.

Some schools have chosen not to be exciting in scheduling: Manteno, for example, has never played a regular season game against a non-I8 school.

The expansion of the I8 greatly helped 3A Wilmington's scheduling, as the jump to 10 in 2002 gave them a round robin and the move to 12 / 2 divisions gave them local crossover 4A opponents who were willing to play them. When the mandatory crossovers ended in the I8, because the small division schools other than Wilmo were being crushed, Wilmo kept the big division crossovers. In '16, they went out and got St. Joe Ogden for a true non-con. In '17, 5A/6A Ottawa went to Becker Field.

In '18, Manteno & Wilmo were the only schools to play a true round robin in the 10 school I8. But this fall, with only 7 conference opponents, Wilmo had to find opponents. And only 5A and up size schools would call them back.
So the Cats host 5A Evergreen Park and go to 7A Oak Lawn non-con this fall, and open conference play with 5A Streator...Manteno, on the other hand, opens at Peoria area 4A Canton (700 kids) and then hosts 5A Morris. Canton is logical, although a long drive...I suppose a wide district could put Manteno & Canton together. The Panthers, however, having only been to the quarters once in school history, don't scare people like Wilmo. Funny thing is, I think Manteno will be the favorite in the new conference this fall...

Peotone upscheduled last year and this year...for a shrinking sub-500 student non-traditional power like the Blue Devils to schedule Tinley Park, about 1050 students, takes some guts...But the Devils remember the years of nomadic travels as an independent for 25ish years, and excessive travel is not overly desired...

Coal City isn't afraid to play anyone...at Morris and then hosting Bishop McNamara this fall...But scheduling is easier when you are willing to schedule teams like Mac the other local schools would prefer to avoid...

Herscher went the other way the last couple of years. The Tigers non-con games were with traditional rivals 2A Clifton Central and 2A Momence, who were clearly looking to beef up their schedules. None of the games were particularly close, but the Tigers get a couple of short drives and nice gates in return...Didn't help their loaded 4A team in '17 much, but certainly aided the 3A Tigers last fall (they probably don't make the playoffs without Central winning the SVC)...