SECTION IV FOOTBALL: NYSPHSAA CENTRAL COMMITTEE APPROVES CHANGES TO CLASSIFICATION NUMBERS (2019-08-03)
Valley Sports Report
VERONA, N.Y. - In light of the number of schools moving to 8-man football, the NYSPHSAA Central Committee approved new classification numbers for the 2020 and 2021 football seasons at its annual meeting Tuesday.
The committee, which consists of four representatives from each of NYSPHSAA's 11 sections plus its officers, approved the cutoffs which the NYSPHSAA Executive Committee tables at its May meeting.
The changes do not appear to affect which classes Tioga County teams will compete in, except for Waverly, which would go back to Class C. The Wolverines are one of the Section IV teams whose BEDS numbers cause them to fluctuate between the two classes on a regular basis.
Following are the current and approved numbers.
2019
Class AA - 1,025-over
Class A - 585-1,024
Class B - 355-584
Class C - 230-354
Class D - 229-under
2020 / 2021Class AA - 1,025-over
Class A - 630-1,024
Class B - 397-629
Class C - 261-396
Class D - 260-under
In other football-related news, the Central Committee voted down a proposal to change ejection-triggered suspensions, 26-20.
The proposed change was brought forth by the NYSPHSAA Football Committee. The rationale was that the "current penalty of the next regularly scheduled game for violation of the NYSPHSAA Sportsmanship Rule is the same for all athletes regardless of the sport and the maximum number of games allowed during the season."
Football plays seven or eight regular season games and the committee felt a one-game suspension for a football player "is more punitive as compared to all other sports." In sports playing 20 games, the one-game suspension equals five percent of the maximum number of games allowed. In sports playing 16 games, it's six percent, and in football it equates to 12 percent or greater.
The NYSPHSAA Sportsmanship Committee voted to support the proposal, 7-2. However, the vote came with the understanding that sections will have some say in which types of penalties will fall under this proposal and that sections may also increase the amount of the penalty depending on the situation. The penalty for second and third disqualifications would not change.