OHSAA approves 16 football playoff teams per region

I don't like the 16 team format . It DOES cheapen the regular season. But I can't judge many things and decisions in general that were made with a once in a century pandemic in the back drop. It's a money grab.They need the money. Even without last years loss of revenue , money is usually an issue. I do hope that it can go back to 12, but once you open the barn door , the horses aren't going to be easy to corrall. In some regions especially , the 12 was a great move. Overall , it was a decent move. 16 ? Football was unique in it's greater exclusivity. That is now a memory . But no matter how many teams are let in at some point there will be four teams left in a region , and it will be the usual suspects most years and the later rounds will still be compelling and hopefully well attended. The support is needed more now than ever before.
 
chito said:
Kids play best when they're in a routine, a bye week screws that routine up. The coaches that I know who had a bye last year saw it as a chance to get some banged up players healthy but recognized the challenges of over coming that broken routine. Their team did not play well after the bye week.
Click to expand...
I agree. Kids are routine oriented. They perform best when they know what to expect. Like anything, there are pros and cons. For us, the bye week was very beneficial for a number of reasons. I will admit that the broken routine was a concern for our staff also. Our kids and coaching staff handled it very well and we had a very productive "bye week".
 
8 was the number. The system was perfect. This is a money grab at the expense of the kids. Obviously, football is dangerous. Teams that don't belong are going to take absolute smackdowns. Kids who should be done for the year will be playing unnecessary games, risking injury. The gutless OHSAA (special thanks to Jerry Snodgrass) took it on the chin in 2020-2021 and are trying to recoup cash. PATHETIC.
 
Last edited:
dnis30 said:
8 was the number. The system was perfect. This is a money grab at the expense of the kids. Obviously, football is dangerous. Teams that don't belong are going to take absolute smackdowns. Kids who should be done for the year will be playing unnecessary games, risking injury. The gutless OHSAA (special thanks to Jerry Snodgrass) took it on the chin in 2020-2021 and are trying to recoup cash. PATHETIC.
Click to expand...

I am not in favor of 16 teams, but this line of "#16 seed kids are risking injury and going to get hurt" thinking is pretty ridiculous. Are these same #16, 15, 14 seeds not in leagues and playing regular season games against some of these same #1,2,3 seeds? Are the playoffs somehow more dangerous than the regular season?
 
dograt said:
I am not in favor of 16 teams, but this line of "#16 seed kids are risking injury and going to get hurt" thinking is pretty ridiculous. Are these same #16, 15, 14 seeds not in leagues and playing regular season games against some of these same #1,2,3 seeds? Are the playoffs somehow more dangerous than the regular season?
Click to expand...
Regular season games ARE necessary. Playoff games for 16 seeds ARE NOT.
 
dnis30 said:
8 was the number. The system was perfect. This is a money grab at the expense of the kids. Obviously, football is dangerous. Teams that don't belong are going to take absolute smackdowns. Kids who should be done for the year will be playing unnecessary games, risking injury. The gutless OHSAA (special thanks to Jerry Snodgrass) took it on the chin in 2020-2021 and are trying to recoup cash. PATHETIC.
Click to expand...
Serious question, what team did you play for? Any games you worried about getting hurt? Players and coaches do not think that way. I have witnessed that though from non-playing parents. They over emphasize the physicality of the game. At the hs level kids can handle more games
 
Here is something nobody has mentioned (at least I missed it if they did)

How many "blowouts" are there in weeks 8,9,10 because one team knows they are eliminated and have nothing to fight for? Those games are potentially more "risky" than the 1-16 game. Now there really will be few teams that are eliminated before the season is over. Teams should play harder for longer because they still have a chance.
 
If you had to choose between the following, what would be your choice?

A - 4 teams from each region make the playoffs
B - 16 teams from each region make the playoffs
 
Johnson&Johnson said:
If you had to choose between the following, what would be your choice?

A - 4 teams from each region make the playoffs
B - 16 teams from each region make the playoffs
Click to expand...
I'll get vilified by the 'everyone gets a trophy' generation, but who gives a ....Give me A over B.
 
dnis30 said:
I'll get vilified by the 'everyone gets a trophy' generation, but who gives a ....Give me A over B.
Click to expand...
#16 out of 27 does not get a trophy.

Maybe if you were honest about it your opinion would carry more weight.
 
Last edited:
I wanted to see the 12 in action. Totally disagree with 1vs 16. There were years in small school football where 1 vs 8 was dangerous for the players and the basketball program. Baseball and track coaches figured they might be healed by their season.

At least with the 12 format some of those extremely weak programs could get eliminated in the first round and a 1vs 9 may have been much better than the 1vs 8?

Some programs obviously will get to use their freshman or JV team for week 11, so I guess that will be nice for those kids.

Records? With many more schools getting 1 or 2 additional games per year the old records will quickly start to fall. I like seeing records broken but like it to be in a relatively even field to make a valid comparison.
 
I really want to see how they might fit strength of schedule into this. With 16 will it matter much? Maybe just where you get seeded... but I feel like it would have mattered more with 12 or 8 teams. It will all depend on how they look to implement it and how they calculate it. To be honest, I like the idea a lot.
 
dnis30 said:
8 was the number. The system was perfect. This is a money grab at the expense of the kids. Obviously, football is dangerous. Teams that don't belong are going to take absolute smackdowns. Kids who should be done for the year will be playing unnecessary games, risking injury. The gutless OHSAA (special thanks to Jerry Snodgrass) took it on the chin in 2020-2021 and are trying to recoup cash. PATHETIC.
Click to expand...
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

What a maroon.
 
I am not a fan of the 16 per region. Would have preferred staying at 8. But I'm confused by a couple of the arguments everyone seems to be making... 1) the continuous talk about "everybody gets a trophy". I played in the playoffs when only 4 got in. Didn't win State so I didn't "get a trophy" and didn't feel like I earned one. Is the end goal getting in the playoffs? I guess its a matter of perspective but I've never felt like the trophy was making the playoffs and I'm surprised that many of you must feel this way. 2) The second confusing argument is the "getting injured" argument. Seen a whole lot of 50+ margin blowouts and have never seen a mass exodus of kids in ambulances. Sure, there will be bumps, bruises and injured pride but the thought that there will be this large increase in injuries because a 16 is playing a 1, I'm not buying it.

Final thought... while I already stated that I prefer 8. If back in high school someone told me I was able to play in one more game I would have jumped at the opportunity regardless of who we were playing. Most kids get 20-30 varsity games, if they're able to get a couple more now then great for the kids.
 
Sykotyk said:
The rent for the stadium is minimal. And though they haven't stated it explicitly, I wouldn't be surprised if the OHSAA is going to cut back on travel reimbursement. Last year they didn't pay any.

This is the problem with the whole "ohsaa doesn't charge membership dues" argument used to explain why OHSAA is better than other state associations. It works since Ohio attended playoffs in large numbers compared to other states to dip into the proceeds to take in what would be the membership due revenue.

It works as long as ticket sales aren't disrupted. Other states mostly just chugged along. Maybe cutting expenses since playoff stadiums weren't as important (PA went higher seed hosts through the state semifinals because a) the state didn't pay for rent, b) the schools gladly offered their stadiums to host games with no travel, c) only one team had to hire or pay for busses to be reimbursed, d) fan restrictions in PA were so much more severe than Ohio that any stadium could accommodate the projected crowds of a few hundred).

It's nice saying Ohio doesn't charge a membership fee, but in PA, for instance, it's about $475 a school year and covers all sports. Even in a covid year, the first 100 fans to your first football game covers your dues for the entire year. And even if you're not using ticket revenue, that's a fraction of a drop in the bucket for a school's budget.
Click to expand...

If OHSAA is not going to pay for travel, then the teams should have more flexibility in scheduling games. Ideally, you should be able to leave in the morning, play your game, and drive home in one day. Ohio is a small state in regards to land area, and it has good roads. A team should be able to go from the far southwest to the far northeast in one day.

Considering this, I understand why West Virginia allows visitors to pick the times of the games.
 
I think it makes the regular season more special. We can get Marion Local (DVII) Vs Clinton Massie (DIV). That would be what they call a snobbleblocker!
 
algernonsidney said:
If OHSAA is not going to pay for travel, then the teams should have more flexibility in scheduling games. Ideally, you should be able to leave in the morning, play your game, and drive home in one day. Ohio is a small state in regards to land area, and it has good roads. A team should be able to go from the far southwest to the far northeast in one day.
Click to expand...
OHSAA is like the government. They can't "pay" for anything without using money they already took from the schools or the fans.
 
LELL said:
I think it makes the regular season more special. We can get Marion Local (DVII) Vs Clinton Massie (DIV). That would be what they call a snobbleblocker!
Click to expand...
If MSML was not going to be down this year and well into the future, that would be a great matchup.
 
thavoice said:
If MSML was not going to be down this year and well into the future, that would be a great matchup.
Click to expand...
Any would do. Even the lower tier MAC teams can bring it. I remember NB going to SCC and kicking their butt and SCC made the playoffs and NB was #10 or higher or so in the region and missed the playoffs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top