fleadog101
Active member
There now is some Talk among some leadership with in the OHSAA of Adding a 8th Division and revamping the Finals format along with the Regionals. At that time D 2 would be limited to only 72 Schools.
8th Division Coming ????
- Thread starter fleadog101
- Start date
305NoTomato
Well-known member
Source?
Smarty2022
Well-known member
Nobody cares about D7-D8 Football!! All adding a Division will do is cause the D1,2&3 Schools to complain more about it’s Unfair for the Public Schools because of the Private Schools blah blah blah!!!
Bulldog_Pride
Active member
If they do an 8th Division should be 8 man teams. There is no problem to fix. OHSAA knows for every division added more ticket sales, more games = $$$$$$. The would have 10 Divisions if they could.
Massillon#82
Well-known member
No there isn’t.
CC Track Fan
Well-known member
Why for the 10-15 teams that play 8 man. And no adding a state championship for it isn't going to make dozens of teams drop from 11 to 8. Fans, parents, players and school administrators don't want to see their school play 8 man football. It is only the last resort for these schools when they can no longer field an 11 man team and if they get their roster built back up they will move back up to 11 man.
ghsknightsfan
love the Knights and Grey Ghosts!
if the OHSAA sanctioned 8-man then i think it would make it much easier for those teams with roster numbers on the fringe to decide to drop to 8-man. it would become a very competitive division. i think you’d have to put a maximum number of players on the roster or max number of kids in the school that would be allowed to play.
Stirred not Shaken
Well-known member
You also posted that OHSAA is going to create a fifth division in bball. Like another poster posted what is your source?
WJ-OSU-STEELERS
Well-known member
Just thinking outside the box, could the OHSAA allow bigger schools that have football to participate as club teams? Example: A D1 school who has a 11 man football team organize a 8 man club team. Do not let players go back & forth from the 8 man to 11 man team in the same year.
Just trying to think of a way to get more kids to play.
Just trying to think of a way to get more kids to play.
Head Linesman
Well-known member
Another Division?
Just give every school a trophy already.
"You are all champions in our eyes"
Just give every school a trophy already.
"You are all champions in our eyes"
Why don't they then? Nothing prevents it.
OHSAA doesn't regulate school clubs.
It might be less complicated to schedule additional JV games.
I've seen teams at the state finals with over 100 juniors and seniors on the team. Every time I wondered if they play two JV schedules. They certainly have enough players.
There's no reason to believe any of that is correct.
Gamma Gobbler
Well-known member
I know Judson HS in San Antonio had two JV teams but that was many, many years ago. At that time only varsity dressed on Fridays and they still had over 70+ on the sideline.
I dont think the numbers throughout the state would support such a scenario. DI probably and DII limited and then the logistics of putting all these teams together with travel, etc. Large rosters are both a blessing and curse most lower divisions do not have.
I just don't think there is any reason to have 8 divisions and sometimes I wonder why we have 7.
Head Linesman
Well-known member
Whiner's Division?
Massillon#82
Well-known member
We have 24 of them, if they made another division it would be so teams have a chance before the year 3000 to try and catch us.
Spartacus1987
Well-known member
Go back to 6 divisions
I would have 6 regular divisions and 1 eight man division
carnholio
Land-Grant Holy Land
Thorazine can cure those supposed “sources”.
RollingTrain
Well-known member
Some of those small school crowds make some of the bigger school crowds look silly. So yes, people very much care about the smaller community schools.
No real answers, as attendance continues to decline, but from my observation, the move from Thanksgiving weekend to the December weekend has hurt overall attendance. "Back in the day" the OSU-Mich game was the Saturday BEFORE Thanksgiving, but that changed some years ago when the conference title games became a "thing." December has the conference title games, Christmas season is starting, etc... Too many balls in the air for most, except for schools that are relatively "new" to the state finals or for those with family/friends actually playing in the game.
Friday actually seems to be the best day recently for attendance, regardless of division. Weather can be worse in December, but was not this year.
Division II – Thursday, 7 p.m. (5,120)
No. 2 Akron Archbishop Hoban (14-1) vs. No. 5 Toledo Central Catholic (14-1)
Not as much of a community-based following as some other divisions, along with possibly the worst time slot of the 7. That and weather was so-so: Nighttime game temps in the high 20's, windy during the day but down to 8-9 mph by game time, a little snow.
Division V – Friday, 10:30 a.m. (6,393)
No. 1 Ironton (15-0) vs. No. 2 Canfield South Range (15-0)
Really good community support from both sides, especially given that Ironton has been there 3 of last 4 years; Canfield strong contingent.
Weather was relatively mild but winds were 15-20; dry.
Division III – Friday, 3 p.m. (7,790)
No. 3 Canfield (13-1) vs. Carroll Bloom-Carroll (14-1)
Largest crowd of the 7. Combo of two solid community-backed programs, some history of success in POs but no prior state championship wins.
Weather in high 40's - 50, windy (18-20 mph) but dry.
Division I – Friday, 7:30 p.m. (7,317)
No. 1 Lakewood St. Edward (14-1) vs. No. 4 Springfield (13-1)
Biggest schools, best time slot (Friday night), maybe a disappointing crowd when compared to D-III and D-V. St. Ed isn't the biggest school, community is far-reaching and has been there so often not as special any longer. Springfield - too far, no tradition.
Weather mild, temps in low 50's, but winds were gusting from 19-33 mph; dry.
Division VI – Saturday, 10:30 a.m. (3,960)
No. 1 Maria Stein Marion Local (15-0) vs. No. 2 Kirtland (15-0)
Was surprised this wasn't larger crowd, as this may have been best matchup of the 7. ML fan-base with some championship fatigue, especially given the drive and early start, and the weather was not cooperative. Also fighting the busy Saturday schedule of NCAA games, other interests, etc., and the 10:30 start may have required overnight stay for many in the ML contingent.
Weather: temps started at 50 but dropped during game, with rain most of morning prior to game and winds sustained at 24, gusting to 40.
Division VII – Saturday, 3 p.m. (3,782)
No. 7 New Bremen (12-3) vs. No. 1 Warren John F. Kennedy (13-1)
Smallest school division, NB similar drive as ML, and had won a title not that long ago.
Saturday in December seems just not as appealing as games on Thanksgiving weekend in yesteryear. NCAA conference title games, Christmas parties, etc. competing for time, not to mention weather can be that much worse (though not this year). Even just the thought of potential snow a week in advance will keep some away in December.
Weather: Temps had dropped into 30's by game time, winds sustained at 18, gusting to 23; rain had ended before game.
Division IV – Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
No. 2 Cincinnati Wyoming (15-0) vs. No. 1 Cleveland Glenville (14-0)
Cincinnati team and a Glenville team without much community support - combined with 2nd worst time slot up against Big Ten Championship Game. Not that surprising that crowds were small.
Weather: Temps had dropped to high 20's, wind decreased to sustained at 13, no precip.
D1: 7317
D2: 5120
D3: 7790
D4: 4168
D5: 6393
D6: 3960
D7: 3782
I have no way to substantiate this, but I’m guessing ML had twice the fans there that Kirtland did, and that was puzzling to me.
I wouldn't argue with you about ML's crowd compared to Kirtland; you are probably right!
I would suggest, however, that ML's crowd 2022 in comparison to ML's crowd in some past years seemed appreciably smaller. Not a fraction of prior attendance but a measurable decline. Like you, nothing to substantiate it, just a feel and the statistic that reflect overall championshiop game attendance has slid over those years.
Maybe Kirtland fanbase has some championship fatigue as well?
It just seems that communities that have solid programs but who aren't perennially in the championship game generate more interest/buzz/fans in the seats than those teams like ML/Kirtland that seem to get there every year. It is to ML's and Kirtland's credit that they have programs that keep making it back, year after year. But at some point it becomes somewhat expected rather than new excitement. ML and Kirtland do a great job of keeping it special for the teams each year, but the general fan isn't seeing anything new after a 3-hour drive other than another football game - its the same Benson stadium (albeit almost finished and awesome), the same (albeit declining attendance) atmosphere; it's the realization that winning a title is great, but you still go to work/school the next Monday. In contrast, when it's new, it's all-consuming. See Bloom-Carroll vs Canfield as an example. Same is somewhat true for the state basketball tournament - the bright lights are awesome for a team/community that gets there for the first time. For the regular repeaters, it's still grand but not quite as bright. OMG, getting to St. John's would have been the greatest thing...and yes, I am that old.