I guess I’m old school, but I am not sure I like the major change that is coming to the tournament in West Virginia high school basketball.
On Thursday, the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission (WVSSAC) board of directors approved a change in the preliminary rounds of the boys and girls basketball postseason to begin in the 2024-25 school term.
The new format will combine two existing sections in each region into one larger regional tournament. Thus the tournaments will climax with two final games in each region. The two champions will then advance to the state tournament in Charleston.
Coaches voting will determine seeding in each region.
Again, I’m old school and remember some of the great sectionals with arch-rivals Williamson and Logan battling. And the local Class A tourneys with schools like Kermit, Lenore, Burch, Matewan and Gilbert in Mingo County.
Of course, due to consolidation, those schools, with the exception of Logan, no longer exist.
So I guess with the number of schools greatly reduced, changes are necessary. I did like the change a few years ago. It allowed the sectional tournament runner-up another chance to advance to the co-regional games.
The changes will affect Tug Valley and Mingo Central, the only two high schools in the county these days. This is a far cry from past years. Nearby schools like Tolsia, Logan, Man and Chapmanville will also be affected.
Tug Valley will be in an 11-team, Class A, Region 4 along with Man, Sherman, Tolsia, Van, Huntington St. Joe, Calhoun County, Gilmer County, Hannan, Wahama and Wirt County.
The state has now switched to four classifications: Class A, Class AA, Class AAA and the new Class AAAA division.
Personally, I don’t think the Mountain State is large enough or has enough schools for four classes these days. This would have been good in years past. However, with consolidation, there is not a large enough number of schools in the state these days.
Depending on the number of schools in a region, some schools could receive a first-round bye. There are criteria to settle a seeding tie from balloting. They include head-to-head record, number of wins in classification and above, number of wins and finally, if needed, a coin toss.
The host schools will be the higher-seeded teams, which will continue within the regional tournament.
Following the regional play, state tournament qualifying teams will continue to be reseeded using the current winning coaches balloting format.
Previously, each region contained two sections with the sectional champion earning home-court advantage in regional play. The runner-up from each section then traveled to play at the sectional champion from the opposite section within the same region. Winners of both co-regional title games qualified for the state tournament.
With the new format, teams will be eliminated following any single loss. That makes it tough, but that was the way it was in the past. If you lost in the sectionals or regional, you were out of the tourney.
The new format received a unanimous recommendation from the Boys and Girls Basketball Coaches Advisory Committee in advance of WVSSAC board approval.
Football changes
The WVSSAC board of directors also modified the high school football ratings system effective in August with the start of the upcoming season.
High schools will now receive one bonus point for a win regardless of the opponent’s classification. Previously, bonus points had been awarded only for wins in the same classification or above.
The strength of the schedule component of the system will not change. However, with the implementation of four classes in football starting in the 2024 season, the following point system will be utilized: Class AAAA teams valued at 15 points, Class AAA at 12 points, Class AA at 9 points and Class A at 6 points.
I do like this change. Schools that have tougher schedules should be rewarded in the rating system, especially with wins over certain teams.
Also, a competition rule was added to begin effective in the approaching season. The WVSSAC board of directors approved a change to the game-shortening rule, adjusting it to become effective earlier in a game. The new rule will take effect when one team has a lead of 42 or more points in the third quarter, while the fourth quarter margin of 35 points remains in place. This has been done in other states, such as Kentucky, for a few years.
You may recall that last season there were several huge blowout wins with teams scoring in the 70s and 80s against schools that were greatly undermanned.
Until next time.
(Kyle Lovern is a longtime journalist in the Tug Valley. He is now a retired freelance writer and columnist for the Mountain Citizen.)