[Bluegrasscard]

Here are the drawbacks and anomalies of the current setup:

1. Only a small subset of overall teams do not make the playoffs.
2. #1 is nullified for classes 1A and 6A - guaranteeing all schools regardless of record do make the playoffs and ensuring an extra week of football participation for those in those classes. So the playoff participation of these classes is 100%.
3. Classes 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A now have districts comprised of 4, 5 or 6 teams. This guarantees that some schools will not make the playoffs. In districts where there are 6 teams 2 teams will not make the playoffs. So again arbitrary selection makes the odds of making the playoff participation chances 100, 80 or 66% depending on your district makeup. At least under the old 6A system there were no more than 5 teams in a district.
4. Due to #2 and #3 the length of season varies far more for 'in-between schools' than those that are very large or very small. Again, arbitrary and subjective vs. objective approach. Thus, a school that is 5th in their 6 team district may have a decent record of 5-5 but will not go to the playoffs while a school that is 0-10 may go to the playoffs.
5. With varying districts sizes the standing schedules of schools varies from 3 to 5 games requiring varing effort on coaches part to fill out the schedules. Some schools need to fill in 7 games - others only 5.
6. 6A always get special treatment because 'you-know-whos'. The arbitrary rotation and now the super district. Clearly arbitrary mechanics are involved.
7. The current playoff format does not create levels of recognizable reward below the State Championship level. It is simply 5 weeks of ''survivor style' playoffs with 6 winners and 220 losers at the end. No one celebrates a district championship anymore, Regional championships are not really celebrated at all.
8. 6 classes has created more State-wide winners and provided some more recognition for some schools that may not have gotten it since the focus is almost solely on the State finals. But it has reduced lower level competition in the playoffs and reduce the interest in the playoffs until championship weekend. Since going to 6A look at new class of perennial champions (Trinity, Highlands, Fort Campbell all won 3 out of 4 years after going to 6 classes, Newport Catholic was in the finals 3 out of 4 years). The point is that the road to the finals is fairly predictable and the same teams - who are all typically deep tradition football programs - are in the finals. Thus, it is somewhat a lower level of excitement and possibly interest in general.

Recommended fix:

1. Go to 4 classes with flat regions made of mostly 7 teams. A few may 5 or so will have 8 teams. Based on size and location as today.
2. Play round robin in region during season. Thus 6 or 7 games for each school are pre-determined.
3. Maybe give the top regular season regional champion a bye (7 team regions) or a forced seed with the #8 seed (8 team regions). Blind draw the rest at the end of the season to mix things up during the 'Regional Championships'.
4. The above format ensure all teams make the playoffs giving all student-athelete the same level of PARTICIPATION during the season.
5. Regional Champions then go onto State Tournament in classic 8 team brackets. This can be completely blind draw.
6. Drawback - 6 weeks of playoffs. So drop off week or optional 2 week startup period.
7. Yes, this is the Indiana-style system. Go look it up if you want to see it in action.

The arbitrary gerrymandering that has been done to get the current system is silly. We all know it is done to try to address the powerhouses in 6A and it leaves a small percentage of schools out of the post season where 0-10 teams can make it in but 5-5 teams may not. Sound fair? Hardly. The fact of football life in Kentucky is that if you are in the highest class you eventually have to face of the 'green monsters' to get a ring. Its been that way since 1959. Same with what ever class has Highlands - they are never down and you will have do go through them. Same with the other traditional powers like Beechwood, Mayfield, NCC. Lets quit trying fix the unfixable and improve the participation of all schools and quit trying to figure out how to create a system that trying to hamstring or contain certain, specific, arbitrary schools.

Contest - name the number of times 'arbitrary' is used above. It is the only consistent word that applies to the current system.