Ladies and Gentlemen; Vertebrates, Invertebrates, Amphibians and Lizards alike;
These are desperate times. Syrian Refugees, terrorists, a climate crisis, political correctness and the continued push to disincentivize competition are all serious issues. However, none more serious than the recent Illinois high school football championships that produced 4 public and 4 private champions, with 5 blowout games. Indeed, these are troubling facts, and this reptile has had enough. So much enough that said lizard has opted to forgo it's lurking, grow a pair (of thumbs) and partake in the discussion.
It is with this political turmoil in mind that I propose a fully clambaked idea. An idea that will reward and encourage competition. That will result in more teams making the playoffs and more teams scheduling tough regular season slates. An idea, so bold, that it can apply to every school, to every sport in which the IHSA hosts a championship series. I propose - The IHSA Class C Championship Series! brought to you by Country Financial (C for competitive
).
At the beginning of each athletic season, every IHSA membership school will have the ability to opt in to compete in the IHSA Class C Championship Series! brought to you by Country Financial. Schools that opt-in will be grouped together in their own playoff bracket. For football, this would mean the opt-in schools are seeded (seeding approach TBD, but will include SOS), with the top 32 teams making the Class C playoffs. If less than 32 teams opt in, then every opt in team makes the playoffs. If more than 32 opt in, then those that don't make the top 32 cut will fall back to standard classification. After the Class C is determined, the remaining classes are built.
As the prestige and honor of a Class C championship builds over time, this will open the doors for 32 more teams to make the overall playoff pool. It will encourage scheduling of tougher regular season schedules by the more competitive teams, as Class C opt ins can make the playoffs regardless of record (if less than 32 opt ins) and potentially still make the standard 1-8A playoffs if they fall out of the top 32 C-Class opt ins. It will also remove the end of season debate; if you want to claim you're the best, opt in and prove it.
I'll go out on a limb here (actually quite common for the lizard folk) and say the entire CCL Blue, Montini, SHG, and JCA would opt in. Would also venture that the Glenbard Wests, HF, Maine South, LWE, and other perennial public powers would often opt in more years than not. Imagine the games, crowd$, and competition this would provide!
And why stop at football? Why should the wrestling world be deprived of Montini vs OPRF, or the basketball world miss out on the 3A vs 4A separation of powers. There is an answer to our problems, and that answer is clear, bring on The IHSA Class C Championship Series! brought to you by Country Financial!
These are desperate times. Syrian Refugees, terrorists, a climate crisis, political correctness and the continued push to disincentivize competition are all serious issues. However, none more serious than the recent Illinois high school football championships that produced 4 public and 4 private champions, with 5 blowout games. Indeed, these are troubling facts, and this reptile has had enough. So much enough that said lizard has opted to forgo it's lurking, grow a pair (of thumbs) and partake in the discussion.
It is with this political turmoil in mind that I propose a fully clambaked idea. An idea that will reward and encourage competition. That will result in more teams making the playoffs and more teams scheduling tough regular season slates. An idea, so bold, that it can apply to every school, to every sport in which the IHSA hosts a championship series. I propose - The IHSA Class C Championship Series! brought to you by Country Financial (C for competitive
).At the beginning of each athletic season, every IHSA membership school will have the ability to opt in to compete in the IHSA Class C Championship Series! brought to you by Country Financial. Schools that opt-in will be grouped together in their own playoff bracket. For football, this would mean the opt-in schools are seeded (seeding approach TBD, but will include SOS), with the top 32 teams making the Class C playoffs. If less than 32 teams opt in, then every opt in team makes the playoffs. If more than 32 opt in, then those that don't make the top 32 cut will fall back to standard classification. After the Class C is determined, the remaining classes are built.
As the prestige and honor of a Class C championship builds over time, this will open the doors for 32 more teams to make the overall playoff pool. It will encourage scheduling of tougher regular season schedules by the more competitive teams, as Class C opt ins can make the playoffs regardless of record (if less than 32 opt ins) and potentially still make the standard 1-8A playoffs if they fall out of the top 32 C-Class opt ins. It will also remove the end of season debate; if you want to claim you're the best, opt in and prove it.
I'll go out on a limb here (actually quite common for the lizard folk) and say the entire CCL Blue, Montini, SHG, and JCA would opt in. Would also venture that the Glenbard Wests, HF, Maine South, LWE, and other perennial public powers would often opt in more years than not. Imagine the games, crowd$, and competition this would provide!
And why stop at football? Why should the wrestling world be deprived of Montini vs OPRF, or the basketball world miss out on the 3A vs 4A separation of powers. There is an answer to our problems, and that answer is clear, bring on The IHSA Class C Championship Series! brought to you by Country Financial!
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