Class basketball here to stay

Sports

July 12, 2012

Class basketball here to stay

Aaron Kirchoff The Herald-Tribune The Batesville Herald Tribune Thu Jul 12, 2012, 10:30 AM EDT

BATESVILLE —

Maybe it was a shock to you, but the announcement made by the Indiana High School Athletic Association on its findings concerning class basketball was really not a surprise to most.

After conducting 11 meetings across the state of Indiana to discuss the idea of going back to single class basketball, the IHSAA announced the findings from the meetings. There was a lack of evidence to support going away from the current system.

Not surprising at all.

The amazing part was that the IHSAA had to go through this process. To appease some in government positions, the IHSAA went through the process and found what many felt was a “no-brainer” — class basketball is here to stay.

Many have seen first hand the success some smaller schools in the area.

The class system allows student athletes at all levels the opportunity to celebrate sectional, regional or semistate titles that may not have been probable in the single class system.

In the 11 public meetings around the state, there were a total of 514 votes cast by the public. The voters were in favor of going back to a single class system by 68 percent.

That sounds high, right? Well, that does not include key components in the system - principals, athletic directors, coaches and student athletes. This group cast more than 7,200 votes. The result was a 71.6 percent vote in favor of the current system.

When the IHSAA broke down the numbers, not one of those groups individually supported a return to single class basketball.

The system is not perfect and the hope is the IHSAA will continue to make strides to improve it. But with that being stated, I think we all realize that class basketball is here to stay.

Aaron Kirchoff is the sports editor for the Rushville Republican. He can be reached at aaron.kirchoff@rushvillerepublican.com.