IHSA should move girls Class 3/4A state tournament north

Change in anything draws many different responses.

The IHSA's new four-class system for boys and girls basketball sure has.

Last weekend in Normal, the hottest topic of discussion wasn't centered around any player or team participating in the Class 3A/4A girls state tournament -- it was about four classes.

And while the jury may still be out on this whole new state tournament, I'm here today to say that whether you like it or not, it's time to embrace it.

Sure, it's different. For all the traditionalists out there -- of which I am certainly one -- it's a difficult change to embrace. But so was two classes back in 1972 and Illinois, for the most part, ended up falling in love with that system for 35 years.

I'm not going to predict that 35 years from now the same will be said about four classes -- heck, we might have more classes by then.

But for the here and now we have four classes and we might as well get used to it.

While most coaches have expressed their displeasure with the four-class system, not all are against it.

"One big advantage is not having to play two games in one day," said Bartlett coach Denise Sarna, who coached the Hawks' girls to a Class AA runner-up finish in 2005. "I'm not sure I like four classes but I do like the fact you only have to play one game a day down here."

The IHSA did not make this move haphazardly, despite what some might think. It was a move dictated by the IHSA membership and those schools that chose not to participate in the surveys and voting that led to the change have no room to complain.

"I haven't really processed the whole thing yet but I think the atmosphere in the arena as well as the intensity on the floor has stepped up," said IHSA assistant executive director Beth Sauser, the St. Edward graduate who administers girls basketball for the state.

"It's been an exceptional two weekends. These teams are going for the championship and it's been an electrified atmosphere."

While she may have been caught up in the moment, legendary Chicago Marshall coach Dorothy Gaters didn't seem to have any problem with being a 3A state champ instead of a Class AA champ.

"It doesn't matter to me," Gaters said after her Commandos won their record eighth state title on Saturday afternoon. "(The medal) looks like everyone else's."

I must admit last weekend's state tournament was different. There's no debating that. If you lost on Friday, you weren't done -- you got another game. But watching semifinals on Friday and finals only on Saturday definitely was a change. If I were a coach, I'd have to agree with Sarna -- at least no one lost a tough semifinal late Saturday afternoon and then had to come back and play a few hours later.

"I think it's been great so far and we've had great games," said IHSA executive director Marty Hickman prior to the Class 4A championship game. "There's more travel in the early rounds and that's going to take some getting used to. But we've only heard positive about it here so far.

"For years we heard about how bad it was to play two games in a day so there's a trade out there."

Prior to the state finals, the greatest concern was travel. What can't be fixed in a four-class system is the craziness of a team from Chicago and a team from Edwardsville traveling to Bloomington for a supersectional.

"We haven't broken down the miles traveled," Sauser said. "With a four-class system we have to look at it in a whole new light. When we look at every stage of the tournament we have to look at it completely different."

Attendance has suffered at the girls state tournament for the past several years and this year was no different, regardless the number of classes. It didn't help any that all four Class 4A girls teams playing Friday night had to contend with their respective schools' boys teams playing for regional championships at the same time. And, the fact two Chicago Public League teams were in the tournament -- one in each class -- didn't help any either, although both those schools (Marshall and Whitney Young) drew a surprisingly good crowd as compared to other years with the CPL schools.

After 3,208 fans witnessed the Class 3A semifinals, that figure slipped to 2,911 for the Class 4A semis. Over the two days 11,775 fans attended the Class 3/4A tournament. The previous weekend 13,220 came to Redbird Arena for the 1/2A finals. The latest figures of previous years available from the IHSA this week were from 2005 when the Class A tournament drew 12,834 and the Class AA tournament 15,679.

I will offer a couple of suggestions to the basketball advisory committee and the IHSA that several of my colleagues in Normal last weekend agree might make this four-class state tournament better.

First, the 3/4A tournament should be moved north. Like to the Sears Centre. Want to draw bigger crowds? Bring the tournament to the people participating in it. Of the eight teams at state last weekend, only Quincy Notre Dame and Freeport in 3A were outside the immediate Chicago area. And Freeport to Hoffman Estates or Freeport to Normal is like the old six of one, half dozen of the other. Leave 1/2A at Redbird, but bring the 3/4A north, where it belongs and will surely draw more of a fan base. Now that teams are guaranteed playing both days, it means an overnight stay and let's face it - most kids aren't going to spend a hundred bucks a night for a hotel room.

Just look at the attendance comparison from 2005 to this year and it's easy to see the big-school tournament would be better closer to Chicago and the suburbs.

Secondly, change the order of games. Play a 3A semi, then a 4A semi on Friday afternoon and repeat that at night. And if nothing else changes, please consider playing the third-place games Saturday afternoon and the championship games back-to-back on Saturday night. The weirdest feeling of the weekend was crowning a state champion at 1:45 on Saturday afternoon.

I know TV dictates much of this but I have to think even TV ratings would shoot up a little if you could sit down Saturday night and watch two title games back-to-back.

The reality here is we are now a four-class state. And while sports writers can analyze it until we're blue in the face, while coaches can criticize it until their whistles fall off, and while the traditionalists can scream we're giving trophies to everyone, let's consider this:

The state tournament is for the kids. I saw kids from Freeport and from Quincy and from Montini and from Chicago who might not have had the experience they had last weekend in a two-class system. Kids who will always remember playing in the state tournament. Kids who will treasure the experience for a lifetime, share it with their kids and then their grandkids. Kids who got to play on TV who might not have had that chance otherwise. Kids who, for a short time, stepped into a limelight they would not have had a chance to live in years past. The trophies handed out last weekend mean as much to the schools, coaches and kids as they ever have, trust me.

And in high school sports, isn't the kids having positive experiences supposed to be the priority?