Being in 6A could hit Bradley Central finances

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog
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From a financial standpoint, the Bradley Central football program came out of Tuesday's announcement of the enrollment figures as the area's biggest loser.

The school reported the 24th-largest number of students in the state, at 1,790, which put it in the Class 6A "Super 32" category. The biggest positive for Bradley's Bears will be that they are assured a spot in the playoffs.

But counting the dollars and cents of the Cleveland school won't be the prettiest of pictures for the administration. Bradley is projected in a region with Knoxville schools Bearden, Hardin Valley and William Blount; Jefferson County; and Tri-City schools Science Hill and Dobyns-Bennett.

The average distance of those schools from Bradley's campus is around 120 miles, and the closest opponent -- Hardin Valley -- is 75 miles away.

State power Maryville is hoping to move up to the 6A classification but will need a team to drop down. That domino effect will start, and possibly end, with La Vergne, which has the 32nd-largest enrollment. Should La Vergne want to remain in 6A, seven other teams would have to say no before Bradley could opt to play down.

"We're not worried about who we play," Bears coach Damon Floyd said. "For us it's the expenses tacked to the travel."

Floyd, who has five fundraisers a year already, said the team spends around $3,500 per road tip, and the financial hit from more bus miles and food will be substantial.

"We want to do things first class, but that's hard to do," he said. "We were about 99 percent sure that we were going to be in the Super 32, but we thought there might be a chance. I was surprised that we were as high as we were."

The financial pain likely would go beyond the Bears' region travel. With only three nonregion games projected, a program that has four natural rivals -- in-county foes Cleveland and Walker Valley; Polk County; and McMinn County, with whom it has the second-longest rivalry in the state -- might have to drop one of its largest gates.

The potential ripple effect of that was felt also by Polk County coach Derrick Davis.

"I feel for them. It looks like a lot of travel," Davis said Tuesday. "The reason we have played them is for the gate."

Said Floyd: "The Polk County gate has been our biggest gate the past few years. I'd hate to think it's come to this, but we might have to make a decision financially as to who we play."

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.

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