TSSAA releases football classification numbers

Possible TSSAA region alignmentsBeginning with 2015-16 school year(numbers in parentheses are those reported to TSSAA by schools; private schools playing in public school division are required to use 1.8 multiplier)Class 6AJefferson County (2,273), Science Hill (2,080), Dobyns-Bennett (2,072), Bearden (1,938), Hardin Valley (1,903), Bradley Central (1,790), William Blount (1,741)Class 5AWalker Valley (1,539), Rhea County (1,521), McMinn County (1,504), Ooltewah (1,452), Cleveland (1,420), Soddy-Daisy (1,249).Class 4AStone Memorial (1,065), Cumberland County (1,051), East Hamilton (1,045), Sequoyah (1,018), Central (925), Hixson (880), Signal Mountain (699).Class 3AEast Ridge (810), Chattanooga Christian (790.2), Red Bank (759), Notre Dame (750.6), Grundy County (708), McMinn Central (700), Sequatchie County (691), Howard (643).Class 2ABrainerd (593), Tyner (587), Polk County (570), Bledsoe County (568), Silverdale Baptist Academy (531), Marion County (518), Meigs County (516), Boyd-Buchanan (487.8)Class 1AWhitwell (371), Sale Creek (306), Grace Baptist Academy (288), South Pittsburg (245), Copper Basin (227), Lookout Valley (204).

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TSSAA officials are interested to see what Signal Mountain and a handful of other schools across the state decide regarding their football classification for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years.

They don't expect many to move up after seeing the classification numbers that were released Tuesday afternoon.

"If history repeats itself, the answer is no," the TSSAA's Gene Menees said. "One or two moving up can change the landscape. A lot of times what they do is look in their geographic area at natural rivalries or look down the road at playoff scenarios and try to decide what's best for them."

Signal Mountain remains classified as a 3A school, but the Eagles played in the 4A postseason last year and will do so again this season.

"I don't know 100 percent if we'll go 3A or 4A," athletic director Bumper Reese said. "I would think we would go 4A, but there hasn't been a definite decision."

Asked if he had received many requests to move up or for 6A schools that might want to move down to 5A, Menees reminded that the classification figures didn't go out until late Tuesday afternoon.

"Those that are considering moving up, and I'd be the same way, may want to see what somebody else is doing," he said, "but they cannot offer a contingency and say they want to stay down if somebody else moves up or down."

Menees also emphasized that the current classification will affect only football for the next two seasons. There also will be no changes in Division II.

"The only thing that changes is (Division I) football. All other sports stay where they are," he said.

Once the TSSAA has received decisions from schools such as 3A Signal and 2A Alcoa, all teams then become dots on a calendar with the idea of having natural geographic regions.

"We'll put dots on the map once all have indicated their decision, and we'll try to get those dots as close together as humanly possible," he said. "In 4A for example, those teams (Central, East Hamilton, Hixson and possibly Signal Mountain) would probably have to go north or northwest. Then do you go pick up Stone Memorial and Cumberland County? Sequoyah is also a possibility. We'll start with upper East Tennessee and go from there."

On a broader scope, there are what Menees called "swivel teams," a group that could include 3A McMinn Central and 2A Polk County and Meigs County.

"McMinn could go north or south, and Meigs and Polk are in the same situation," he said. "I would assume they'd prefer to go south, but we're looking to equally distribute with teams having five or six region games, maybe seven."

"I don't know who's north of us: Alcoa, I guess; Sweetwater maybe," Polk coach Derrick Davis said. "We've never been moved north, but that doesn't mean we won't be this time. It would be less games (in the proposed district) that we'd have to get, but we'd want to be able to keep some of our rivalry games.

"Scheduling? I don't know what that would do to us playing the bigger schools like Bradley (Central) and Walker Valley, which have been good money gates for us."

In Classes 1A through 5A there will be eight regions with the top four in each region advancing to the postseason.

Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.

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