The Georgia High School Association executive committed elected to table a vote on reclassification during a meeting Monday. The committee will convene again in late April or May to vote on the “4/8” plan, which would reduce school classifications from five to four for the regular season and expand to eight for the postseason.
The plan, one of several the reclassification committee considered in its Sunday meeting in Macon, would address travel issues in a state where some teams must travel more than 100 miles to play league games. With more schools in each class, the regions will be geographically smaller.
Having eight championships would, according to the plan, address playoff inequalities that exist with some schools having to compete against others with several hundred more students. In Class AAAAA this year, the difference between the smallest school and the largest is 1,500 students.
The 4/8 plan is similar to football formats in Texas and Tennessee, but the Georgia version, at least as originally written, would be for all sports. Although he wants to hear more specifics, Ringgold athletic director and football coach Robert Akins is in favor of the plan.
“There are pros and cons, but from what I’ve heard I am all for it,” he said. “It will cut travel, and with eight championships it will give more opportunities for kids to play for titles. I don’t think it would affect the schools around here too much, but I don’t see anything bad about it. Right now, in Class AAA, we can play schools with 400 more students than we have.