AAA classification plan leaves football out of it

A proposal that would change the classification format in all sports other than football was presented to the Arkansas Activities Association board of directors Wednesday.

Cross country, volleyball, tennis and all-girls cheerleading would be broken into five classifications -- Class 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A. Soccer and bowling would be Class 6A, 5A, 4A and 3A.

Wrestling, as well as swimming and diving, would have three classifications -- Class 6A, 5A and 4A.

Dance would have Classes 6A, 5A, 4A and 3A. Co-ed cheerleading and game day cheerleading would each have two classifications.

The proposal will be voted on at the AAA governing body meeting July 31 in Little Rock. A two-third majority is needed for the proposal to pass. If approved, it would go into effect for the 2018-2020 classification cycle.

AAA executive director Lance Taylor and associate executive director Steve Roberts presented the proposal Wednesday at the association's summer workshop at the Holiday Inn Little Rock Airport Conference Center.

The AAA went with a blended conference setup for the 2016-2018 classification cycle to help with travel and expenditures. The blended conferences are used for boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, and volleyball, but not in football.

But there have been concerns with the blended conferences, including increased travel, decreased gates, difficulties seeding district tournaments, and selecting all-conference and all-state teams.

Taylor and Roberts said the proposal would keep enrollment ranges at more than 50 percent and would assign as many schools to each classification as possible to assist with travel. They added that the proposal doesn't completely resolve all travel and enrollment discrepancies, but it's the best compromise for high school athletics in the state.

Several states neighboring Arkansas have used different classes for sports, which the AAA acknowledged Wednesday.

Tennessee uses six classes for football; three for basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball; and two for soccer, tennis, golf and cross country. Missouri has six classes for football; five for basketball, baseball and track and field; four for softball, soccer, volleyball, wrestling and boys golf; and two for tennis and girls golf. In Oklahoma, there's eight classes for football; seven for basketball, baseball and softball; six for track and field; four for volleyball; and three for soccer.

In other business Wednesday, the board of directors gave a "do pass" recommendation to an appeal process and limited review of ejections. That proposal will be voted on at the governing body meeting.

Also, tentative football conference assignments for the 2018-2020 cycle were approved by the board of directors.

Among the most significant changes was Sylvan Hills moving to the 6A-East, and Texarkana and Little Rock McClellan to the 5A-South. Little Rock Hall will be in the 6A-West. Huntsville replaces Maumelle in the 5A-West, with Maumelle joining the 5A-Central. The 5A-Central also adds Watson Chapel and White Hall.

Three other Little Rock schools will switch conferences as well. Mills will head to the 2-4A, Baptist Prep joins the 4-3A and Episcopal Collegiate goes from the 2-3A to the 6-3A.

Sports on 06/08/2017

The proposal for basketball, baseball, softball, golf and track would take the top 16 schools by enrollment and place them in Class 6A. The next 32 schools would be in Class 5A, followed by the next 48 schools in Class 4A. Then, the remaining schools would be divided by three and placed in Class3A, 2A and 1A, respectively.