OT: D1

[IUP24]

For those keeping score at home… There were four schools that appealed their reclassifications today with the PIAA:

- Aliquippa
- Steelton-Highspire
- Wyomissing
- Bishop Guilfoyle

Only one of those schools won and doesn’t have to change classifications. It was the type of school that these rules were written for.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

For those keeping score at home… There were four schools that appealed their reclassifications today with the PIAA:

- Aliquippa
- Steelton-Highspire
- Wyomissing
- Bishop Guilfoyle

Only one of those schools won and doesn’t have to change classifications. It was the type of school that these rules were written for.

Aliquippa has been moved to the PSAC West per PIAA.

[EastStroud13]

I'll give PIAA this: they are doing a great job at making sure everyone knows they are a joke of an institution.

[Fightingscot82]

I'll give PIAA this: they are doing a great job at making sure everyone knows they are a joke of an institution.

They're all trying for their own call up to the NCAA board.

[IUP24]

A lot steam is generating that Aliquippa School District may be taking the PIAA to court over the ruling. I'm not entirely sure what the particulars of their suit will be though, considering that a lot of the case is subjective.

They will claim that their transfers are due to transient students in a distressed community impacted by a number of socio-economic factors that districts they will be facing (Upper Saint Clair, Baldwin, Bethel Park, etc.) do not face. They will discuss the safety concerns related to going up against schools which are in some cases more than 4x their size. A lot of their case will appeal on emotion and proving that the PIAA ruling is putting their students in jeopardy from a safety perspective. You can have any opinion on this you want, but I'm hopeful we can all find common ground in the sense that having 35 kids trotting out on the field against Upper Saint Clair or North Hills probably isn't "what's best for the kids."

[IUPNation]

For those keeping score at home… There were four schools that appealed their reclassifications today with the PIAA:

- Aliquippa
- Steelton-Highspire
- Wyomissing
- Bishop Guilfoyle

Only one of those schools won and doesn’t have to change classifications. It was the type of school that these rules were written for.

Which one?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Which one?

The one the Pope would like.

[iupgroundhog]

Which one?

It's kind of like an SAT question. Which one is different?

[IUP24]

It is interesting to consider a few ponderables here...

1) If Aliquippa simply played in the classification in which they should have been playing in, they would have been bumped up to 4A (There's been incorrect information stated here about them being a 1A school - Aliquippa's enrollment is that of a 2A school, not 1A. And prior to the expansion to 6 classifications, they were always a 2A school. That is why them and Clairton never played while both programs were really humming).

2) Many are saying that this conversation is racial in nature. I don't necessarily believe that. Aliquippa and Steel-High are two predominantly black communities. I don't know enough about Steel-High, but Aliquippa is obviously a very socio-economically depressed area. That said, Wyomissing is a very small town, but it's a pretty affluent, mostly white, community from what I've read. Wyomissing was really, really strong while I was in high school, which is when I learned that was where Taylor Swift was from and where she attended elementary and middle school.

3) This topic has emerged very recently, if you are a 6A school, what is the punishment for recruiting, or taking in an insane number of transfers for athletic purposes? What is the upward relegation in that scenario? Do you become a member of the President's Athletic Conference and play W&J every year? So when you consider what's happening to Aliquippa, why wouldn't you recruit with a wide net like some programs do if you are 6A?

It seems like the intent of the rules with how they were created have negatively impacted the schools they were attempting to protect. Because make no mistake... The rules within the 6 classification system were designed to protect schools and communities like Aliquippa, not Bishop Guilfoyle.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It is interesting to consider a few ponderables here...

1) If Aliquippa simply played in the classification in which they should have been playing in, they would have been bumped up to 4A (There's been incorrect information stated here about them being a 1A school - Aliquippa's enrollment is that of a 2A school, not 1A. And prior to the expansion to 6 classifications, they were always a 2A school. That is why them and Clairton never played while both programs were really humming).

2) Many are saying that this conversation is racial in nature. I don't necessarily believe that. Aliquippa and Steel-High are two predominantly black communities. I don't know enough about Steel-High, but Aliquippa is obviously a very socio-economically depressed area. That said, Wyomissing is a very small town, but it's a pretty affluent, mostly white, community from what I've read. Wyomissing was really, really strong while I was in high school, which is when I learned that was where Taylor Swift was from and where she attended elementary and middle school.

3) This topic has emerged very recently, if you are a 6A school, what is the punishment for recruiting, or taking in an insane number of transfers for athletic purposes? What is the upward relegation in that scenario? Do you become a member of the President's Athletic Conference and play W&J every year? So when you consider what's happening to Aliquippa, why wouldn't you recruit with a wide net like some programs do if you are 6A?

It seems like the intent of the rules with how they were created have negatively impacted the schools they were attempting to protect. Because make no mistake... The rules within the 6 classification system were designed to protect schools and communities like Aliquippa, not Bishop Guilfoyle.

The Pens suck and the Yinzers are done. This is the perfect local media story for the talk shows (it's all they are talking about).


It is a juicy topic.

[Fightingscot82]

It is interesting to consider a few ponderables here...

1) If Aliquippa simply played in the classification in which they should have been playing in, they would have been bumped up to 4A (There's been incorrect information stated here about them being a 1A school - Aliquippa's enrollment is that of a 2A school, not 1A. And prior to the expansion to 6 classifications, they were always a 2A school. That is why them and Clairton never played while both programs were really humming).

2) Many are saying that this conversation is racial in nature. I don't necessarily believe that. Aliquippa and Steel-High are two predominantly black communities. I don't know enough about Steel-High, but Aliquippa is obviously a very socio-economically depressed area. That said, Wyomissing is a very small town, but it's a pretty affluent, mostly white, community from what I've read. Wyomissing was really, really strong while I was in high school, which is when I learned that was where Taylor Swift was from and where she attended elementary and middle school.

3) This topic has emerged very recently, if you are a 6A school, what is the punishment for recruiting, or taking in an insane number of transfers for athletic purposes? What is the upward relegation in that scenario? Do you become a member of the President's Athletic Conference and play W&J every year? So when you consider what's happening to Aliquippa, why wouldn't you recruit with a wide net like some programs do if you are 6A?

It seems like the intent of the rules with how they were created have negatively impacted the schools they were attempting to protect. Because make no mistake... The rules within the 6 classification system were designed to protect schools and communities like Aliquippa, not Bishop Guilfoyle.

The enrollment calculations are based on the number of boys in grades 10-12, so I'm unsure if they were accurate. But its also possible for enrollment to fluctuate greatly in a district like that. People move in and out all the time.

My issue with the "win and move up" rule is that there has to be an end to it and its not fair to smaller schools. Eventually Aliquippa's run will end and boys will get hurt because of it. Eventually they'll be a 2A roster with kids playing both ways going up against a 4A or 5A roster subbing in left and right then fresh 10th graders to play in the 4th quarter. There's no move-up option for 6A. What happens if North Allegheny becomes a beast and wins six consecutive PIAA titles? There's no upward move then to make it fair to everyone else. I think schools should be allowed to play up a level if that suits them. Playing up two levels is really pushing it.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The enrollment calculations are based on the number of boys in grades 10-12, so I'm unsure if they were accurate. But its also possible for enrollment to fluctuate greatly in a district like that. People move in and out all the time.

My issue with the "win and move up" rule is that there has to be an end to it and its not fair to smaller schools. Eventually Aliquippa's run will end and boys will get hurt because of it. Eventually they'll be a 2A roster with kids playing both ways going up against a 4A or 5A roster subbing in left and right then fresh 10th graders to play in the 4th quarter. There's no move-up option for 6A. What happens if North Allegheny becomes a beast and wins six consecutive PIAA titles? There's no upward move then to make it fair to everyone else. I think schools should be allowed to play up a level if that suits them. Playing up two levels is really pushing it.

Funny thing is Aliquippa will destroy most of the 5A schools next year.

[IUP24]

The Pens suck and the Yinzers are done. This is the perfect local media story for the talk shows (it's all they are talking about).


It is a juicy topic.

I’m uniquely intrigued. I don’t think I can ever recall a story like this.

[IUP24]

The enrollment calculations are based on the number of boys in grades 10-12, so I'm unsure if they were accurate. But its also possible for enrollment to fluctuate greatly in a district like that. People move in and out all the time.

My issue with the "win and move up" rule is that there has to be an end to it and it’s not fair to smaller schools. Eventually Aliquippa's run will end and boys will get hurt because of it. Eventually they'll be a 2A roster with kids playing both ways going up against a 4A or 5A roster subbing in left and right then fresh 10th graders to play in the 4th quarter. There's no move-up option for 6A. What happens if North Allegheny becomes a beast and wins six consecutive PIAA titles? There's no upward move then to make it fair to everyone else. I think schools should be allowed to play up a level if that suits them. Playing up two levels is really pushing it.

If I do recall, the main reason Aliquippa wanted to originally play 3A football under the 6 classifications was because of them losing a lot of their traditional teams on their schedule, particularly Beaver Falls. In the first iteration, I believe Beaver Falls was classified into 3A. Aliquippa also said they wanted to play other Beaver Country schools like Central Valley and Beaver who would be at that level. So that was the initial reason as to why they volunteered to play up a level.

[IUP24]

Funny thing is Aliquippa will destroy most of the 5A schools next year.

I think this is when you’ll see it catch up. They also are losing their best player, Cam Lindsey, to graduation (not saying they don’t have others, but he was their best).

Schools like Penn Hills and Gateway are routinely producing D1 level players. Bethel Park and Peters Township have both been on a tear at that level and have recently been generating FBS recruits. Then of course you have Pine-Richland. I just think this is a different animal altogether. They may have equal numbers of high-end players, but I’m not sure the depth matches what these large districts are going to send out on the field.

Numbers are down at a lot of schools. And many places, even at 4A, are dressing freshman on Friday nights in the event they need bodies. That isn’t really happening at 5A schools.