THE IUP Football Thread

[IUPNation]

I’m not sure what the answer is to improve competitive balance in football. It’s a problem in nearly every conference or classification. I’m not sure there is an answer, but just classifying by enrollment numbers certainty isn’t a perfect system, although I don’t know what else you’d use. How kids are counted in a district varies as well. Indiana HS, for example, is 4A but would have probably finished 4th in the Heritage Conference last year, which is made up of 2A and 1A schools. Then there’s the whole boundary vs non-boundary issue.

Some schools just aren’t going to be very competitive in football and maybe would be better off without it. It’s probably the hardest of the sports to turn things around and go from historically weak to highly competitive. Baldwin’s plan to go independent might be a good idea for them.

The WPIAL needs to be broken up. It’s too big foot print wise and it doesn’t work. Let the schools form leagues and carve out new districts.

Yinz hold on to **** from the past for far too long.

[Fightingscot82]

The WPIAL needs to be broken up. It’s too big foot print wise and it doesn’t work. Let the schools form leagues and carve out new districts.

Yinz hold on to **** from the past for far too long.

I actually think that District 8 (Pittsburgh city schools only) should be absorbed into the WPIAL. They both predate the PIAA but District 8 is a shell of its former self both in numbers and success.

[Fightingscot82]

I’m not sure what the answer is to improve competitive balance in football. It’s a problem in nearly every conference or classification. I’m not sure there is an answer, but just classifying by enrollment numbers certainty isn’t a perfect system, although I don’t know what else you’d use. How kids are counted in a district varies as well. Indiana HS, for example, is 4A but would have probably finished 4th in the Heritage Conference last year, which is made up of 2A and 1A schools. Then there’s the whole boundary vs non-boundary issue.

Some schools just aren’t going to be very competitive in football and maybe would be better off without it. It’s probably the hardest of the sports to turn things around and go from historically weak to highly competitive. Baldwin’s plan to go independent might be a good idea for them.

Baldwin's challenges are the same as several others: Fox Chapel, Butler, Connellsville, and Uniontown. Maybe some others I can't think of off the top of my head. Football just isn't popular there anymore - at least not popular enough to support from the bottom up. My son plays youth football and you can see how some communities care about youth football (or other sports). Fox Chapel is also the worst youth football team in the area. They play games at the high school field but you can tell by the cars in the parking lot that the majority of the player families aren't "Fox Chapel" families. They're Aspinwall, Blawnox, Sharpsburg, etc. which for those not familiar are working class communities between Fox Chapel and the Allegheny River. The same is said for Quaker Valley - most football players are from working class Leetsdale, not from Sewickley and Edgeworth. But back to Baldwin, their population has also turned over quite a bit in the last 25 years. Its an "inner donut" suburb between the nicer suburbs and the city that are all mostly struggling to maintain population and a tax base. Baldwin has also seen a surge of immigrant families, which usually isn't a big deal, but they're going to take time to assimilate and build interest in a sport that's not a thing where they are from. Baldwin has become Little Bhutan for the region, which is cool, but they don't play football in Nepal.

The move to six divisions for football really diminished the feel of tradition for high school football. A lot of neighboring districts were in the same classification and section/conference and that plays into it. Some new ones have developed based on population shifts (such as NA vs Pine Richland) but its not the same as NA-North Hills, Center-Monaca, Monaca-Rochester, Aliquippa-Hopewell, etc.

[Fightingscot82]

Also announced that Aliquippa finally won an appeal to the PIAA and will move down to 3A for the next two seasons. By enrollment standards they're 1A.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Also announced that Aliquippa finally won an appeal to the PIAA and will move down to 3A for the next two seasons. By enrollment standards they're 1A.

They were one step away from the PSAC West.

[Fightingscot82]

They were one step away from the PSAC West.

I went to a game at Aliquippa for the first time last year. Its not the same as "The Pit" of yesteryear (or so I've been told), but its still Aliquippa so my guard was up. People were super friendly, complimentary of my kids' school who kicked their butts that night and the marching band who had more drummers than their entire band, and at no time concerned for my safety the way I have at say The Wolvarena or Martorelli Stadium. I loved the video messages including one from Mike Ditka talking about how proud he is to be from Aliquippa. Things never got out of hand, but the rudest fan base I've experienced was New Castle. Granted, one or two games 30 years ago, but it was almost unbearable.

[Tdobson]

I actually think that District 8 (Pittsburgh city schools only) should be absorbed into the WPIAL. They both predate the PIAA but District 8 is a shell of its former self both in numbers and success.

I am surprised that the city schools haven't joined district 7, and dissolve district 8.

[Fightingscot82]

I am surprised that the city schools haven't joined district 7, and dissolve district 8.

I wonder if the unusual overlap in enrollment vs team participation is a factor. There are 9 high schools but only 6 with athletics, so you have kids attending one school for academic reasons but playing on the team of another school based on where they live.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Baldwin's challenges are the same as several others: Fox Chapel, Butler, Connellsville, and Uniontown. Maybe some others I can't think of off the top of my head. Football just isn't popular there anymore - at least not popular enough to support from the bottom up. My son plays youth football and you can see how some communities care about youth football (or other sports). Fox Chapel is also the worst youth football team in the area. They play games at the high school field but you can tell by the cars in the parking lot that the majority of the player families aren't "Fox Chapel" families. They're Aspinwall, Blawnox, Sharpsburg, etc. which for those not familiar are working class communities between Fox Chapel and the Allegheny River. The same is said for Quaker Valley - most football players are from working class Leetsdale, not from Sewickley and Edgeworth. But back to Baldwin, their population has also turned over quite a bit in the last 25 years. Its an "inner donut" suburb between the nicer suburbs and the city that are all mostly struggling to maintain population and a tax base. Baldwin has also seen a surge of immigrant families, which usually isn't a big deal, but they're going to take time to assimilate and build interest in a sport that's not a thing where they are from. Baldwin has become Little Bhutan for the region, which is cool, but they don't play football in Nepal.

The move to six divisions for football really diminished the feel of tradition for high school football. A lot of neighboring districts were in the same classification and section/conference and that plays into it. Some new ones have developed based on population shifts (such as NA vs Pine Richland) but its not the same as NA-North Hills, Center-Monaca, Monaca-Rochester, Aliquippa-Hopewell, etc.

Wealthy suburban kids are playing dramatically less football these days.

There are 5A teams in the WPIAL dressing 30-35 kids. In the 90s they all dressed 70+ (Quad A in those days).

Football isn't the only show in town anymore. Kids have way more athletic options. Concussions are taken way more seriously, etc.

Add in every baseball parent has the next Bryce Harper and little Johnny plays baseball (only) 12 months of the year. This one sport crap was extremely rare in the 90s.

Skipping basketball in the PA winter to hit in a batting cage for 4 months doesn't seem all that fun to me. Each his own.

[Fightingscot82]

Wealthy suburban kids are playing dramatically less football these days.

There are 5A teams in the WPIAL dressing 30-35 kids. In the 90s they all dressed 70+ (Quad A in those days).

Football isn't the only show in town anymore. Kids have way more athletic options. Concussions are taken way more seriously, etc.

Add in every baseball parent has the next Bryce Harper and little Johnny plays baseball (only) 12 months of the year. This one sport crap was extremely rare in the 90s.

Skipping basketball in the PA winter to hit in a batting cage for 4 months doesn't seem all that fun to me. Each his own.

Totally. Grew up in a big upper middle class WPIAL district (6A) and live in one with the full spectrum now (3A). In a big 5A or 6A district, there are enough kids that by high school everyone has already found their place. In a big district with decent household incomes, those kids are refined because its been their job. It also made it difficult to play multiple sports because there are so many kids competing for those spots. And this was before that district became a magnet for Steelers to live there and have their kids slide into the starting 11.

Totally agree about the year-round crap. My cousin's kid played year-round baseball for almost 10 years and had nothing to show for it because the high school he went to had such a great baseball team he kept getting passed up. My son's football team would run into roster issues because so many kids were doing fall baseball. Why are 8 year olds playing year-round baseball? It also affects other good options for kids to do something like Cub Scouts/Boy Scouts or even just getting a job. You wouldn't believe how many college kids I come across who have NEVER had a job and now they're doing their senior internship or applying for full adult jobs with no work experience. No experience dealing with customers, no experience answering an office phone, no experience with how to handle being late or calling off. We're effed.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Totally. Grew up in a big upper middle class WPIAL district (6A) and live in one with the full spectrum now (3A). In a big 5A or 6A district, there are enough kids that by high school everyone has already found their place. In a big district with decent household incomes, those kids are refined because its been their job. It also made it difficult to play multiple sports because there are so many kids competing for those spots. And this was before that district became a magnet for Steelers to live there and have their kids slide into the starting 11.

Totally agree about the year-round crap. My cousin's kid played year-round baseball for almost 10 years and had nothing to show for it because the high school he went to had such a great baseball team he kept getting passed up. My son's football team would run into roster issues because so many kids were doing fall baseball. Why are 8 year olds playing year-round baseball? It also affects other good options for kids to do something like Cub Scouts/Boy Scouts or even just getting a job. You wouldn't believe how many college kids I come across who have NEVER had a job and now they're doing their senior internship or applying for full adult jobs with no work experience. No experience dealing with customers, no experience answering an office phone, no experience with how to handle being late or calling off. We're effed.

I could write a book on the "interviews" I've done with fresh college grads in the past few years. Some of the stories ... hilarious (or sad).

But, you have to hire some of them. Then the next can of worms opens up. It's a different generation. That's the nice way to say it.

[Fightingscot82]

I could write a book on the "interviews" I've done with fresh college grads in the past few years. Some of the stories ... hilarious (or sad).

But, you have to hire some of them. Then the next can of worms opens up. It's a different generation. That's the nice way to say it.

They don't make things like they used to LOL

[Tdobson]

Has IUP hired an OC yet?

[TheBigCat2192]

I could write a book on the "interviews" I've done with fresh college grads in the past few years. Some of the stories ... hilarious (or sad).

But, you have to hire some of them. Then the next can of worms opens up. It's a different generation. That's the nice way to say it.

I’ve never done any interviewing, but I’ve supervised a fair amount of Gen Z kids in a prior job. I think too many people give them a bad rap; I can’t deny that some of them were unfocused or outright lazy, and getting them off the phones is basically impossible, but I also found plenty that I could count on to do speedy, effective work without needing to hover over them. My biggest problem was more from trouble connecting with them culturally since I don’t use TikTok or “shorts” functions on other social media or watch “streamers.” The Logan Paul Prime drink and “Mr. Beast” licensed food baffled me but they seemed to love both of those things, for example.

[IUPNation]

I’d suggest yinz top off all your cars before Monday if you want to save some money on gas..cos price spikes are coming.

But it was an exciting day in Indiana….and I told ya so!