Sports
Report: HS Football Playoff Proposal Stalls
The Boston Herald reported Tuesday the state's Tournament Management Committee did not "universally approve" the MIAA football committee's proposal for a statewide playoff format.
The Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association's drive for a statewide high school football tournament that creates more postseason opportunities for schools and crowns a true state champion in all six divisions stalled Monday, according to an article in the Boston Herald.
Tuesday's article in the Boston Herald, "Expanded Postseason Plan Falls Incomplete," reports while the state's Tournament Management Committee approved of the plan's basic concepts – voting 15-0 in favor – it was not comfortable with scheduling and had concerns with revenue sharing for non-playoff teams.
Boston Herald reporter Dan Ventura writes:
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"Several committee members expressed concerns about how scheduling would be handled for Weeks 8-10 of the season for teams that didn’t qualify for the playoffs. With no firm plan in hand, the tournament management committee didn’t feel comfortable in issuing a blanket approval. Another topic was how revenue would be shared in those three weeks."
Former football coach Vin Joseph said the proposal is a product of "about 10 months of work" and the tournament management committee's approval of the general concept was important because it kept the drive for a statewide tournament alive.
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That's good news in Medfield as athletic director .
If the tournament management committee had not approved any part of the proposal Monday, Joseph said it would have likely sacked any realistic change to the current playoff system.
"If this [proposal] doesn’t go, then I’m ready to wave the white flag and say, in spite of what everybody has told us, [the state] doesn't really want change," Joseph said.
As for the next step, The MHSFCA posted on its website Wednesday morning the following message:
"MIAA Tournament Committee approves playoff 'concept' but football committee now needs to finalize the plan for May 19."
The football committee's next meeting is May 9 and the tournament management committee will meet again on May 10.
To view the high school football state-wide tournament proposal, click here. What do you think of the proposal? to vote in our poll!
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