Change to five divisions in WIAA hoops not adored by area coaches

For many basketball programs in the Milwaukee area, the road to the state tournament just added a few more miles, or at least a few more potholes.

The WIAA Board of Control approved a realignment of the postseason basketball tournament late last week, spreading the state's hoops teams into five divisions. Under the plan, which has been in consideration for several months, Division 1 schools see the number of representatives at the state tournament in Madison cut from 8 to 4.

The plan was initially constructed as a means of relief for schools in the lower divisions that feel unfairly challenged by the presence of private schools in the same enrollment bracket, with the theory that private schools can draw students from a larger geographical area.

"We'll see how it plays out; I'm not going to be a defeatist and say it's all bad," said Oconomowoc boys coach Kurt Melton. "On the surface, it doesn't look good. I don't like it as a D1 coach. It's not good for bigger schools.

"The state tournament is more than just for the players. Obviously, the players earn it, but it's also about the schools that go and the week building up going to Madison. If you cut D1 in half, you're affecting a number of kids that get to experience that. You're taking schools with 1,500 kids and giving that state berth to a school with 3 or 400 kids. The number of kids benefitted is less."

The fifth elements

The new structure, which will begin in the upcoming basketball season, places schools with enrollments of 1,200 and higher into Division 1 and enrollments from 600-1,199 in Division 2. Divisions 3 and 4 will both include schools ranging from 200 to 600 but will be split in half - giving those schools previously encumbered by the presence of private schools double the opportunity to reach state.

"It's great to have the little communities that come in, and it sure generates a lot of excitement in the tournament," said Catholic Memorial coach Dean Bellanti, whose team took home the Division 2 gold ball last March. "But when you have eight teams of D1 caliber, that's the top level of high school basketball. Take nothing away from those small communities, because they certainly have good teams and players, but the overall level of play can't compare.

"I'm not quite sure I'm in favor of having five divisions winning state championships this year. Certainly, the different ways they look to rectify the situation came under criticism across the board. I don't know if there's a good answer."

Memorial is facing an especially challenging adjustment. The Crusaders remain a Division 2 program and already face one of the toughest sectionals in the state, with recent state champions Wisconsin Lutheran and New Berlin Eisenhower already part of the equation, not to mention strong programs such as Pewaukee and East Troy.

With the sectionals re-drawn under the new plan, CMH would have to battle Division 1 strongholds Milwaukee Washington, Nicolet and Wauwatosa East, as well, as those programs drop down a level.

"You always have to beat very good basketball teams in the tournament in order to advance; we have better field of teams now in Division 2, but we're not going to have to beat every better team," Bellanti said. "You look at the game in front of you and prepare yourself the best you can. That's what we did this year. Going to the state tournament this year was quite an accomplishment with the teams we beat in Division 2, which was already an exceptional field of teams."

Unanimous vote

While the choice to approve the proposal wasn't a shock, the unanimous 10-0 vote was surprising. The board, which contains four voters from areas with large schools, has final say over major changes of this variety, though many other advisory bodies within the WIAA held similar votes and arrived at mixed results. The basketball coaches committee voted against it, the Sports Advisory Committee approved it by a close 8-5 count, and the Advisory Council voted it down, 9-7.

"I kind of had a feeling it was going to pass, but I thought it wouldn't have been unanimous," said Sussex Hamilton athletics director Mike Gosz, one of the voters on the Advisory Council - which takes the last crack at considering major WIAA changes before the Board of Control makes its vote. "We're a voice and we're advising; we're not decision making. I can honestly tell you tons of coaches have called me in our backyard that aren't in favor of it and telling me this was not in the best interest of our programs. It's discouraging because it kind of looked like (our vote) went on deaf ears. Whether or not that was actually the case, I don't know."

One of the voters on the BOC, Scott Lindgren of Kenosha, said he heard no negative feedback from coaches about the proposal.

Another possible benefit for the WIAA is a boost in ticket sales, with the strong Division 1 basketball programs in the City Conference traditionally drawing poorly in Madison. But for the suburban Milwaukee teams that travel well, it doesn't apply.

Bellanti said he's ready to stop hearing about ways to counteract the "unfair advantage" afforded to private schools, especially with open enrollment available in Wisconsin.

"We talk about recruiting and being able to have kids from other communities in your program as an advantage; what about the advantage of taking five kids and transferring them all to one school and you go from last to first in one season?" Bellanti said. "Is that not what the WIAA is trying to avoid? So much what happens on the Division 3 level and Division 2 level, but what's happening at the Division 1 level?"

Football earlier

The Board of Control also approved a change to the football schedule, which will move up on the calendar to begin practice Aug. 1, starting in 2011.

The change allows the WIAA to eliminate the largely-disliked idea of playing three games in a span of 10 days at the end of the year - a regular-season finale followed by the first two rounds of the playoffs. The change addressed a concern about concussions, which have been increasingly evaluated as dangerous to high-school athletes and considered a greater risk with multiple games in a short period of time.

Other options included eliminating one game of the regular season, conducting the state playoffs one week later or reducing the playoff field.

New model

The WIAA basketball postseason will now be organized with four representatives from five divisions.

Division 1 - enrollment of 1,200 and above (76 schools)

Division 2 - enrollment of 600-1,199 (88 schools)

Division 3 - half of enrollments of 200-600 (98 schools)

Division 4 - half of enrollments of 200-600 (99 schools)

Division 5 - enrollment of 200 and less (122 schools)