Our view: Moving to a three-class basketball system in North Dakota isn’t overkill

Want an instance of a state watering down its divisions for highschool sports activities? Simply look southward, the place South Dakota has three courses for basketball and 7 – sure, seven – for soccer.

Of these seven divisions, Class 11B is probably the most populated, with 29 groups. No different division has greater than 22 groups; three have 14 groups or fewer. That’s a whole lot of champions being topped every November.

North Dakota has simply 4 soccer divisions and two basketball divisions. It appears the previous is excellent, whereas the latter ought to be thought-about for growth.

At current, the

North Dakota Excessive Faculty Actions Affiliation seems headed towards increasing the state’s basketball format,

from the present two divisions to 3. Is it watering down the normal chase for a championship?

After all, some will argue that it’s. Not us.

In basketball, we like the concept of three courses, permitting among the state’s smallest colleges to have a greater probability to expertise the glory of a state match. It additionally works nicely for among the smaller colleges that discover themselves on the backside of the present Class A division. Can Turtle Mountain and Valley Metropolis, for example, really compete for a title in a division that additionally consists of Minot and the massive Bismarck colleges? Each program has an distinctive 12 months once in a while, however the numbers – and the chances – are stacked in opposition to these smaller colleges.

A change for the higher appears imminent.

On Dec. 1, the NDHSAA Board of Administrators voted unanimously to simply accept a proposal to vary to a three-class format. The vote included a caveat that the board will transfer ahead with research on the problem – together with finance and affect research on current or new employees – and current the findings at a particular NDHSAA assembly on Feb. 8.

As reported by Discussion board Information Service, right here is the proposal: Faculties could be cut up into Class AA, Class A and Class B based mostly on faculty enrollment. Class AA would function East and West areas with colleges that enroll 575 or extra college students. Class A would even be cut up into East and West areas together with smaller subregions with colleges that enroll 180 to 574 college students. The remaining colleges in Class B – these with fewer than 180 college students – could be cut up into eight districts and 4 areas.

Importantly, the board has solely accepted the concept – not permitted it. However once more, it seems a change is coming.

And why not? In February, a survey that was accomplished by 94% of NDHSAA member colleges confirmed that there seems to be help for the change. When requested “would your faculty be keen to contemplate a three-class plan,” 86% mentioned sure. Of the feedback made by respondents, probably the most revolved round “addressing aggressive steadiness.”

As South Dakota has proven with its soccer divisions, states can go overboard with their efforts to handle aggressive steadiness. Everyone can’t be a champion.

However three courses for basketball isn’t overkill. And if it means extra alternatives for athletes to vie for a spot in a respectable state match, it’s higher for the children and extra fascinating for the followers that observe them.