OHIO HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
The proposal to address competitive balance in OHSAA tournaments failed 339 to 301 (53 percent to 47 percent). A similar proposal failed 332 to 303 (52 percent to 48 percent) in May 2011.
If you are headed out to watch your favorite high school basketball team compete in its sectional or district tournament, you had best double check where you are going.
Northeast District Board members Jim Borchik and Bill Schumacher recently explained why so many schools have been moved for the 2012 tournament season.
“The OHSAA dictates to us how many districts we receive and this year we added a district in Division I in both boys and girls, so we went from six to seven. And we lost a district in Division II, so we went from six to five,” said Borchik.
In Division I girls, a district site was added at Elyria Catholic High School, while in Division I boys, a district site was added at Alliance High School.
Stating that this was a “reclassification year,” Borchik and Schumacher said adding two venues necessitated a major shift, which had a ripple effect throughout all sites.
On a two-year cycle, the OHSAA obtains enrollment numbers for grades 9 through 11 for boys and girls and those figures are used to determine where the cutting lines fall for division classification.
“Consequently that required us to make some adjustments,” Borchik said.
While other similar boards in Ohio have implemented Super Districting, Borchik and Schumacher say that had nothing to do with this year’s Northeast District shakeup.
“We do not do it for competitive balance purposes,” Borchik said.
“The philosophy of the Northeast District has always been geographic,” Schumacher added.
The Northeast District Board oversees 38 district sites, 19 for boys and 19 for girls.
Ellet High School, for example, has hosted a district girls basketball tournament for the last 22 years. Macedonia Nordonia is new this year as a girls tournament site.
“It will stay the same next year because it’s on a two-year cycle,” Borchik said.
The distribution of seven Division I district champions is such that the Northeast District could have three teams make it to Columbus for the state semifinals.
“The way the framework is for Division I for both boys and girls, we could potentially have three Northeast (District) schools in the final four,” Schumacher said.
The seed meetings for boys basketball coaches are this Sunday.
Boys sectional tournament play begins Feb. 20.
Division I Boys Basketball Districts (3 of 7)
Alliance High School (12): Austintown Fitch, Boardman, Canfield, East (Youngstown), GlenOak, Green, Hoover, Howland, Kent Roosevelt, Lake, Louisville, Warren G. Harding
Canton Memorial Civic Center (11): Akron Garfield, Barberton, Canton McKinley, Canton Timken, Copley, Ellet, Jackson, Kenmore, Massillon Perry, Massillon Washington, Wooster
Copley High School (12): Brunswick, Cloverleaf, Cuyahoga Falls, Firestone, Highland, Hudson, Medina, Nordonia, Stow-Munroe Falls, Twinsburg, Wadsworth, Walsh Jesuit
Division II Boys Basketball Districts (4 of 5)
Boardman High School (11): Cardinal Mooney, Crestwood, Hubbard, Lakeview, Niles McKinley, Poland Seminary, Ravenna, Salem, Southeast, Struthers, West Branch
Canton Fieldhouse (12): Alliance, Archbishop Hoban, Canton South, Coventry, Fairless, Marlington, Northwest (Canal Fulton), Norton, Springfield, St. Vincent-St. Mary, Triway, Tuslaw
Stow-Munroe Falls High School (12): Akron East, Akron North, Buchtel, Chagrin Falls, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, Field, Notre Dame-Cathederal Latin, Orange, Revere, Streetsboro, Tallmadge, Woodridge
Westlake High School (12): Bay, Benedictine, Brookside, Buckeye, Cleveland Central Catholic, Fairview, Firelands, Holy Name, Max Hayes, Padua, Rocky River, Vermilion
Division III Boys Basketball Districts (2 of 4)
Salem High School (12): Canton Central Catholic, Columbiana, Crestview, David Anderson, East Palestine, Manchester, Rootstown, South Range, Springfield (New Middletown), St. Thomas Aquinas, United, Waterloo
Wooster High School (14): Black River, Chippewa, Clearview, Elyria Catholic, Hillsdale, Keystone, Loudonville, Northwestern, Norwayne, Oberlin, Orrville, Smithville, Waynesdale, Wellington
Division IV Boys Basketball Districts (2 of 3)
Struthers Fieldhouse (12): Berlin Western Reserve, East Canton, Heartland Christian, Heritage Christian, Lake Center Christian, Leetonia, Lowellville, Mogadore, Sebring McKinley, Southern, Wellsville, Youngstown Christian
Warren G. Harding High School (13): Badger, Bloomfield, Bristol, Chalker, Jackson-Milton, Warren JFK, Ledgemont, Lordstown, Maplewood, Mathews, McDonald, Mineral Ridge, Windham