IHSAA admits mistake, is reinstating one-class basketball
tournament
By Ross Leslie, THG Sports
There
probably isn’t a single person who lives in this state who has not seen the 1986
movie Hoosiers. Many argue that it is the best sports film of all time;
it is based on the 1954 Milan Indians, a tiny rural school that beat a heavily
favored Muncie Central team for the state championship.
Hoosiers
captured the true essence of high school basketball in Indiana, where to many
the sport is a religion and where only one team was crowned champion each year
in a game that would sell out the state’s largest venue—the RCA Dome.
That is
until 1998, when the Indiana High School Athletic Association decided to flush
87 years of tradition down the crapper to please a few critics who said
one-class basketball didn’t give enough kids a chance to be “winners.”
The
governing body of high school sports in the state instituted a new tournament
format, one that would feature four state champions instead of one.
It turns out
this decision was a tremendous mistake; the popularity of the state championship
tournament decreased to the point where many long-time fanatics would rather
stay home and watch reruns of Seinfeld than attend games. Attendance and
revenue have been paltry ever since.
That is why
in a dramatic turn of events, IHSAA officials decided in a Sunday meeting to
reverse their decision and return Indiana to a one-class basketball tournament
beginning at the end of next season.
“After
looking at gate receipts, we realized that changing the tournament was a big
mistake. We should have realized not to mess with something so awesome that
they made a movie about it, but that is water under the bridge now. The IHSAA
is proud to announce that we will once again have a one-class tournament at the
end of the 2005-2006 season,” said Kevin Wilbright, an assistant commissioner
for the IHSAA.
Wilbright
expects some backlash, especially from officials and parents from small schools
that have benefited by the multi-class system by winning state championships.
“This really sucks donkey balls. Now we will never win another state
championship!” said Attica coach Herb Olbermann, whose team won the 1A title at
the end of the 2000-2001 season.
