Daniels | The pros and cons of district football

Nov. 29—Mahomet-Seymour veteran athletic director Matt Hensley doesn't exactly know how his name came to find a prominent spot atop the latest proposal that could seismically alter high school football in Illinois.

But it was during an Apollo Conference athletic director meeting last year and the topic of high school football came up. Unprompted.

"It was kind of a spur of the moment thing," Hensley said, "while we were lamenting the state of football in Illinois."

District football is a polarizing concept to some. An enlightening one to others.

No matter how one feels about the topic, it is at the forefront of the sport again. Because of a proposal that will determine before Christmas what the fate of the 2024 high school football season looks like across the state next fall.

Hensley is the official representative on the proposal to introduce by-law 5.074 into the IHSA Constitution by the time the 2024 football season kicks off next August, with the backing of the Apollo Conference, the Big 12 Conference, the DuPage Valley Conference and the Interstate 8 Conference.

Hensley, in a 20-minute phone conversation with The News-Gazette on Tuesday afternoon after the IHSA announced Tuesday morning this is one of 14 proposals that its Legislative Commission voted through to advance on Monday, said this latest proposal for district football tries to follow up the briefly successful proposal made in 2018 by Sycamore athletic director Chauncey Carrick.

Because, for almost a full calendar year, district football was going to happen in Illinois at the end of the last decade when IHSA member schools passed a proposal, by a slim margin in December 2018, to make district football a reality starting in 2021. Only for the same concept to then be rescinded a year later and voted down in December 2019 in a proposal to do away with the district format.

Here we are again, though. This time around, IHSA member schools have a two-week window from Dec. 4-18 to vote on this proposal, with results posted on Dec. 19. Proposals that receive the simple majority vote from the IHSA membership, like this one, will go into effect on July 1.

Breaking it downThe latest district proposal would feature eight districts, formed by geography and classification, in each of the eight classes with eight schools in each district.

District regular-season games would take place Week 3 through Week 9 and then two non-region games would precede district play to complete the nine-game regular-season schedule.

So, for example, Champaign Central could be classified as 5A (the Maroons were in 5A in their last playoff appearance in 2018) and Centennial as 6A, meaning the seven district games that Central would play would all happen against 5A teams and the seven district games Centennial would play would all take place against 6A teams.

The IHSA would set the schedules for district games, with schools left to schedule the two non-region games in the first two weeks of the season, according to Hensley. Leaving open the possibility of continuing long-standing rivalries, like Centennial playing Champaign Central, even if teams are in different classes.

The math nearly computes for a balance of eight districts comprised of eight teams across eight classes since 516 football schools entered into the IHSA playoffs this past fall. Meaning a few districts might have nine teams since 512 schools are needed to create a perfect balance of eight schools in eight districts across eight classes. But that's a future issue to solve.

Under the proposal, the top-four teams in each district would make the IHSA playoffs, with various tiebreakers outlined if they are needed.

Conference realignment and schools trying to schedule creatively in order to get five wins needed to become eligible for the playoffs right now are the driving factors for this latest proposed venture into district football.

"The main thing we have tried to do with this proposal is inform people about what the reality of the situation is, both the reality of the current situation and the drive for five wins," Hensley said. "That is the reality of the current situation. This situation is impactful on schools that don't play football, too. If you're playing in a conference that changes, it can impact anyone at any given time in any sport. That was also part of the idea of the proposal.

"We also want to let people know the third reality of this is your football program can be struggling today and be really successful tomorrow and find yourself in this very situation where it is hard to find games. It really is everybody's problem."

A small sample size of area coaches The News-Gazette reached out to on Tuesday to weigh in on the issue show just how divisive it can be.

Thumbs upSt. Joseph-Ogden has played an independent football schedule before, traveling all across the state for games.

The Spartans still do see plenty of central Illinois through playing in the Illini Prairie Conference, and ever since St. Thomas More elected to play 8-man football in 2020, SJ-O and the other Illini Prairie schools have had to find one nonconference game each season.

This season, that meant coach Shawn Skinner's program traveled three hours south to Carterville for a Week 5 matchup. Even with only having to find one nonconference game on his schedule, Skinner is on board with district football.

"When I look at it from a standpoint of what's best for athletics in Illinois, it solves the issue of conferences realigning and schools chasing the fifth win," said Skinner, who has led the Spartans to the Class 3A playoffs in six of his eight seasons in charge. "From a football standpoint, we saw far too many teams go outside the state — or out-of-state teams come into Illinois — to play because teams are not willing to play teams over a fear of not getting that fifth win. If we want to make the playoffs something teams earn, then this is the solution to stop the realignment that is clearly having consequences on other sports."

Tuscola football coach Andy Romine, who will start his 10th season in charge of the Warriors next fall and led Tuscola to the 2017 Class 1A state title game, supports the district model. Tuscola's conference, the Central Illinois Conference, was down to six football teams this past season after the league voted out St. Teresa and Sullivan left for the Lincoln Prairie Conference. The Warriors played four nonconference games this past season against foes from all around the state in St. Bede, Farmington, Carlyle and Oblong/Palestine/Hutsonville.

Next season, Tuscola is slated to begin play in the Heart of Central Illinois Conference, a football-only league derived of teams from the CIC and the Heart of Illinois Conference that was created last January to address some of the scheduling difficulties.

"Since 2006, we have been in five versions of a conference," Romine said. "All due to people chasing football victories and playoff berths. I feel within a very short period, conferences would realign to geographic norms if a district football plan goes through."

Champaign Central football has to make frequent 90-minute trips to Peoria these days with Peoria, Peoria Notre Dame, Peoria Manual and Peoria Richwoods part of the Big 12 since 2014. Maroons football coach Tim Turner, who just finished his sixth season in charge at Central, is all for the district model to take place.

"I believe it would be great for local rivalries," Turner said, "and the travel would be easier."

It's probably no surprise Jon Adkins wants the district model to happen considering his athletic director has had a direct hand in the proposal. The Mahomet-Seymour football coach, who has guided the Bulldogs to a 36-13 record in his first five seasons and three straight Class 5A playoff appearances, likes the aspect of schools not having to worry too much about filling their schedules with nonconference games. Like his Bulldogs had to do this past season, making two separate six-hour round trips to play at Quincy Notre Dame in Week 3 and then play at Quincy in Week 9.

"We're begging people to play us because we're at a point now in our program where it's tough to find nonconference games," Adkins said. "If you ask anybody that doesn't want to vote for it, they don't have trouble finding nonconference games like we do or they want to control the narrative about who they're playing."

Which is accurate.

Thumbs downRyan Jefferson probably couldn't have asked for a better possible season than what his Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond football program experienced this fall.

Sure, the sting of a Class 2A first-round playoff loss to Quincy Notre Dame — traditionally a school that is in the 4A playoffs — probably hasn't faded away entirely. But the Knights went 9-0 and were the only area 11-man football team to go through the regular season undefeated. And Jefferson's team did all this with one of the best players in program history, current Illinois running back Kaden Feagin, having just graduated a year prior.

Adding to the satisfaction of the undefeated regular season was the fact ALAH accomplished this in the first season with the Lincoln Prairie Conference at 10 teams. The additions of Nokomis and Sullivan to the Lincoln Prairie meant no league school had to find a nonconference game to play in.

"I love our conference," Jefferson said. "It's a mixture of good competition and a geographical match."

And if the district model went into effect, some of those Lincoln Prairie matchups that just came into existence this year would go away since the Lincoln Prairie has seven 1A teams, two 2A teams and one 3A team.

"I know several other conferences who are similar, grouped in a conference by location, regardless of class," Jefferson said, "and it makes sense for us and them."

ALAH is typically right on the 1A or 2A bubble, depending on that year's enrollment, every year when the playoff pairings are unveiled each October.

"If we are 1A, we stay pretty close (in the district model), but if we're 2A, our travel increases quite a bit, and I think that's the biggest concern for most people," Jefferson said. "Some might be worried about being put in a tough district. To me, it's intriguing to play teams you maybe aren't familiar with, but at the same time, the travel and other logistics play a factor."

When the district model was passed in 2018 and thought to be in play starting in 2021, The News-Gazette obtained a memo the IHSA had made of potential districts for teams. In that situation from four years ago, travel would have increased for teams like Centennial and Danville having to play East St. Louis under that model.

Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin football coach Mark Dodd, who has led the Blue Devils to 14 consecutive playoff appearances, isn't a fan of the district model.

"I don't like trusting the IHSA to make everyone's schedule," Dodd said. "Also, it may eliminate longtime rivalry games."

The Vermilion Valley Conference, like the Lincoln Prairie, was up to 10 teams this past season, so no VVC team had to try and schedule any nonconference games. But if the district model is implemented, annual games that BHRA has had in the past against the likes of Salt Fork could go away since BHRA would likely be a 2A team and Salt Fork would likely be in 1A. Unless, of course, those two teams would play in the two non-region games.

Second-year Oakwood coach Cameron Lee played for the Comets, then became a standout offensive lineman at Illinois State and eventually wound up on four NFL rosters during a two-year stretch in 2017 and 2018.

The VVC has added schools like Clifton Central, Iroquois West, Momence and Watseka in recent seasons. But the traditional Vermilion County teams Oakwood has played before — such as BHRA, Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman, Hoopeston Area/Armstrong-Potomac, Salt Fork and Westville — have been staples on the Comets' schedule for years. Decades even.

"To be honest, I'm pretty indifferent about (the district model)," Lee said. "But for the sake of the exercise, I'll say thumbs down. For the most part, our conference is pretty solid. We have the core schools that have played one another as long as I can remember, and there's a lot of history."

In the middleCentennial coach Kyle Jackson has taken the Chargers to the Class 6A playoffs in three straight seasons.

Playoff appearances, helped in part, by picking up Big 12 wins against 5A schools like Champaign Central and Urbana.

Natural rivals, too, for Centennial given the history and proximity of all three programs in Champaign and Urbana. But rivalry games that could — emphasize on the word, could — go away if the district plan goes into effect.

It's part of the reason why Jackson is withholding judgment about the district model. Until he sees what the potential districts could look like.

"On one hand, I think you lose some of the tradition and rivalry of conferences, especially if the districts change every couple years," Jackson said. "For example, I don't know that we'd be in a district with Urbana, but I think we'd still want to play them and vice versa.

"On the other hand, the district plan sounds like a simpler and more direct method for determining who gets into the playoffs, and from a coach's perspective, gives you a couple games to develop before district play and the hunt to get in the playoffs starts."

Steve Snider is still relatively new to the area, having just completed his first season at Arcola.

The Purple Riders have won four state titles in their history, but missed out on the playoffs this season after posting a 4-5 record, with all their games counting as Lincoln Prairie games. Snider, who coached at Morrison and Orangeville before moving to Arcola, said he doesn't have a strong preference about whether to adapt the district model.

"We are a 1A school that plays in a conference with mostly 1A teams," Snider said. "Yes, we would lose Arthur and Sullivan/Okaw Valley because of their size, but we can also schedule Arthur as one of our non-district games if we wanted to keep that rivalry. Overall, I don't think a ton will change for us if this happens."

But he gets why the proposal is out there.

"I understand the premise of trying to keep teams from conference-hopping to get to the magic number of five wins," Snider said. "It also levels the playing field for teams that may play in a much larger conference. There is definite validity on both sides of the argument, and that's why I think it's been such a hot topic over the last several years."

Closing argumentsThe votes that are done the first two full weeks in December on the proposed district model could have lasting effects on how high school football in Illinois is done well beyond 2024.

If it passes.

"Because of conference realignment, we're low in numbers as it is in the Apollo," Adkins said, referring to the six-team league Mahomet-Seymour is part of. "Now, we've got to go find more nonconference games. What districts are going to do is it brings stability to have the right amount of teams, so you're not trying to find games all around the state.

"What it does is it creates that overall feeling of you're always going to know what you have and maybe what you need at the same time. Let's say Charleston, just as a hypothetical example, leaves the Apollo tomorrow, and now our conference is saying, 'Holy cow, now we don't have enough teams. We've got to go try and find somebody else.' If we stay with the conferences, it just creates this endless possibility of schools jumping around and jumping ship."

Hensley stressed making sure the district model would go into effect right away in 2024 — and not have a year for it to possibly be rescinded, like was the case in 2019 — was a crucial point in this latest proposal.

"We understand this is not a perfect proposal, but it's a start down a journey that's really, really important to fix high school football in this state," Hensley said. "I think you're going to continually see attempts to modify this process if this proposal doesn't pass. We've seen bylaw proposals to go to eight-week regular seasons and double the number of teams in the playoffs before.

"The simple fact that there always seems to be some sort of bylaw proposal or some continuing conversation about the state of playoff football in Illinois is proof that we have a model that needs tweaking."

Matt Daniels is the sports editor at The News-Gazette. He can be reached at 217-373-7422 or at mdaniels@news-gazette.com.