A general assembly of more than 300 MIAA schools will vote on a proposal at a 9 a.m. meeting Friday.
A state championship football playoff system that goes to vote Friday could give four Western Massachusetts teams a chance to play in a Super Bowl, as Central did in 2011, each year at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
In football terms, it’s fourth-and-goal.
And proponents of the latest proposal for a statewide high school football playoff format need a touchdown.
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association is one vote away – albeit all or nothing – from implementing its first true state championship playoff in football.
A vote of more than 300 schools at a general assembly meeting of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Friday will determine its fate. The meeting is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. at Assabet Valley Technical High School in Marlborough.
A majority vote is needed to pass a proposal that would put in place a statewide playoff system beginning with the Fall 2013 season.
“There is a lot to it, but I think the majority of schools in Western Massachusetts would like to see it passed,” said Dave King, athletic director at Athol, which serves as the chair school for District F.
If the proposal does not clear its final hurdle, the current playoff system in Western Massachusetts would remain intact.
The proposal would create a playoff format that would crown state champions in six divisions.
Mia Ah Fb Proposal 12
Currently, four Western Massachusetts teams, and 19 statewide, are crowned as Super Bowl winners in various divisions.
The Western Massachusetts champion would meet the Central Mass. titlist in the state semifinal, with that winner meeting the Eastern Mass. champion in a Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
In Western Massachusetts, playoff seeding would be determined after eight – not the 11 current – weeks of regular season play. The current qualification procedure of the top four teams in each division qualifying based on MIAA power rankings would not change.
The first round of the playoffs would take place during Week 9, with the winners meeting the next week for the Western Mass. title.
The four state semifinal games – the Western Mass. champion versus the Central Mass. winner – would be set for Week 11, on the weekend prior to Thanksgiving.
The proposal allows for regular Thanksgiving Day matchups to remain. Statewide, only the 12 state semifinal winners would play beyond Thanksgiving – in the state championship games, nine days later.
The 28 Western Massachusetts teams that do not qualify for the postseason would form a pool from which games would be scheduled during Weeks 9 and 10.
In addition, teams eliminated during the first round, would be re-paired for the Week 10 schedule.
“There is no structured formula, that Eastern Mass. would have in place, but we’d make the best effort to line up games favorable to both schools,” King said.
The matchups would be determined by the Western Mass. Football Committee and released early on the Sundays priors to Weeks 9 and 10.
“The games would match up teams from Western Massachusetts, including the Berkshires . . . and a game against someone from another (region) would not be precluded,” King said. “The committee would consider all reasons a team might want to play a specific team. We’d look at (comparable) records, rivalries, geography, all that.”
The number of playoff-qualifying teams in Western Massachusetts would remain at 16, but the number would increase across the state. Current league structure would also remain intact
The current system crowns four Western Mass. champions in a two-round playoff system that takes place during the week following Thanksgiving.
Proponents say that eliminating the possibility of some teams playing three games in nine days (Thanksgiving through the Super Bowls) would improve player safety.
The current proposal is widely considered more sound than one that was voted down (190-114) two years ago.
“I am 180-percent for this,” Western Mass. tournament director Joe Doyle said. “This is what we’ve been hoping for for 35 years - a state championship. Plans have come and gone, but this proposal seems to make the most sense and is more in line with what they do in places like Connecticut, Vermon, New York.”
The football playoff proposal has gained approval from the MIAA Football Committee (15-2 vote) and the MIAA Tournament Management Committee (10-4). In June, the MIAA Board of Directors opted to send the final vote to its general assembly, where each of its schools is allowed a single vote.
Regardless of the outcome of the general assembly vote, King said the current proposal for realignment that would start in 2013 will stay in place. Four divisions will remain in Western Massachusetts, but those were renamed to Divisions II, IV, V and VI to better align with enrollments and strengths of other schools throughout the state.
Schools in the new Division II – the highest division in the region – will be Central, East Longmeadow, Holyoke, Longmeadow, Minnechaug, Putnam, Westfield and West Springfield.
All sports underwent a realignment proposal in advance of a new, four-year realignment cycle that begins with the 2013-14 season. Schools can appeal their own alignment – for any number of reasons – through Dec. 21.