Is There a Future With an “Open Division”?
In Kentucky, football is, for the most part, the only team sport within the KHSAA that determines multiple champions based on enrollment; in this sport’s case, on the number of male students in each school.
But what does enrollment matter when, during last season, eventual Class 1A champion Sayre scored victories over Bracken Co. from 2A and Bourbon Co. from 3A? Or 2A champs Beechwood defeating nearby larger-enrollment teams Campbell Co., Dixie Heights and Simon Kenton?
How about CAL, the winners from 3A, getting wins over 5A powerhouse Owensboro, plus 6A teams N. Hardin and Fern Creek? Or perhaps Paducah Tilghman, who won it all in 4A, not letting nearby McCracken Co.’s 6A designation matter in the Blue Tornado’s win?
With outcomes like these, could an “open division” tournament involving the best of the best, regardless of enrollment, fit into the future of high school football in Kentucky?
Consider that California and Arizona have, during the last few years, gone beyond classification system allowing the best teams in those states to compete for championships, particularly in football. And Florida isn’t too far behind, as their state’s association will give the open division idea a try starting with the 2026 football season.
With the KHSAA’s current football re-classification cycle already in effect from now until 2029, debate could ensue if the open division matter were to be brought up among its decision makers. A big part of that debate could center around determining which teams would qualify for those spots.
To give you one idea, while six football titles can still be decided, you’d start with 5 enrollment-based classes instead of the current 6, which would yield districts with 5 or 6 teams each and no more automatic qualifiers like there are now with many 4-team districts. Then, the open division can be either a 32-team tournament after the regular season, with the teams determined either by RPI or by winning percentage followed by strength of victory, strength of schedule and other criteria. Or you play the first two rounds in each of the 5 classes, then select the 8 best of the remaining teams for the open division quarterfinals using similar processes.
The qualifying variables are so many that who knows, for example, if the teams which won football championships within their classifications last year would have qualified for an open division tournament? Even so, while an open division would be meaningful in terms of determining a state’s very best, a team which doesn’t make that cut could still have a chance to win a title in their existing enrollment-based class.
And could an open division also be possible in Indiana, not just with football, but also with basketball? While it’s been nearly 3 decades since the IHSAA’s single-class basketball championships ended their run, an idea like that would have to overcome concerns about the competitive advantages large schools have over the smaller ones.
Yes, it can be difficult to reconcile what has worked with something unknown, yet potentially more impactful. But that may have been what was said several years ago when major college football made the postseason bowl games all but secondary to a playoff tournament. Open division would not exactly replace, where appropriate, enrollment-based playoffs. But competitive advantages aside, it could give exceptional teams from small schools an opportunity to think big.