Upcoming vote addresses a long-standing Section VI frustration

It’s that time of the year. The Bills and Sabres are both in-season,

and the start of college basketball action is imminent. In high school sports,

it means Section VI tournaments are about to be in full swing and then give

way to the start of the NYSPHSAA championships.

While that’s an exciting time for Western New York athletes, sudden

disappointment often awaits; historically, those NYSPHSAA tournaments in

team sports begin with Section VI’s facing tough competition from Section

V counterparts. Rochester-area teams won 40 of 65 head-to-head

matchups vs. Western New York in state quarterfinals during the 2024-25

school year. Similarly, they took 41 of 66 the previous year and 38 of 57 in

the 2022-23 school year.

Part of the Section V advantage is its sheer size. Section V has 130

NYSPHSAA members to 98 for Section VI. It stands to reason that the best

teams from a pool of 130 have an edge over a smaller counterpart. There’s

not much that can be done about that.

However, there’s always been more to it. Section V allows private

schools to compete for championships, understandably a sore point for

Western New York administrators, athletes, and parents – particularly in

the smallest class.

From 2006 to 2017, 10 of Section 5’s 12 state tournament reps in

boys Class D basketball were private schools (plus one charter school).

The pace has slowed considerably since. In the past three school years,

only eight Section V representatives from all fall, winter, and spring sports

were private or charter schools competing in the smallest class. Of those,

three were in sports with just two or three classes such as tennis and flag

football.

Still, there has long been frustration statewide over the success of

private schools in state championships despite the NYSPHSAA’s own

research showing that the success of those schools is consistent with the

ratio of private to public schools. Section VI schools have hardly been

alone in pointing a finger at Section V, and tempers may flare again next

month. Northstar Christian and C.G. Finney are contenders for the Section

V Class D titles in both boys and girls soccer. Meanwhile, Houghton

Academy and Notre Dame in Batavia are viable threats in Class D girls

volleyball.

Next week’s vote may change the classification process

Next week, the NYSPHSAA Executive Committee is likely to allay

concerns. The key item on the agenda for the quarterly meeting on Oct. 21

in Albany is a vote to establish sectional classification criteria and an

appeal procedure. Whereas sections with private and charter schools have

set their own policies for considering when to assign schools to higher

classifications, the proposal standardizes the criteria.

In short, all sections would have to evaluate a private or charter

school team for possible promotion to a higher class if they meet one of

four criteria:

1. A .750 winning percentage in their league, in games within their

state class, or overall.

2. Winning a league’s season or playoff championship.

3. Reaching their sectional semifinals.

4. Winning a NYSPHSAA championship.

By the same token, a team previously moved to a class higher than

its enrollment dictates can be considered for a move down if it doesn’t post

a winning record as outlined in #1 above or doesn’t win a first-round

sectional contest.

The respective sections will consider sectional results and the effects

(pro or con) of transfers. Common sense will also have to kick in since a

mediocre team can beat a bad one in the first round of sectional brackets

with small fields and coast into the semifinals.

Schools affected by a classification decision can appeal through the

process in place in their section. If that fails, they can appeal to the

NYSPHSAA’s Classification Oversight Committee (COC).

Currently, that committee meets three times a year to review

classification decisions and can remand a placement back to the section for

further review. However, the proposal that’s up for the Oct. 21 vote would

allow any section to challenge another section’s decision by putting the

final decision in the COC’s hands.

The presumption is that the new approach to be voted on by the 22-

member Executive Committee will instill consistency throughout the state.

And with downstate Section 1 casting the only dissent in the ad hoc

committee’s recommendation to advance the proposal to a vote, passage

next week is likely.

First taste of the Three-Region Rotation is a big yawn for Section VI

If the Executive Committee votes to adopt the proposal, the new rule

would take effect next fall. Earlier this year, however, the NYSPHSAA

revised postseason matchups by adopting the so-called Three-Region

Proposal. It tweaks how brackets are set for state tournaments in most

team sports aside from football and ice hockey.

The change doesn’t affect the traditional Section V vs. VI playoff

contests this fall; as usual, every postseason contest between the two in

football, soccer, girls tennis, field hockey, and girls volleyball is a

NYSPHSAA quarterfinal.

The only new twist is that Section VI sends both its champion and an

at-large team to field hockey’s Class A tournament. If each wins, the two

Western New York teams will face off in a state semifinal.

However, the Three-Region Rotation starts taking a notable turn for

Section VI in the winter season. In both boys and girls basketball, the

Section V vs. VI games in Class A and B next March will be state pre-

quarterfinals (“sub-regionals,” in NYSPHSAA lingo). The winners advance

to a quarterfinal (“regional final”) against survivors of matchups between at-

large reps from other sections and the Section IV champions.

In future years, at-large berths and byes into the regional finals

change – sometimes drastically – to even everything out. In the 2027

basketball tournaments, for instance, all 12 games between Sections V and

VI are pre-quarterfinals. The only at-large berth for Western New York

comes in the girls Class A bracket.

A year later, basketball’s 2028 state tournaments take on a more

traditional look as all 12 of the V vs. VI games are set as regional finals,

and Section VI gets an extra berth in the girls Class C bracket.

As is the case in basketball, the rotations in most team sports vary

from year to year, though in assorted patterns. In fact, the NYSPHSAA

office has already developed a spreadsheet spelling out sub-regional and

regional scheduling, as well as the assignment of at-large berths, for all

sports through the 2034-35 school year.