Much discussion over the past few days concerning the addition of another class to Colorado high school basketball. The proposal has been approved by both the CHSAA basketball and classification/league committees and now moves for full legislative body approval in April. If Class 6A receives approval at that time, the change will take effect with the start of the 2022-23 season.
Earlier this week, we posted where schools would be placed if Class 6A becomes a reality. The second part of the equation is that each division will also have to develop a playoff structure before the 2022-23 season arrives. Questions involve if the smaller schools will keep district tournaments in place or if there will be a move away from those events to straight brackets starting with 32 or 48 teams.
It’s our guess that district tournaments will remain in Classes 1A and 2A as leagues derive quite a bit of revenue from the events and with school budgets where they are, dollars are important to the discussion. As a result, we keep the district format in place as we try our luck at laying out bracketing for Classes 1A and 2A.
Our focus in placement is two-fold. Geography is the first component as we try loop schools in districts based on location. The second aspect is rivalries as we try to keep leagues intact where possible so opponents who have squared off for many years can still do so with a possible conference championship on the line.
Our recommendation also calls for scheduling that allows district teams to play each other during the regular season. Maybe our layout could also be the template for new leagues to develop. Colorado Preps has not been the biggest fan of mixed-class leagues over the years as sometimes that hinders RPI and other polling used to pick teams for the playoffs and/or to place them in the bracket. In our setup, district tournaments can be seeded based on results on games with other teams in the district. It also prevents mixed-league districts which in our mind, has caused some issues with seeding for district brackets in the past. The current format also allows for different seeding principles district to district. Our thought; let’s develop eight districts in each division, call them conferences and let teams play each other during the regular season. Then district tournaments can be seeded based on results within the district/league since all would have faced one another.
An exception can be found in Class 1A as travel and distance may restrict teams from the Western Slope and San Juan conferences from facing each other during the regular season. Can’t imagine Dove Creek matching up with North Park for a “league game” to help district seeding. The alternative is maybe those schools meeting on a neutral site such as Grand Junction, Olathe, Delta or Montrose and playing a weekend jamboree; all six schools getting together to face the other conference during a three-day weekend.
Before going through Classes 1A and 2A, we want to stress that these pairings are NOT OFFICIAL and just a recommendation from Colorado Preps. Playoff formats and district/regional formats won’t be decided until after Class 6A is officially added. If that proposal is denied by the full legislative body, the playoff formats currently in place will likely stay in effect.
Let’s begin the discussion with Class 1A. We break down the member schools in eight districts and while there is an imbalance of the numbers in each district, geographically they lay out nicely. Some the changes moving Lone Star and Otis into the North Central and then combining the 1A schools from the Union Pacific into those remaining members of the YWKC. Geographically this makes sense; with possibly Deer Trail as the exception. The Eagles could easily be placed in the Black Forest district; pushing their numbers to eight and leaving the YWKC with seven.
The southeast region is divided into two six team brackets. We move Granada from the High Plains to the Ark Valley as geographically, they fit better with Springfield and Walsh more than Eads and Kit Carson. Wiley is kept in the Ark Valley instead of moving to the High Plains to keep each district at six teams. Manzanola is also brought back into the High Plains from the Southern Peaks.
The 5280 and Southern Peaks leagues are heavy in numbers but the Southern Peaks fits well geographically and the 5280 has like minded schools and location also works there as well. La Veta and Primero are possible move-outs from Southern Peaks as the numbers could be balanced better if they were placed in either the Ark Valley or High Plains. But that might cause more travel for those two.
CLASS 1A PROPOSAL
| NORTH CENTRAL (8) | YWKC (8) | ARK VALLEY (6) | HIGH PLAINS (6) |
| Briggsdale | Arickaree/Woodlin | Kim/Branson | Cheraw |
| Fleming | Bethune | Granada | Cheyenne Wells |
| Lone Star | Deer Trail | South Baca | Eads |
| Otis | Flagler | Springfield | Kit Carson |
| Pawnee | Genoa Hugo | Walsh | Manzanola |
| Peetz | Hi Plains | Wiley | McClave |
| Prairie | Idalia | ||
| Weldon Valley | Stratton/Liberty |
| BLACK FOREST (7) | SOUTHERN PEAKS (10) | 5280 (11) | WEST (6) |
| Colorado D&B | Aguilar | Belleview Christian | Caprock Academy |
| Cripple Creek | Antonito | Beth Eden | DeBeque |
| Edison | Centennial | Denver Torah | Dove Creek |
| Hanover | Creede | Denver Jewish Day | North Park |
| Kiowa | La Veta | Denver Waldorf | Nucla |
| Miami Yoder | Lake City | Flatirons Academy | Ouray |
| Pikes Peak Christian | Mountain Valley | Front Range Baptist | |
| Primero | Longmont Christian | ||
| Sangre De Cristo | Mile High Academy | ||
| Sierra Grande | Rocky Mtn. Lutheran | ||
| Shining Mountain |
The major sticking point in Class 2A involves the San Juan region. Under the six-classification proposal, Ignacio is moved to 3A and that leaves just Dolores, Mancos, Ridgway and Telluride in the makeup of a four-team district. In the past, we’ve suggested taking a couple of “southern” schools from the Western Slope and dropping them for more numbers in the district. But in staying with our original plans, we’re trying to avoid mixed-league districts so we’ll leave those four schools to their own district.
Otherwise, Class 2A lays out somewhat nicely, with the seven remaining districts having seven, eight or nine teams in the bracket. Some changes could occur as the West Slope could be reduced to seven as Paonia-Hotchkiss are very close to combining schools by the 2022-23 season. We could also move Burlington from the projected Lower Platte to the Black Forest so they would keep some traditional league rivals such as Burlington and Limon. But travel in the Black Forest would be increased compared to playing in the Lower Platte. Swallows Charter could be another option for the Black Forest to reach eight members but we kept them in the Santa Fe since they would be closer to traditional rivals from their current league (Santa Fe).
CLASS 2A PROPOSAL
| LOWER PLATTE (8) | SANTA FE (9) | BLACK FOREST (7) | SAN JUAN (4) |
| Akron | Crowley County | Byers | Dolores |
| Burlington | Fowler | Calhan | Mancos |
| Caliche | Hoehne | CO Springs School | Ridgway |
| Haxtun | Holly | Evangelical Christian | Telluride |
| Holyoke | John Mall | Elbert | |
| Merino | Las Animas | Limon | |
| Sedgwick County | Swallows Charter | Simla | |
| Wiggins | Swink | ||
| Trinidad |
| METRO (8) | NORTH (7) | WEST SLOPE (8) | SOUTHERN PEAKS (8) |
| Addenbrooke Academy | Campion Academy | Hayden | Center |
| Denver Academy | Dayspring Chrsitian | Hotchkiss / Paonia | Cotopaxi |
| Denver Christian | Gilpin County | Plateau Valley | Custer County |
| Front Range Christian | Heritage Christian | Rangely | Del Norte |
| Golden View Classical | Loveland Classical | Soroco | Monte Vista |
| Nederland | Twin Peaks Charter | Vail Christian | Sanford |
| Ridgeview Academy | Union Colony Prep | Vail Mountain | Sargent |
| Vanguard Classical | West Grand | South Park |
Again, these are simple suggestions from Colorado Preps and not official in any manner. As we indicated, changes to the playoff formats and district members won’t be discussed unless 6A receives final approval in April. Until then, it’s a nice discussion and we’d like your feedback on our thoughts. Texts can be sent to 970.380.7737 or you can us through email to [email protected]. We’ll have links to Facebook and Twitter where comments can be made and of course, we have the comment section below this story.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy the current finish to the regular season and our playoff races here in 2021. We will release our thoughts on Classes 3A and 4A later today (Sunday).
