A basketball tournament for schools too large for the All-A Classic but not considered to be large schools is in the works with plans to launch statewide next year.
Union County Athletic Director Jeremy Tackett is part of a 10-member statewide board created to look at creating a tournament for schools that are too large for the All-A Classic but have less than 1,000 students. Tackett said he and Webster County Athletic Director Matt Bell discussed the possibility of a 2A Classic in November when they were riding together to a region athletic director’s meeting.
In most sports, both Webster County and Union County compete in an unclassed district with Henderson County, whose latest enrollment figure of 2,050 is more than twice of theirs (1,348) combined. It’s no surprise that Tackett and Bell are both in favor of classification of all sports in the state.
Tackett said he researched the enrollment figures statewide and found that 66 schools were too large for the All-A Classic but had less than 1,000 students. He contacted each of those schools to gauge interest and has found that 40 of the 66 favor a 2A Classic.
“Will we get all 66 in year one? Maybe not. But I think we will (eventually) get all 66 because I think it will be something great for the mid-sized schools in the state,” Tackett said.
The 66 schools will be split into four geographic sections based on their current region alignment. The sections are Regions 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, and 13-16. Tackett said each section has two representatives on the 10-person board that also includes Tackett and Bell. They are scheduled to meet again Jan. 31 in Elizabethtown.
Tackett said each section will determine how their tournament will be held, including how the teams will be paired and where they will play. The four section winners will meet for a state tournament to tentatively be held at Henry County High School, whose gym seats 5,400 people.
Tackett said every school in Regions One and Two have committed to play in the basketball tournament in 2019.
He said the goal of the 2A Classic is not to compete with the All-A Classic, which went statewide in 1990 and had since branched out to include most unclassed sports in the state. The All-A Classic is comprised of the 120 schools with the lowest enrollment. Tackett said going head-to-head with the All-A Classic could create the problem of securing referees for the games. He said the 2A Classic could be held the week before or after the All-A Classic.
While basketball is expected to be the 2019 kickoff for the event, Tackett hopes it will eventually evolve to include other sports. Acquiring sponsorships will be crucial in making that happen.
The KHSAA only classes football, cross country and track and field. Cheerleading is split into squad size to determine a big school and small school champion. Every other sport is not classed by the KHSAA, who has long championed against classing basketball because of the tradition of holding a winner-take-all Sweet 16 that generates a majority of the revenue for the association each year.
Lawrence County baseball coach and athletic director Travis Feltner is one of the 10 members of the Class 2A board. He submitted a classification proposal to the KHSAA three years ago that was nixed, however they did agree to make the state baseball tournament a two-weekend event so that schools could preserve their top pitchers.
Like the All-A Classic, the 2A Classic would not be a KHSAA-sanctioned event. Tackett said he has not contacted the KHSAA about the Class 2A Classic but hopes they take notice.
“We hope it grows into what the All-A Classic is now and might event get the KHSAA to think about classification,” Tackett said. “Ultimately, that’s what we would like to see.”
Schools contacted about being included in the Class 2A Classic and their sectional assignments are:
Section One (14 schools, 10 have committed to play)
Region One – Calloway County, Paducah Tilghman
Region Two – Trigg County, Hopkins County Central, Union County, Webster County
Region Three – Butler County, Breckinridge County
Region Four – Glasgow, Warren East, Russell County, Warren Central, Franklin-Simpson, Allen County-Scottsville
Section Two (15 schools, six have committed to play)
Region Five – Bardstown, Thomas Nelson, Hart County, Elizabethtown, LaRue County, Adair County, Taylor County, Nelson County, John Hardin, Marion County
Region Six – Western
Region Seven – Christian Academy-Louisville, Waggener
Region Eight – Henry County, Spencer County
Section Three (12 schools, 10 have committed to play)
Region Nine – Holmes
Region 10 – Pendleton County, Mason County, Bourbon County, Harrison County
Region 11 – Lexington Catholic
Region 12 – Casey County, McCreary County, Garrard County, Mercer County, Boyle County, Rockcastle County
Section Four (22 schools, 10 have committed to play)
Region 13 – Jackson County, Bell County, Clay County, Knox Central, Corbin
Region 14 – Powell County, Estill County, Letcher County Central, Perry County Central
Region 15 – Belfry, Magoffin County, Pike County Central, Lawrence County, Floyd Central
Region 16 – Russell, Lewis County, Fleming County, East Carter, Greenup County, Boyd County, Ashland Blazer, Rowan County
