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PIAA ‘26-‘27

BigFella235

BigFella235

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I couldn’t really find an existing thread that revolved around the PIAA side of things here so I figured I’d make my own to serve as a catch all for PIAA related news.

First up, according to PA Power Wrestling, McCort is going to be AAA next season. Faith will remain AA.

The next one I’m still wrapping my head around. Bob Greenburg is reporting that the PIAA wrestling committee is proposing the reduction of Boys AA regions to four. Each region would then get 5 state qualifiers. D9 would wrestle against D2 and D4. D10 and D6 would have their own region. The others seemingly would be unchanged.

IMG_5931.jpeg
 
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El_Jefe

El_Jefe

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BigFella235 said:
I couldn’t really find an existing thread that revolved around the PIAA side of things here so I figured I’d make my own to serve as a catch all for PIAA related news.

First up, according to PA Power Wrestling, McCort is going to be AAA next season. Faith will remain AA.

The next one I’m still wrapping my head around. Bob Greenburg is reporting that the PIAA wrestling committee is proposing the reduction of Boys AA regions to four. Each region would then get 5 state qualifiers. D9 would wrestle against D2 and D4. D10 and D6 would have their own region. The others seemingly would be unchanged.

View attachment 1363160
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To clarify: AA has had 4 regionals for many years. This would merely realign them.

The point of this appears to be competitive balance. Currently, SW AA gets 7 (!) state qualifiers. That is stupid on stilts, and needs to be corrected. (The other regionals: SE 5, NE 4, NW 4.)

Geographically, D6 should move in with D4 and D2. But then NE would be a powerhouse, and NW is the weakest regional with the fewest placers. Competition-wise, D6+D10 makes a lot more sense.
 
BigFella235

BigFella235

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GregPickel said:
I don't have time to go through it at the moment, but here is the document attached to the wrestling part of today's PIAA Board of Directors meeting that I assume contains info about it:

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To save Greg some time, a couple of very interesting tidbits from the minutes report: Frank Vulcano made the motion to adopt the proposed regions. It passed by a 10-4 vote.

Also of note, the PIAA is exploring the possibility of attaching competition points to each wrestler rather than each team. They’ve held discussions with the OHSAA about how coaches view the current system and the OH coaches report that they enjoy it because it’s helpful for teams with wrestlers of varying skill levels.

Here is the data for the proposed region realignment. It keeps the regions sort of even team number wise: 61 in the NE, 62 in the SE, 52 in the NW, and 61 in the SW.

IMG_5932.jpeg
 
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El_Jefe

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Adding: D6 is the big winner here, moving from a strong regional to a very weak one (and likely less travel too). They'll get more SQs than in SW.

D7 wins with D6 leaving SW. Those extra 2 SQs weren't placing anyway. With only the small D5 remaining, D7 will dominate SW.

SE gets an extra qualifier for free.

Probably no real impact to NE. I'd expect D4 to qualify about the same number. D2 and D9 are comparable.

D9 and D10 are the big losers ... kinda. They'll definitely qualify fewer. OTOH, they also had the fewest state placers -- and that level of wrestler will find their way to Hershey regardless.
 
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Nitlion1986

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El_Jefe said:
Adding: D6 is the big winner here, moving from a strong regional to a very weak one (and likely less travel too). They'll get more SQs than in SW.

D7 wins with D6 leaving SW. Those extra 2 SQs weren't placing anyway. With only the small D5 remaining, D7 will dominate SW.

SE gets an extra qualifier for free.

Probably no real impact to NE. I'd expect D4 to qualify about the same number. D2 and D9 are comparable.

D9 and D10 are the big losers ... kinda. They'll definitely qualify fewer. OTOH, they also had the fewest state placers -- and that level of wrestler will find their way to Hershey regardless.
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D6 will travel. Right now the plan is to have Sharon host the regionals. I thought maybe Sandusky Ohio would be almost as centrally located.
 
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BigFella235

BigFella235

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D9 and D10 ebb and flow something awful when it comes to place winners year over year. Last year was super spotty for talent. Outside of Karenbauer, Hohman, and a few other kids, there really weren’t many kids going in who were obvious state place winner material from D10.

D9 is mainly hurt by shrinking numbers and program co-ops. Smethport and Coudy now co-op with Port Allegany, Sheffield got shut down and their numbers are now at Warren, Kane is barely hanging on, Saint Mary’s has hoovered up some kids that pay tuition to attend, Johnsonburg somehow hasn’t folded yet despite low numbers, Oswayo is barely hanging on, Brookville is rebuilding, Central Clarion is trying to build, Ridgway had a decent sized JH but is still trying to right the ship, Clearfield is on the higher end of enrollment for AA. It’s a rough spot any way you slice it
 
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El_Jefe

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Nitlion1986 said:
D6 will travel. Right now the plan is to have Sharon host the regionals. I thought maybe Sandusky Ohio would be almost as centrally located.
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I forgot that 2026 AA SW was in Altoona. In past years it was at Peters Twp.

We'll see how long NW stays at Sharon with more than half of the schools traveling 2:30. At least it's on I-80.
 
Psalm 1 guy

Psalm 1 guy

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El_Jefe said:
I forgot that 2026 AA SW was in Altoona. In past years it was at Peters Twp.

We'll see how long NW stays at Sharon with more than half of the schools traveling 2:30. At least it's on I-80.
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When I went to North Bend HS in Oregon, all but one of the teams in our district were a two-two 1/2 hour drive away. Most of the tournaments we went to were in the 5+ hour range. For one of our football playoff games the opposing team, La Grande, had to travel almost 500 miles to play us!
 
C

Cheat code

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Maybe Slippery Rock University bids to host NW Regionals - 35 miles southeast of Sharon at least makes it closer for more D6 teams.
 
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Nitlion1986

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El_Jefe said:
I forgot that 2026 AA SW was in Altoona. In past years it was at Peters Twp.

We'll see how long NW stays at Sharon with more than half of the schools traveling 2:30. At least it's on I-80.
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Best option IMO is Clarion, but Tipin only has floor space for 3 mats and it really seems odd to host a D6 & D10 tournament in a D9 town.
 
El_Jefe

El_Jefe

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Cheat code said:
Maybe Slippery Rock University bids to host NW Regionals - 35 miles southeast of Sharon at least makes it closer for more D6 teams.
Click to expand...

Nitlion1986 said:
Best option IMO is Clarion, but Tipin only has floor space for 3 mats and it really seems odd to host a D6 & D10 tournament in a D9 town.
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Seriously doubt PIAA (or its District bodies) are willing to pay college level facility fees plus the add-ons that colleges typically impose.

For a geographic center point, best case is probably Clarion HS, Clearfield, Punxsy, or Brookville. Not sure if any have sufficient facilities. Being a D9 school probably isn't an issue for PIAA -- Altoona hosted SW AA Regionals despite being a AAA school.
 
L

LB99

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El_Jefe said:
Seriously doubt PIAA (or its District bodies) are willing to pay college level facility fees plus the add-ons that colleges typically impose.

For a geographic center point, best case is probably Clarion HS, Clearfield, Punxsy, or Brookville. Not sure if any have sufficient facilities. Being a D9 school probably isn't an issue for PIAA -- Altoona hosted SW AA Regionals despite being a AAA school.
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Where will AA SW Regionals be held now? Will it still be in Altoona if D6 isn’t participating?
 
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Nitlion1986

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El_Jefe said:
Seriously doubt PIAA (or its District bodies) are willing to pay college level facility fees plus the add-ons that colleges typically impose.

For a geographic center point, best case is probably Clarion HS, Clearfield, Punxsy, or Brookville. Not sure if any have sufficient facilities. Being a D9 school probably isn't an issue for PIAA -- Altoona hosted SW AA Regionals despite being a AAA school.
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In the past the NW AAA regionals occasionally moved from Altoona to Clarion. Clarion gym has in the past been the gym where district 9 AAA and AA championships were held. Using Clarion wouldn't be something not done in the past.
Altoona is a AAA school, but a district 6 school. I could be wrong but I am unfamiliar with facilities outside the competing districts being used to host any AAA or AA regionals.
 
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El_Jefe

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Nitlion1986 said:
In the past the NW AAA regionals occasionally moved from Altoona to Clarion. Clarion gym has in the past been the gym where district 9 AAA and AA championships were held. Using Clarion wouldn't be something not done in the past.
Altoona is a AAA school, but a district 6 school. I could be wrong but I am unfamiliar with facilities outside the competing districts being used to host any AAA or AA regionals.
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Yeah, I don't see Altoona hosting SW AA unless there is an existing contract that PIAA doesn't want to pay fees to break, in which case it'll move as soon as that contract expires.

If they want centrally located between the D5 and D7 schools, then Latrobe or Greensburg make the most sense. Also nobody expects that to be a factor. It'll probably be in the south suburbs of Pittsburgh -- SW AA has in the past 15 years been at Peters Twp and Canon Mac, guessing one of them.
 
El_Jefe

El_Jefe

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Here's a twist that only PIAA could do: D4 AAA is down to 3 schools, needs to combine with another district for the postseason.

But because PIAA: not the same combo. D4 + D9 for district duals. D4 + D2 for individual districts.

 
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Coastal2

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El_Jefe said:
Yeah, I don't see Altoona hosting SW AA unless there is an existing contract that PIAA doesn't want to pay fees to break, in which case it'll move as soon as that contract expires.

If they want centrally located between the D5 and D7 schools, then Latrobe or Greensburg make the most sense. Also nobody expects that to be a factor. It'll probably be in the south suburbs of Pittsburgh -- SW AA has in the past 15 years been at Peters Twp and Canon Mac, guessing one of them.
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There's been years that SW and NW regionals were both in Altoona so it's not out of the question for the school to host a regional that they don't participate in.
 
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Nitlion1986

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El_Jefe said:
Yeah, I don't see Altoona hosting SW AA unless there is an existing contract that PIAA doesn't want to pay fees to break, in which case it'll move as soon as that contract expires.

If they want centrally located between the D5 and D7 schools, then Latrobe or Greensburg make the most sense. Also nobody expects that to be a factor. It'll probably be in the south suburbs of Pittsburgh -- SW AA has in the past 15 years been at Peters Twp and Canon Mac, guessing one of them.
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I never said Altoona will host the SW AA regionals.
I was talking about Clarion being a past host for regional and district wrestling championships.
 
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Nitlion1986

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Coastal2 said:
There's been years that SW and NW regionals were both in Altoona so it's not out of the question for the school to host a regional that they don't participate in.
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Altoona has never hosted a SW AAA regional, nor a NW AA regional. Altoona has hosted the SW AA regionals which included D6 teams, and the NW AAA regionals which included D6 teams.
 
Ernie Ladd

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El_Jefe said:
Seriously doubt PIAA (or its District bodies) are willing to pay college level facility fees plus the add-ons that colleges typically impose.

For a geographic center point, best case is probably Clarion HS, Clearfield, Punxsy, or Brookville. Not sure if any have sufficient facilities. Being a D9 school probably isn't an issue for PIAA -- Altoona hosted SW AA Regionals despite being a AAA school.
Click to expand...
Would Dubois have anything?
That’s fairly close to a geographical center.
 
BigFella235

BigFella235

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Coastal2 said:
Dubois' gym is fairly small.

One of the issues in Pennyslvania is that very few schools outside of the Philly/Pittsburgh suburbs have fieldhouse style gyms. Williamsport's is okay sized, Altoona's is large and Berwick has a separate fieldhouse.
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Not to mention Penn State closing the DuBois branch campus. The athletics building had just been given a huge face lift after many years. Clarion would be the next suggestion, but as noted could be too pricey for the PIAA to choose
 
El_Jefe

El_Jefe

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Coastal2 said:
One of the issues in Pennyslvania is that very few schools outside of the Philly/Pittsburgh suburbs have fieldhouse style gyms. Williamsport's is okay sized, Altoona's is large and Berwick has a separate fieldhouse.
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Very true.

In D4, Williamsport HS and Bloomsburg U are the only facilities which definitely could hold boys' regionals.

Bucknell's Davis Gym has mat/fan/media space, but not sure if there is sufficient locker room space. (Plus would PIAA pay private school fees for regionals?)

Milton holds girls' regionals. Definitely has mat space and locker room space with the junior and senior high schools connected. I'm not sure they have sufficient seating for boys' regionals with all the fans, officials, media, wrestlers waiting to compete, etc. Maybe for AA, but AAA would be a huge challenge if the Allentown-area fanbases traveled.

Danville and Lewisburg both built new schools recently -- guessing either could hold districts but not regionals. Central Columbia's new gym is about the size of White Building. Maybe Jared Verse will cough up a donation.

After that, the gyms are mostly what you'd expect from a rural, long-term economically disadvantaged area -- sized to their local populations but not for bigger events.
 
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Coastal2

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El_Jefe said:
Very true.

In D4, Williamsport HS and Bloomsburg U are the only facilities which definitely could hold boys' regionals.

Bucknell's Davis Gym has mat/fan/media space, but not sure if there is sufficient locker room space. (Plus would PIAA pay private school fees for regionals?)

Milton holds girls' regionals. Definitely has mat space and locker room space with the junior and senior high schools connected. I'm not sure they have sufficient seating for boys' regionals with all the fans, officials, media, wrestlers waiting to compete, etc. Maybe for AA, but AAA would be a huge challenge if the Allentown-area fanbases traveled.

Danville and Lewisburg both built new schools recently -- guessing either could hold districts but not regionals. Central Columbia's new gym is about the size of White Building. Maybe Jared Verse will cough up a donation.

After that, the gyms are mostly what you'd expect from a rural, long-term economically disadvantaged area -- sized to their local populations but not for bigger events.
Click to expand...

I'm involved in a problem solving competition in PA. The issue for sites is always a fieldhouse large enough to have 3k+ people. They are few and far between and mostly on the edges of the state which makes travel for the other side always a huge issue. There's just so few large sites/school districts in districts, 4,5, 6, and 9 and even 3 on the northwest side.
 
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flyinorvi

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The Kovalchick Center at IUP hosted SW Regionals for a few years, and may make a decent venue for D10/D6 regionals. IUP also hosted some bigger Flo events. The site worked pretty well- hotel right next to the Kovalchik. It is also located some what centrally (equally inconvenient) for D10 and the rest of D6. I have no idea of the fees involved.

Sharon is unique, and it is my understanding that the school district is incredibly cooperative with wrestling events. They host sections, districts, and regionals. (The Sharon AD is the PIAA D10 rep.) Perhaps a rotation between Sharon and a college facility such as the Kovalchick Center makes the costs more manageable.

Does anyone here know how the site selection process works for regionals? PIAA decision or a negotiation between districts involved?
 
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flyinorvi said:
The Kovalchick Center at IUP hosted SW Regionals for a few years. They also hosted some bigger Flo events. The site worked pretty well. It is also located some what centrally (equally inconvenient) for D10 and the rest of D6. I have no idea of the fees involved.

Sharon is unique, and it is my understanding that the school district is incredibly cooperative with wrestling events. They host sections, districts, and regionals. (The Sharon AD is the PIAA D10 rep.) Perhaps a rotation between Sharon and a college facility like the Kovalchick Center makes the costs more manageable.

Does anyone here know how the site selection process works for regionals? PIAA decision or a negotiation between districts involved?
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State schools have a set fee schedule that's actually pretty reasonable. The issue with Kovalchick is always availability.

Clarion is going to have a decision to make as Tippen is getting rather old and enrollment has fallen off a cliff. It wouldn't surprise me if they asked for an increase in facility rental fees to try to overcome the finances.
 
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