In my opinion one thing has become clear in North Carolina. At least at the higher classifications, 8A, 7A, 6A, using a strictly classification system based on enrollment has become obsolete. High school football in North Carolina, especially in areas like Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh have become a talent marketplace. It has also turned Friday nights into exposure events for the players, highlight reels, college recruiting. Winning still matters, but exposure matters more.
Coaching has become a game of roster management, not development. The best coaches now spend time on recruiting, retaining, managing egos and navigating transfers. All of this recruiting and transfers has, for the most part, destroyed the local identity of teams. For example, Charlotte teams may have players from 6-8 counties, no real feeder system and no long term continuity.
The deeper issue in all of this is that parents want the best coaching, the best facilities, the best competition and the best exposure. The kids want offers, NIL potential and social media clout. Coaches want wins, prestige and job security.
Here's why the in many ways, high school football seems or at least feels to be broken. The incentives changed but the structure didn't. All these transfers and recruiting have killed competitive balance. A handfull of programs now collect the best QBs, the best linemen, the best skill players, the best coaches. They reload every year because talent chooses them. All the other teams, unfortunately, become background noise.
They've also killed the meaning of conferences. A conference used to be geographic, competitive and stable. Now conferences are mismatched, unpredictable and irrelevent.
Would a tiered system, instead of a classification system be a solution? In the top classifications, enrollment no longer predicts competitive strength, it's transfers, coaching, etc...
What could a tier system fix?
Blowouts would disappear. Right now top classification teams routinely lose by 30, 40 or 50 points. Enrollment based grouping has now, for the most part, become meaningless.
Tiers would group elite vs elite, mid-tier vs mid-tier and rebuilding vs rebuilding.
Transfers would stop breaking conferences. One single offseason could change a mid-tier team into a powerhouse. Conferences stay the same for years. Tiers would allow annual movement, matching the volotility of modern rosters.
Because of all these transfers, playoffs have become, to a certain degree, illegitimate. A tier system would make them legitimate again. Right now the playoffs have predictable blow outs, predictable semi-finalists and predictable champions. Tiers would create competitive brackets, meaningful early rounds and perhaps a very real path for a mid-tier team to win a championship. Tier 3 and 4 teams can chase championships at their level instead of being sacrificial lambs for the Tier 1 powerhouses.
What could a tier system for North Carolina's look like?
Tier 1 (Elite) - Teams with heavy transfer activity, elite coaching, deep rosters and consistent playoff runs.
Tier 2 (Strong) - Teams that win consistently but aren't magnets for statewide talent.
Tier 3 (Competitive) - Solid teams with stable rosters, decent depth and occasional playoff success.
Tier 4 (Rebuilding) - Programs with low depth, high turnover, limited competitive success.
Regarding scheduling, you could keep conferences for school identity, traditional rivalries, travel convenience and non-football sports. Tiers would determine the majority of football scheduling, competitive matchups, playoff qualification and promotion/relegation.
With a hybrid schedule, you could have 3-4 conference games which would be mandatory with 6-7 tier games for competitive balance. This would keep rivalries alive, conferences would remain intact and tiers would be meaningful.
For the playoffs, qualification would be based only on a teams games within its own tier. Other conference games would not count toward the playoffs. Qualification would be based on tier standings, tier point differential, tier strength of schedule tier promotion/relegation rules.
For example you'd have Tier 1 playoffs, along with Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 playoffs. Seeding would be based on games played against other teams in their own tier.
Just a thought.
Coaching has become a game of roster management, not development. The best coaches now spend time on recruiting, retaining, managing egos and navigating transfers. All of this recruiting and transfers has, for the most part, destroyed the local identity of teams. For example, Charlotte teams may have players from 6-8 counties, no real feeder system and no long term continuity.
The deeper issue in all of this is that parents want the best coaching, the best facilities, the best competition and the best exposure. The kids want offers, NIL potential and social media clout. Coaches want wins, prestige and job security.
Here's why the in many ways, high school football seems or at least feels to be broken. The incentives changed but the structure didn't. All these transfers and recruiting have killed competitive balance. A handfull of programs now collect the best QBs, the best linemen, the best skill players, the best coaches. They reload every year because talent chooses them. All the other teams, unfortunately, become background noise.
They've also killed the meaning of conferences. A conference used to be geographic, competitive and stable. Now conferences are mismatched, unpredictable and irrelevent.
Would a tiered system, instead of a classification system be a solution? In the top classifications, enrollment no longer predicts competitive strength, it's transfers, coaching, etc...
What could a tier system fix?
Blowouts would disappear. Right now top classification teams routinely lose by 30, 40 or 50 points. Enrollment based grouping has now, for the most part, become meaningless.
Tiers would group elite vs elite, mid-tier vs mid-tier and rebuilding vs rebuilding.
Transfers would stop breaking conferences. One single offseason could change a mid-tier team into a powerhouse. Conferences stay the same for years. Tiers would allow annual movement, matching the volotility of modern rosters.
Because of all these transfers, playoffs have become, to a certain degree, illegitimate. A tier system would make them legitimate again. Right now the playoffs have predictable blow outs, predictable semi-finalists and predictable champions. Tiers would create competitive brackets, meaningful early rounds and perhaps a very real path for a mid-tier team to win a championship. Tier 3 and 4 teams can chase championships at their level instead of being sacrificial lambs for the Tier 1 powerhouses.
What could a tier system for North Carolina's look like?
Tier 1 (Elite) - Teams with heavy transfer activity, elite coaching, deep rosters and consistent playoff runs.
Tier 2 (Strong) - Teams that win consistently but aren't magnets for statewide talent.
Tier 3 (Competitive) - Solid teams with stable rosters, decent depth and occasional playoff success.
Tier 4 (Rebuilding) - Programs with low depth, high turnover, limited competitive success.
Regarding scheduling, you could keep conferences for school identity, traditional rivalries, travel convenience and non-football sports. Tiers would determine the majority of football scheduling, competitive matchups, playoff qualification and promotion/relegation.
With a hybrid schedule, you could have 3-4 conference games which would be mandatory with 6-7 tier games for competitive balance. This would keep rivalries alive, conferences would remain intact and tiers would be meaningful.
For the playoffs, qualification would be based only on a teams games within its own tier. Other conference games would not count toward the playoffs. Qualification would be based on tier standings, tier point differential, tier strength of schedule tier promotion/relegation rules.
For example you'd have Tier 1 playoffs, along with Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 playoffs. Seeding would be based on games played against other teams in their own tier.
Just a thought.
