4A Division Split Shakes Up High School Athletics

By Corrinne Yoder-Mulkey

It’s Friday night. The crisp September air swishes lightly across spectators’ blankets and hats. Stadium lights illuminate the field, the players, the marching band, the team. Pom poms dance across the fans’ faces like iridescent stars, encouraging “Touchdown, Touchdown, We need a touchdown!” The band begins the fight song as students and parents hum along. It is Friday night, and this is the main event. While Friday night games will always be a community staple, some opponents might change.

“I love going to games!,” Sophia Lehmann, a senior, admits. “My favorite parts are getting to cheer on the players with my friends, show school spirit and going to Pizza Shuttle after games.”

Eudora football has gone to the 4A State championship for the past two years. Though this is a great accomplishment, we have yet to bring home the state title. This is not uncommon for schools of Eudora’s size (roughly 430 students). Within the last two years the only schools (with the exception of Holton, 320) to bring home 4A championship titles have been from schools with 580 students or more.

This is why ‘Split 4A’ was proposed to the Kansas State High School Athletic Association (KSHSAA) in April of 2012 by The Big 7 League. Split 4A states  “Class 4A schools shall compete in two separate divisions for postseason and KSHSAA state championship competition in the following activities: football, volleyball, basketball, baseball, and softball”

With Split 4A in motion, the 4A schools of Kansas will split into two sub-divisions (Dl and Dll) with 32 schools in each.

The teams that have played each other during the regular season in the past won’t differ, but when postseason games roll around, (District, Sub-State, State), teams will only face other teams in their division. This will result in a Dl and a Dll champ. These terms have created a controversy, especially among high school students.

“I think it will be good for Eudora once we get to playoffs because we will be playing teams that are around our size of school instead of schools that are much larger than us,” Lehmann stated when asked about the split. “Being the bigger end of D2 should give us a good advantage as well.”

One major reason for having Split 4A is that the smaller schools will have a better chance at competing in state games. Having this in place will give schools a better chance of competing with people closer to their size. Currently, Kansas 4A classification guidelines range from 258-792 students. This range is considerably higher than any other class division, and creates a competitive imbalance. 4A classification ratio is 2.83 compared to 5A’s 1.82, which is the second highest behind 4A.

“I would like to say that it will be easier,” Mallorie Cleveland, a coach at EHS, responds to the changes. “It will level the playing field some I think. But at the same time we will see a lot more teams out west that we are not use to facing.”

Like most Cardinals, Coach Cleveland will miss the competitive edge procured when playing a rival. “I feel happy and sad. I will miss the rivalry during regionals, but at the same time it will be nice to go up against someone else.”

With this new opportunity to grow as athletes, students should embrace the changes and make themselves better.

This fall when fans are bundled up in the grandstand, clutching a hot chocolate, chanting with the crowd, remember how much work goes into making our team great. Don’t focus on who we are playing or where they are from, focus on doing the best you can do with the given circumstances. Cleveland offers one last insight, “Each team’s pride is on the line. As for the rest of the school, I think everyone will miss those games. But fans will have to accept it.”