TSSAA's additional classification sparks interest to football playoffs

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TSSAA's additional classification sparks interest to football playoffs

Published Monday, September 21 2009 - (0) Comments

Nobody knows just yet how the new 6A classification in TSSAA football is going to pan out.
One thing's for sure: Since few people understand the entire selection process under the reorganization, there's going to be increased interest in the 2009 season until the very end.
Many teams will not know until the day after their final regular-season games if they've qualified for the playoffs.
Coaches who otherwise might have difficulty motivating their teams after midseason should have little trouble keeping the players' daubers up.
The BlueCross Bowl, Tennessee's Division I and II high school championships, will be played Dec. 3-5 at Tucker Stadium on the Tenneseee Tech University campus in Cookeville. The facilty seats 16,500 spectators.
The games will be aired by the Tennessee High School Sports Network on TV stations throughout the state. The radio broadcast will be made available by the same network and www.tssaa.org.
Here is the schedule of games:
Division II
Thursday, Dec. 3 - 3:30 p.m., Class A championship; 7 p.m., Class AA championship.
Division I
Friday, Dec. 4 - Noon, 1A championship; 3:30 p.m., 3A championship; 7 p,m., 5A championship.
Saturday, Dec. 5 - Noon, 2A championship; 3:30 p.m., 4A championship; 7 p.m., 6A championship.
Tickets, $12 for general admission, will be good for all games played on the day of purchase - with no advance sales available.
Here's a rundown of the TSSAA history of championships:
1950 - The Nashville Area Junior Chamber of Commerce established the Clinic Bowl as a Middle Tennessee bowl game to benefit Vanderbilt Physical Therapy Clinic.
1969 - First year of the modern-day playoffs. Four teams from each of the three classifications (A, AA and AAA) played two-round competitions.
1972 - Playoff format was expanded to eight teams from each classification.
1977 - Playoff format was expanded to 16 teams from each classification.
1982 - TSSAA selected the Clinic Bowl as host for the Division A, AA and AAA championships. It was the first time all three games had been played on the same day at the same location.
1985 - Playoff format was expanded to 32 teams from each classification.
1993 - TSSAA classification was expanded from three to five classes and state championships to a two-day event for the 1A-5A title games.
1994 - Clinic Bowl was aired on network TV in Nashville and Memphis for the first time.
1997 - Schools were assignment to Division II and Division I. Schools offering financial aid were placed in Division II, while the remaining schools were put in Division I. This created seven championships - five for Division I and two for Division II.
2000 - Division championships were named the BlueCross Bowl and relocated to Middle Tennessee State University's Floyd Stadium.
2005 - BlueCross signed on as a title sponsor of the Division II championships (renamed BlueCross Bowl) and these games were relocated to MTSU.
2007 - BlueCross Bowl Division II championships were reorganized from three classes to two.
2009 - BlueCross Bowl Division I championship has been reorganized from five classes to six. Also, the Division I and II championships have been moved to the same weekend at Tennessee Tech.
2008 Champions
Division II - A, Davidson Academy; AA, Memphis University School.
Division I - 1A, Trousdale County; 2A, Alcoa; 3A, Knox Catholic; 4A, Hillsboro; 5A, Oakland.

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