A bad, good idea

The recent rumblings from the PIAA about increasing the classifications of football has some people scrambling to work out a perfect plan if the changes take place.

One idea that probably will not happen is contracting the districts to make the season shorter. That would dramatically affect wrestling. One obvious move would be putting District 8 (City League) back into the WPIAL. They would be most welcome in the WPIAL by the wrestling population. One of the reasons why the Southwest has three qualifiers instead of four is the loss of District 8 to the Northwest in the 1990s. Those Pgh. schools have a better chance to advance wrestlers to the state tournament in the Northwest and won't relish a move back to D-7.

The other reason why the PIAA would have trouble contracting districts around the state is the money these districts get in their communities from holding tournaments. For example, hotels and restaurants make a lot of money from wrestling's regional tournaments. District reps will fight hard to keep things as they are.