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One-game regional, two-game semistates start in 2022-23
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
The IHSAA Executive Committee voted to change the format of the girls and boys basketball tournaments at its June 23 meeting.
The vote was 15-2 in favor of the change, which goes into effect next season.
Teams will have to win one game to win a regional and two games to win a semistate. For the last 20 years, teams had to win two games to win a regional and one game to win a semistate.
The sectional format will remain unchanged.
“Regional pairings will be drawn and announced at the same time as the traditional sectional pairings with two regional championship games being played at the same site and potentially from different classes,” the IHSAA said in a statement announcing the move.
The IHSAA also said there will be another blind draw on the day after the regional in order to determine the semistate pairings.
The change in format means that four more semistate venues – two in the north and two in the south – will need to be selected.
The IndyStar reported that IHSAA commissioner Paul Neidig said there will be some changes in regional and semistate hosts “but not wholesale changes.”
When class basketball started in the 1997-98 season, there was a one-game regional on a Friday night followed by two-game semistates on Saturday. In 2000 and 2001, there was a one-game regional on Tuesday followed by two-game semistates on Saturday.
The IHSAA reported that it conducted a survey of principals, athletic directors and boys and girls coaches and said that 73.4 percent of 781 respondents approved the changes.
“The new format will double the number of teams who play a week longer in the tournament and should create a lot of excitement in those communities and will be financially beneficial for those communities that serve as host sites,” Neidig said in a statement.
The Argos girls team was the only RTC area basketball team to win a sectional title in 2021-22.
The Executive Committee also voted to increase the cost of tickets for sectional games from $6 to $7. They also voted to increase an official’s stipend by $10 and increase their mileage reimbursement from $0.25 to $0.50 per mile.
The Executive Committee also formally approved IHSAA membership for Dugger Union, Evansville Christian and Purdue Polytechnic.
In addition, it modified its 300-mile travel limit to allow IHSAA schools to compete against out-of-state schools as long as they are in good standing with their state association, the venue is within the 300-mile limit and is sanctioned by both the National Federation of State High School Associations and the IHSAA.
