IHSAA Alters FB Sectional Assignments In 6A, 5AINDIANAPOLIS – The IHSAA announced it has reshuffled football sectional assignments for 6A and 5A schools for 2019 and 2020 seasons, with Warsaw the only Times-Union area team affected.
This fall the Tigers will compete in 6A Sectional 2 along with Chesterton, Penn and Portage. In the 2020 postseason, Warsaw will move to Sectional 3 with Carroll, Homestead and Fort Wayne Snyder.
The modification to the Tournament Success Factor at the IHSAA’s April 29 meeting lowered the number of points needed (from 3 points to 2 points) by a school already playing in a higher classification to continue playing in that same class for another two years. Schools that win a regional championship in a single season or a sectional championship in back-to-back seasons would remain in that same higher class. The rule previously had required three points (two sectional titles and a regional title) to continue in that class.
With that rule change, both Fort Wayne Snider and Indianapolis Cathedral each accumulated two points over the last two seasons, enough to remain in Class 6A and 5A, respectively. The sectional assignment announcement released on April 29 had Snider in Class 5A, Sectional 11 and Cathedral in Class 4A, Sectional 22, the same day the new tournament success factor rule was changed. Snider has now been assigned to 6A, Sectional 3, while Cathedral will be in 5A, Sectional 13.
That rule change coupled with Elkhart Central and Elkhart Memorial consolidating to form a new and larger Elkhart High School which will compete in 6A in 2020, affects several teams from one year to the next. One of those is Zionsville, which will compete in 6A, Sectional 5 in 2019 but 5A, Sectional 12 in 2020. Previously, Valparaiso had been that school which would split time between classes but will now spend both years in 5A, Sectional 9. Another is Carmel which will compete in Sectional 4 in 2019 but Sectional 5 in 2020.
