Yes, I know it’s basketball and ice hockey season (does this Ice Vault Tournament sound like a hot one or what?) But I was on vacation and didn’t get to post some final thoughts on the football season in North Jersey.
But really, what we have are a lot more questions.
Are there going to be more co-ops?
Will Dumont really not get to play Tenafly on Thanksgiving any more?
Why doesn’t St. Joe’s play in Non-Public Group 4? (this one was sent in a while back)
What happens if the public schools decide they don’t want to play anyone in the Big North United any more?
What is the public/non-public committee talking about doing?
What is happening at Don Bosco?
Why is 2016 more important than 2015?
Will we get another NJSIAA vote on changing the public school playoff system?
Is the NJSIAA going to fix the power point thing that denied Pal Park/Leonia from a playoff spot?
And more…
Let’s start with the first two, because they are kind of connected. And if you want to submit a question, email me at Varsityaces@northjersey.com
Question: Will there be more co-ops and what about Dumont/Tenafly on Thanksgiving?
My answer: When I did the column on Dumont exploring getting out of the Big North and going to the NJIC, the obvious problem is that it may mean the end of the Huskies-Tigers annual Thanksgiving Day game. As it stands now, NJIC teams don’t play Big North teams, although I believe that’s more of an unofficial rule than an official rule. Really the issue is that NJIC teams basically have their 9-game schedules set for them and there isn’t room for them to play anyone else.
But when I talked to NJIC Boss Stan Fryczynski, he made an interesting point. If Dumont were granted the ability to leave the Big North (a 50-50 shot) and to enter the NJIC (my feeling is they would let them in) how many football football teams would there still be in the NJIC at that point.
And remember, no change would happen until 2016.
(Mini question – Why not until 2016? – Because when the NJSIAA realigned everyone four and half years ago, it put everyone on a two-year scheduling cycle – basically your schedule for 2014 is the same as 2015 except with home and away swapped. Then it promised to review the alignments every 2 years, but the schedules get made far in advance, that’s why if there is going to be a big change, it will be for 2016).
As it stands now, the NJIC has 4 division of 7 teams, pretty sweet, huh? That makes scheduling easy, and six league games is a good number. Throw in three crossover games against teams from other divisions, boom, there is your nine regular season games.
Under the existing scenario, Dumont could walk in to the NJIC in 2016 and wreck the whole apple cart – 29 teams doesn’t divide up very easily. Unless….
There are more co-ops. There are a few schools and names being thrown around. I won’t name any because I was never told anything officially, because you can probably tell for yourself, just by looking at some of the wrestling co-ops etc. Remember, if you co-op with one school for one sport, the NJSIAA would really like it if they became your permanent co-op partner. That said, they have granted waivers in the past.
But again, in 2016, what if we have 3 new co-ops in the NJIC? So then suddenly, instead of having 28 football teams in the league, you now have 25? What if one of the Charter schools decides to put a football program in the league? It could happen.
Question: So then where would Dumont fit in to a new NJIC?
My answer: Let’s play it forward, let’s say there are 25 football teams in the NJIC and Dumont becomes 26. How do you divide that up evenly and balance your schedule? Dumont could wind up in a 10-team division of the NJIC with 9 regular season games right away (because you could go with three divisions a 10-team and 2 8-team division). That will mean no Tenafly, no Thanksgiving, no way. That’s why its so hard to answer right now.
Or, could the powers that be in the NJIC simply write a tweak to their rules giving Dumont a chance to play on Thanksgiving? Sure they could.
Question: Shouldn’t we just get rid of Thanksgiving games?
My answer: I admit they aren’t my favorite thing, but I understand that they have great meaning and significance to various communities. North Jersey isn’t like the rest of the state (news flash) and our Thanksgiving Day games have waned down to only six now. I can see a day where Bosco/Joes isn’t on Thanksgiving any more – depending on if it gives the schools some extra scheduling flexibility, but the other 5 I think are pretty secure, except for now the Dumont/Tenafly game.
To me, I’d love to see Thanksgiving games become an increasing option for North Jersey football teams, but not be so locked in to playing every year. That was sort of the notion proposed by Denis Nelson a year or so ago, where he said teams would get technically, 2 consolation games after their regular season. But I wish more ADs would be open to the possibility of scheduling a Thanksgiving Day game on like 2 weeks notice. What if Lyndhurst wanted to play North Arlington on Thanksgiving…wouldn’t that be fun? What if Northern Highlands wanted to play, I don’t know, Bergenfield on Thanksgiving. Wouldn’t people want to come? Wouldn’t it be a blast for the players? Just a thought.
Question: So what’s going to happen to Dumont?
My answer: Obviously, there are a lot of moving parts to this story. I think Dumont has argued in good faith and feels like they should get out of the Big North. If I had to guess, I would say that I don’t think that the Big North would let them go, but I might be wrong. I think the ADs were impressed with what Dumont had to say and respect the numbers and research. But they might worry that if they let Dumont out, then other schools would follow. Pascack Hills maybe? Dwight Morrow maybe? But also, could a school maybe want to move up from the NJIC? I look at the list and the division, and maybe Pal Park/Leonia would be a fit in the Big North and could ostensibly take Dumont’s place, but that’s probably unlikely.
Next up, we have to talk about the NJSIAA public/non-public committee.