LHSAA principals meet Wednesday to discuss future playoff scenarios

The landscape of the LHSAA playoffs will be determined in the next few days.
On Wednesday, principals from across the state will come together at the Crowne Plaza in Baton Rouge with the chance to approve an alternative to the expanded split that was ratified at the LHSAA’s annual convention in January.
The LHSAA split its football playoffs into nine championships based on select/non-select school lines in 2013. The current plan from Many High Principal Norman Booker expanded the split to include boys/girls basketball, baseball and softball.
It calls for 12 championships in those sports where there had previously been seven.
But when the principals meet, there will be four other alternative plans on the table to the Booker plan.
The LHSAA’s school relations committee presented an alternative in April that would reunite Class 5A/4A for football and combine Classes B-C.
Teams in Classes 3A, 2A and 1A would be split along rural/metro school guidelines instead of select/nonselect lines, providing two champions in football, boys/girls basketball, baseball and softball in those classes only.
A plan by Mandeville Principal Bruce Bundy would multiply the enrollment of all select schools by 1.5 before schools are classified together.
A plan from Ruston Principal Ricky Durrett would add a Class 6A to give the LHSAA eight basic classes and would also multiply the enrollment of select schools by 1.5 before classifying schools together.
The plan from Iowa Principal Mike Oakley and Vinton Principal Mitch Manuel would reduce the number of basic LHSAA classes from seven to five. Schools in Classes B-C would make up the new 1A. Football schools with B-C enrollment would play in 2A.
The Oakley/Manuel plan calls for four nonselect and three select champions in football and five nonselect and four select champions in the boys/girls basketball, baseball and softball.