KHSAA basketball realignment could be coming soon with addition of three new schools
LEXINGTON — It’s been nearly two decades since the Kentucky High School Athletic Association went through a major realignment for basketball, but the time may be coming for another one.
The KHSAA Board of Control met Wednesday, and the seemingly innocuous process of placing three new schools in district turned into a 23-minute discussion that could lead to a major realignment.
“Is it time to fix problems that might fix other problems,” KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett asked board members, “or do we just want to keep taking it case by case?”
Louisville’s Grace James and DuBois and Cornerstone Christian in Shelbyville are three new KHSAA members that must be placed in districts for the team sports of basketball, soccer, volleyball, baseball and softball.
Tackett mentioned the “ripple effect” the additions of Grace James and DuBois will have in the Sixth or Seventh Region, depending on which one the schools land in. Cornerstone Christian likely will be added to the Eighth Region.
David Zuberer, a Board of Control member and athletics director at Manual, said it’s time to realign the Sixth and Seventh regions, which underwent a major realignment for the 2011-12 school year.
“With the new schools, Grace James and DuBois, and a couple of campuses relocating, it’s obviously a time to make sure everybody’s situated in the right district,” Zuberer said. “Geography obviously is a starting point, but this is beyond basketball. We have to consider the other team sports to make sure we have adequate numbers in each district.”
The board could address the idea of a statewide realignment at its next meeting set for Feb. 20.
“You may find that we look at this and say, ‘Region One has the same enrollments, and we can’t build any more schools down there. So, Region One is fine. Region 15, maybe you’re OK,’” Tackett said. “But if you (realign) the Sixth and Seventh and put a Band-Aid on it in the Seventh and Eighth and put a Band-Aid on it Ninth and 10th and a Band-Aid on it in 11th and 12th, sooner or later you have to pull the Band-Aids off and fix the wound.”
One issue, Zuberer said, will be whether Louisville-area schools want to submit their own plan for realignment or allow to the KHSAA to develop the plan.
“It won’t be an easy task because everyone in there will have their own school’s interest to look out for,” Zuberer said. “Whether or not we could come up with a proposal that would have a consensus is a question mark for sure.”
Another issue will be the fate of the three Bullitt County high schools — Bullitt Central, Bullitt East and North Bullitt — that currently play in the Sixth Region.
They were moved from the Eighth Region in 2005, the last time the KHSAA made a major statewide realignment.
“As long as we are all together in a region, we would definitely listen to all proposals, including moving out of the Sixth,” said Jerry Wyman, athletics director for Bullitt County Schools.
KHSAA hoops: Boys media poll features two new teams in the top 15
In other Board of Control news:
* The board voted to change two mercy rules. In soccer, the game-ending mercy rule will take effect after a team gains an eight-goal lead after halftime. The previous threshold was 10 goals.
In football, the running-clock mercy rule will take effect after a team takes a 35-point lead. The previous threshold was 36 points.
* The board will discuss a realignment plan for the 2025-26 football seasons at its February meeting.
Girls media poll: Sacred Heart still atop Kentucky high school hoops rankings after pair of losses
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Follow on X @kyhighs.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky high school basketball realignment could be coming soon