State Playoffs

[newport]

How come it took the Piaa until 1988 to have a statewide playoff system? I feel like that would be a much later start than most states considering how long HS football has been played in Pennsylvania. Is there a specific reason or reasons as to why it took u till '88?

 

[northalleghenytiger]

Don’t really know why, but my theory is because 1987 north hills was #1 in the country, they wanted teams to play longer

 

[RoverNation05]

Don’t really know why, but my theory is because 1987 north hills was #1 in the country, they wanted teams to play longer

Wasn’t North Hills one of the schools that opted out of the 1988 tournament?

I know the WPIAL championship games were a major impediment to getting the playoff set up - the WPIAL did not want games after theirs at Three Rivers, and lots of their teams opted out in ‘88 because they didn’t think playing for a state title would be more prestigious than winning the WPIAL. That’s how Pittsburgh Central Catholic made the first tournament even though they lost the WPIAL finals - Upper St. Clair was one of the opt out schools (you had to decide before the season started whether you were in or not. The only school in the east that I specifically know did was East Stroudsburg).

 

[RoverNation05]

I’ll look into when other states started - I know Ohio got a playoff going in the ‘70s (I think 1978?). However, they had a true poll championship system and recognize state champs going back to the ‘40s that were ranked #1 at the end of the year.

New Jersey still doesn’t have a true state tournament.

 

[CAMoleskinner]

Georgia in 1947.

It looks like California went to the current "Bowl Championship" set up in 2006.

So PA sorta lands in the middle.

 

[RoverNation05]

Texas had a championship game in 1920. Full tournament in 1948

 

[RoverNation05]

Illinois started in 1974

New York started in 1993

Michigan started in 1975

Florida looks like it started in 1963

North Carolina has played a state championship game since 1913!

Massachusetts had regional champs like Jersey starting in 1972. Started a full state tournament with true champions in 2012.

Virginia started a tournament in 1986, but like Ohio has recognized poll champions going back to 1920.

 

[RoverNation05]

Pennsylvania was kind of late to state championships, period. They had a basketball tournament starting in the 1920s, and had individual championships in wrestling, track and field, and swimming, but in all other sports (but football) they didn’t start a state tournament until the 1973-74 school year - which is also when they started crowning team champs in the individual sports too.