TSSAA Cross Country Regulations
Qualifying
A coach asked me at Cherokee this weekend, "Did you know four teams from each region qualify for state in Class AA/A?" I had not heard that so I kind of brushed it off until another coach text me on Sunday with the below document. If you scroll to part IV you can see where it lays out the qualifying process. I'll give you the summary.
- DI AAA - Top 3 Teams from each region + 5 individuals after team qualifiers (208 runners per race)
- DI AA/A - Top 4 Teams from each region+ 5 individuals after team qualifiers (264 runners per race)
- DII AA - Every submits up to 7 runners (Up to 133 runners per race)
- DII A - Top 3 Teams from each region + 5 individuals after team qualifiers (Up to 87 runners per race)
Obviously, in the past I've not been one to withhold punches from the decisions that are made at the board of control position but after last year when we were able to have a cross country state championship on schedule in the fall and then scramble to find a new venue for another in the spring, I'll digress.
So 32 teams of 190 "make the playoffs" in the revamped AA/A? That's 16% of participating schools. In the previous "small division" 24 teams made it out of what I had narrowed down to about 100 participating teams. For comparison to other sports, In Class AA football there are 46 teams and 32 of them make the playoffs. That's 70%. Even in 6A its 32/50. This really is a small percentage when you look at the postseason landscape as a whole and even within our own sport. My only concern is the ability of the venue to bring in that many people who will be coming to watch that race while the previous classification is still on the course. They're likely going to have to utilize more of the open fields for parking in the Quiet Corner and between the start and mile mark.
Here's the rest of the Regulations for this season for your convenience.