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Class basketball is here to stay.
The Indiana High School Athletic Association announced Friday the results of a state-wide study to gauge the feelings of fans, players, coaches and school administrators on the topic of class basketball.
Those results mean there will be no change in the current multi-class format.
Fans who attended a series of 11 public "town hall meetings" across the state indicated a strong desire to return to a single-class system. Of the 514 ballots cast, 68 percent wanted to return to the single-class system. The multiple-class system got the support of 32 percent.
After the town hall meetings concluded, a survey was distributed to high school administrators, coaches and athletes. And they have a much different view. Nearly 77 percent of principals support multi-class basketball, along with 79 precent of athletic directors, 55 percent of coaches and 72 percent of athletes. Out of more than 7,200 votes cast, only 2,055 supported a single-class tournament.
So because of the findings, the IHSAA has decided not to make any changes to its high school basketball tournaments.
The study originated following an agreement between IHSAA commissioner Bobby Cox and Indiana State Senator Mike Delph (R) of Carmel to remove language Delph had introduced as part of Senate Bill 236 during the 2012 Indiana General Assembly which would have made it illegal for any school corporation to compete in a multiple class basketball tournament.
CLICK HERE for IHSAA Report on the Study of the IHSAA Boys' and Girls' Basketball Tournament Formats