Too many teams in Texas football playoffs?

It’s not always just about Baylor and TCU.

While many Texans are still talking about decisions made by the College Football Playoff committee, a state lawmaker took the first step Thursday toward changing the high school football playoff system.

Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, filed a bill to decrease the number of teams advancing to the playoffs from each University Interscholastic League district from four to two.

“Current UIL rules allow 50 percent to 74 percent of football teams to make the playoffs,” Perry said. “We have truly watered down competition to the point that 0-10 and 1-9 teams are able to make the playoffs in some districts.”

Perry said his Senate Bill 237 is geared toward preventing noncompetitive teams from heading to the playoffs.

“This not only devalues the hard work of the first- and second-place teams in a district but it costs our school districts thousands of dollars that could be spent in the classroom” he said. “The cost is especially high in rural areas.

“Some schools in my district are spending upwards of $8,000 per playoff game.”

If approved by the Legislature, the measure would take effect for the 2015-16 school year. The UIL governs all extracurricular activities for Texas public schools.

The last time only two teams advanced to the playoffs among the largest schools was 1989.

Some local coaches said they hope state lawmakers don’t jump the gun.

“There are a lot of things people need to take into consideration before they jump to the simplicity of that conclusion,” said Bob Wager, head football coach and athletic coordinator for Arlington Martin High School.

“All districts are not created equal,” he said. “You have no control over who the UIL places into the district. In a lot of cases, the third-best team in a district … might be better than any other team in a different district.”

Local impact

Wager recalls how Arlington Martin went to the playoffs in 2006 — his first year as coach — for the first time in seven years.

The Warriors were the fourth-best team that year, he said, and simply making the playoffs gave the players a new attitude and confidence.

“At that point, making the playoffs was huge,” he said. “Now we are the No. 1 seed out of this district. But without that first opportunity, it would have been even more challenging.”

Hal Wasson, head coach at Southlake Carroll High School, agreed.

Allowing four teams to make the playoffs “affords the kids a lot of opportunities they wouldn’t get if there were only one or two teams in the playoff,” he said. “You have to weigh the pros and cons of everything.

“If it’s a positive thing for the school, and the community, and gives kids the opportunity to have lifetime memories … why would you do away with it?”

Wasson said Perry “has got a long row to hoe to change it.”

Perry’s bill would also affect the baseball, volleyball and basketball playoffs.

At what cost?

Perry said the cost of playoff games is high.

And it goes far beyond the football team. There are food, lodging and travel expenses for the band, the cheerleaders and any other support groups.

Last year, more than half of Texas’s 1,209 high school football teams went to the playoffs.

Perry said his bill would drop that to around 384 teams.

“I have fond memories of playing high school football,” he said. “It is my hope that this bill will help us celebrate triumph, give school districts more flexibility with their budgets and reduce the burden on families during the holiday season.”

Wager said he hopes lawmakers will keep the playoffs the same.

“I don’t just do so blindly,” he said. “I do so by having the experience of getting in as the first-place team, the fourth-place team and everything in between.

“We are trying to help kids be successful way beyond what they are doing athletically,” he said. “That playoff environment brings out the best in kids. Limiting the number of kids who have the chance to experience that would be a difficult argument with me.”

This story was originally published December 11, 2014 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Too many teams in Texas football playoffs?."