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WPIAL reveals football conference alignment for 2020, 2021 seasons | TribLIVE.com
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WPIAL reveals football conference alignment for 2020, 2021 seasons

Chris Harlan
Chris Harlan
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Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review
Clairton’s Isaiah Berry (4) hoists the WPIAL championship trophy with teammates after defeating Sto-Rox in the Class A final Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019, at Heinz Field.

The WPIAL has witnessed a decline in football attendance, so it took steps Monday to address those concerns.

The board approved an updated conference alignment that keeps the six classification format preferred by 70% of schools, but also attempted to quiet complaints about unwanted travel. To make that happen, the WPIAL created some conferences that are smaller and more geographically friendly, but also promised to provide nonconference opponents closer to home.

“We’re trying to promote football, and the way you promote it is to get people at the games,” said WPIAL associated executive director Amy Scheuneman, who oversaw the football realignment. “People aren’t going to drive two hours to go to a football game. But you might get someone who’s only 10 minutes away to take that drive over. Hopefully, we’ll spark some interest.”

The WPIAL effort included some new ideas.

The football committee has traditionally tried to balance the number of teams in each conference but didn’t take that approach this time. Instead, the WPIAL approved an alignment that, at times, is unbalanced.

In Class 2A, for example, the WPIAL created one eight-team conference, two with six teams and one with seven.

Class 4A also has an unbalanced look.

“Everybody wants to see closer games,” Scheuneman said. “For that to happen, we have to adjust how we make the sections.”

Class 6A has eight teams in one conference. Class 5A, 4A, 3A and A are all divided into three conferences. Class 2A has four.

With only 18 teams, the WPIAL could have reduced Class 5A to two conferences. Likewise, Class 2A could have seen its 27 teams crammed into three nine-team conferences.

The conferences approved Monday were very similar to a sample alignment shown to coaches and school administrators on Jan. 8 during a meeting at North Hills. However, there were a few late changes made by the football committee:

• In Class 4A, Hampton and Mars were shifted away from Beaver County schools and into a conference with traditional rivals from north and east of the city. To make room, the committee moved McKeesport into a conference with Thomas Jefferson, Belle Vernon, West Mifflin and others.

• In Class 3A, the committee switched Keystone Oaks and North Catholic for travel purposes. A similar decision was made in Class A, where Fort Cherry and Bishop Canevin traded spots.

Football schedules will be released by the first week of February. Those schedules will include nonconference opponents handpicked by the WPIAL rather than assigned at random, another decision made to reduce travel.

WPIAL playoff brackets and the number of postseason qualifiers in each classification won’t be decided until after the PIAA reveals updated state playoff brackets.

Monday’s reveal was weeks in the works. The WPIAL presented two realignment proposals to member schools Jan. 8 and asked administrators to vote. More than 70% of responses favored Proposal 1, a plan that maintained six classifications divided by enrollment.

Proposal 2, a more radical approach, would have divided WPIAL teams into 20 conferences by geography. Teams of different enrollment size would have shared the same conference, but a majority of schools rejected that idea.

“A lot of people who voted for (Proposal) 2 said they didn’t mind (Proposal) 1,” Scheuneman said. “(Proposal) 1 was an improvement over previous cycles.”

2020-21 WPIAL football alignment

Class 6A (8 teams)

Section 1

Baldwin
Canon-McMillan
Central Catholic
Hempfield
Mt. Lebanon
North Allegheny
Norwin
Seneca Valley

Class 5A (18 teams)

Section 1

Bethel Park
Moon
Peters Township
South Fayette
Upper St. Clair
West Allegheny

Section 2

Connellsville
Franklin Regional
Gateway
Latrobe
Penn-Trafford
Woodland Hills

Section 3

Fox Chapel
Kiski Area
North Hills
Penn Hills
Pine-Richland
Shaler

Class 4A (22 teams)

Section 1

Aliquippa
Beaver
Blackhawk
Chartiers Valley
Montour
New Castle

Section 2

Armstrong
Greensburg Salem
Hampton
Highlands
Indiana
Knoch
Mars
Plum

Section 3

Belle Vernon
Laurel Highlands
McKeesport
Ringgold
Thomas Jefferson
Trinity
Uniontown
West Mifflin

Class 3A (20 teams)

Section 1

Ambridge
Avonworth
Central Valley
Hopewell
Keystone Oaks
Quaker Valley

Section 2

Burrell
Deer Lakes
Derry
East Allegheny
Freeport
North Catholic
Valley

Section 3

Brownsville
Elizabeth Forward
Mt. Pleasant
South Allegheny
Southmoreland
South Park
Yough

Class 2A (27 teams)

Section 1

Apollo-Ridge
Ligonier Valley
Serra Catholic
Shady Side Academy
Steel Valley
Summit Academy

Section 2

Beaver Falls
Ellwood City
Freedom
Laurel
Mohawk
Neshannock
New Brighton
Riverside

Section 3

Beth-Center
Chartiers-Houston
Charleroi
Frazier
McGuffey
Washington
Waynesburg

Section 4

Brentwood
Carlynton
Seton LaSalle
South Side
Sto-Rox
Western Beaver

Class A (24 teams)

Section 1

Bishop Canevin
Clairton
Greensburg Central Catholic
Imani Christian
Jeannette
Leechburg
Riverview
Springdale

Section 2

Avella
Bentworth
California
Carmichaels
Jefferson-Morgan
Mapletown
Monessen
West Greene

Section 3

Burgettstown
Cornell
Fort Cherry
Northgate
OLSH
Rochester
Shenango
Union

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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