This year was bizarre from the jump – so I understand that a lot of decisions had to be made for the first time. That much is true. That still doesn’t mean that common sense doesn’t apply.
So when Nassau and Suffolk each switched up their conference formats for this season, there was going to be a decision that needed to be made. At the most basic level, Nassau had five conference and Suffolk had six. That would be fine if there was no Long Island Championship involved, but once they decided that June 20th would be the Long Island Championship day – they needed a way to even it out.
According to my source, the conventional wisdom would suggest that Nassau Conference V would play a playoff like the other leagues – top 2 get byes, 3 v 6 and 4 v 5 in the first round, then a best-of-three semi and best-of-three final. This would incentivize teams to finish top two and it would still give a minimum of two playoff games for the top seeds, but as many as six. Assuming that one of Clarke, Island Trees and Seaford won it (they are the larger schools and the top 3 seeds), the Class B team that advanced the furthest would be the Conference VI representative to face Suffolk in the LIC.
Instead, last Friday it was determined that they were scrapping that format in favor of something way more controversial and confusing. Clarke, Seaford and Island Trees (all tied with 14-2 records) would play a three-team, double-elimination round robin tournament on Saturday, with the top two teams advancing to play in the Conference V championship. The remaining teams (Oyster Bay, Locust Valley, Carle Place, East Rockaway, Cold Spring Harbor and Wheatley) would play their own playoffs and are the newly created Conference VI.
The issue is two-fold. First off, it’s not what the coaches agreed on prior to the season. If that’s the case, then why gather and ask for everyone’s opinions if it’s not going to be full implemented. Second, it potentially means less playoff games for a top-three seed.
If they are concerned about one school facing a larger school – that seems strange considering for years Seaford, Island Trees and Clarke were the Class A teams with the lowest enrollment facing schools with a couple hundred more students. So now doesn’t seem like the time to prioritize that. Seaford is one student above being a Class B school, so if one student has transferred prior to the school year they would be in the same boat as the other six Class B schools.
I have yet to speak with someone that is in favor of this format. The only good thing is that it doesn’t impact the LIC and whoever comes from Nassau Conference V will make for a great match up against Suffolk Conference V which has a similar power structure (Mount Sinai, Bayport-Blue Point and Shoreham-Wading River all clustered at the top.
