Playoff Format May Force HS to Become Independent

MOUNT CARMEL, Ill. — No formal Illinois High School Association proposal has been made, but Mount Carmel's football program could eventually be forced into independent status. The Aces would remain in Indiana's Big Eight Conference in every other sport.

Because the IHSA football playoff format has created such a conference upheaval, playoff pairings could be determined through district play.

Mount Carmel would be forced to play seven Illinois district games against other teams of similar enrollments and relatively close geographic locations. The Aces would also play two non-district games during the regular season, which would not count toward postseason.

Unlike Indiana, Illinois teams must quality for the playoffs. Under the proposed new format, unveiled at the IHSA Football Advisory Committee Meeting on April 19, only district games would determine whether a team makes the playoffs or not. The top four teams in each district would advance to the playoffs.

However, the earliest a formal proposal could be made to the IHSA is November.

"In the event that the IHSA decided to create districts in Illinois we would not be able to play our current Big Eight schedule in football," said Mount Carmel football coach and former athletic director Michael Brewer. "The proposal that the advisory committee came up with would require Mount Carmel High School to play seven games in Illinois with the potential to play two other out of district teams, which could be Indiana schools. The proposal is for football only and would not affect other sports."

The earliest the change could be implemented is the 2019-20 season, said Tyler Buss, in his first year as Mount Carmel athletics director and seventh as Aces' boys' basketball coach.

"A lot of conferences have realigned. Teams have jumped ship from conference to conference," Buss said. "They're trying to get some stability."

But he noted that any change would still be a "long way away."

Change is nothing new in the Big Eight. Two years ago, Mount Carmel had discussions about joining the Little Illini Conference, but never formally applied.

Also in 2016, Boonville and Mount Vernon had preliminary talks about joining the Pocket Athletic Conference, which consists of smaller schools than the Big Eight, but nothing came of it.

In 2001, Tell City left the Big Eight to rejoin the PAC. At that point, the Big Eight was down to six schools before Mount Carmel joined. Mount Carmel is the only school from outside Indiana to compete in an Indiana athletic conference.

But the Aces have been plagued by declining enrollment. They are the smallest school in the Big Eight, with 504 students. Jasper is the largest, with 1,093, followed by Boonville (903), Washington (742), Vincennes Lincoln (716), Mount Vernon (658) and Princeton (618).

However, Buss said there is no doubt that playing in the rugged Big Eight has helped Mount Carmel prepare for IHSA postseason play in all sports. He guided the Aces' boys' basketball team to a Class 2A runner-up finish in 2017. Mount Carmel has also continued its strong football tradition, finishing second in the 3A playoffs in 2011.

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