CHSAA assistant commissioner Bert Borgmann addresses a panel about the state basketball tournaments on Tuesday. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
AURORA — A group of top basketball minds from around the state met Tuesday morning at the CHSAA office to discuss ways to increase attendance at the sport’s state tournaments.
Included were boys and girls coaches, as well as administrators from all corners of the state.
With attendance numbers going down in certain tournaments, the group was tasked with exploring new formats which would make them more attractive to fans.
“If all of our formats were perfect, we wouldn’t be here today,” said Bert Borgmann, CHSAA assistant commissioner who oversees basketball.
The meeting’s conversations boiled down to the following main ideas:
• Creating separate start dates to the tournaments
The thought here would be to have the start and end dates for certain tournaments be separated by one week.
This idea had two main offshoots:
- Starting and finishing the boys and girls tournaments at separate dates, or
- Starting and finishing the 1A/2A/3A and 4A/5A tournaments on separate dates
In either case, this could allow for a better spotlight of each tournament.
Other states, such as Nebraska, do something similar.
“I think the girls season could be promoted and very successful it it was started a week before the guys,” said retired Denver Christian coach Dick Katte, who now serves as an advisor to the CHSAA office. “If we do it right, we could showcase it.”
• Move all classifications to one site
This also has two offshoots:
- Separating genders but moving those gender’s classifications to one venue, or
- Putting everyone together in one venue
Of course, there are numerous variables here and questions remain:
Should the tournament be played over one week? Two weeks?
Should they consolidate at the Great 8? Before? After? What about simply bringing all the championship games to one venue?
Now, no matter how it is put together, this idea will be incredibly challenging to schedule — both from a timing-of-tip-off standpoint and trying to find a venue for it. However, it got the most discussion and acceptance among the group.
“I like the idea of all classes at one site, I think that would go over well,” said South Park athletic director Sandi Weece, who is also on CHSAA’s board of directors.
The ideas generated in Tuesday’s conversation will move forward to CHSAA’s basketball committee for possible action — at least further discussion. That committee next meets in February.