UPDATE: The NYSPHSAA staff reported Tuesday afternoon that Sections 1 and 2 will combine in girls ice hockey, which allows the sport to conduct a regional championship once again next season.
Leading off today: The New York State Public High School Athletic Association's annual two-day Central Committee meeting kicked off this afternoon in Schenectady.
Here are a few of the early headlines ahead of the scheduled votes on various proposals:
Ticket price increases on the horizon
The NYSPHSAA has climbed out of an early hole with respect to income vs. expenses for its championships in the most recent school year. After the fall sports operated at a combined net loss of around $38,000, the winter and spring events ran in the black by about $50,000.
While that's good news, the tiny net profit won't get the organization very far. The NYSPHSAA is facing increased expenses for venue rentals and event support staff, with stipends for the latter not keeping up with what sections are paying PA announcers, trainers, etc. That's driving two proposals that are expected to be voted on and approved later Tuesday or on Wednesday as business wraps up:
• Increasing ticket prices for the football finals at JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse and boys and girls wrestling at MVP Arena in Albany by 33% to $14 from the current $10.50 beginning this fall. The surcharge tacked on by Ticketmaster, which has the ticketing contract for the buildings, brings the cost per ticket to $16.
• Increasing ticket prices for all other events by 14.3% to $12 from the current $10.50. The GoFan ticketing app surcharge would raise the ticket price to $13.60.
Combined, the NYSPHSAA projects approximately $197,000 in additional revenue.
Those initiatives are in addition to the organization continuing to boost membership dues by $50 per year per school.
How do the proposed NYSPHSAA ticket prices compare to other states?
While no one likes paying more, a random look at ticket prices for the governing bodies in some other large states shows that the proposed new prices in New York compare favorably.
All prices cited below are for championship games and in most cases includes the ability to watch more than one game for a single admission price.
We included soccer as an example of prices for sports other than football and basketball; some states charge varying amounts depending upon the sport.
| State |
Football |
Basketball |
Soccer |
| New York |
$14 + |
$12 ++ |
$12 ++ |
| Ohio |
$15 / $10 |
$16 / $10 (p) |
$15 / $10 |
| Michigan |
$20 ++ |
$12 +++ |
$11 ++ |
| Texas |
$20 / $15 |
$20 +++ |
$15 +++ |
| Florida |
$17 ++ (p) |
$12 +++ |
$13 ++ (p) |
+ - Plus Ticketmaster ticketing fee (NY football, $2).
++ - Plus GoFan ticketing fee (NY, $1.60; may vary by state).
+++ - Plus unspecified ticketing fee.
(p) - Adult ticket price includes cost of parking.
Ohio prices are for adult/student. Texas football prices are for adult/student at particpating school).
Florida adds $3 for purchases on the day of the game.
|
'Emerging sports' have been put on notice
It wasn't that long ago that girls ice hockey appeared on track to be the next to gain status as an official state championship competition. The sport was moving slowly, but steadily, in adding the necessary varsity programs -- a minimum of four squads in each of four sections -- to maintain "emerging sport status" on the path to eventually gaining equal footing with the boys version of the sport.
As a step toward the ultimate goal -- having six sections field at least four teams in order to conduct a state championship tournament, girls hockey was able to begin conducting regional championships in the 2013-14 season. The four-team championship weekend has typically been sparsely attended but hasn't a terrible drain on NYSPHSAA finances.
That season-ending event now off the table for the upcoming school year. The NYSPHSAA office reported to the Central Committee this afternoon that girls hockey no longer qualifies as an emerging sport (assuming there is no last-minute blending of sections to fudge the numbers) and there will be no association-backed regional tournament early next year. In its place, the hockey committee can conduct an intersectional tournament for which the sections would be responsible for the planning, execution, and financials.
The expense of equipping a team and renting ice time has absolutely slowed the growth, and hockey has been left in the dust by wrestling and flag football as a girls sport experiencing explosive growth.
Meanwhile, eight-man football is drifting in that direction. With numerous schools having moved back to 11-man football on their own or as part of a merged program, the eight-man version is down to a one-year grace period to meet the criteria before it is no
longer recognized by NYSPHSAA.
A deeper look at eight-man football
Eight-man football is at a crossroads. The current iteration emerged as a way to salvage the sport, and perhaps the Friday Night Lights aspect in smaller towns, and be the vehicle by which the 11-man version might one day be restored.
Even with the continuing population outflow from communities north of the New York City metropolitan area, however, eight-man's growth has stagnated.
Steve Grandin dug through the numbers, and what we seem to be seeing is some level of schools growing their programs back to 11-man football but mostly downsized teams merging with other programs to maintain their footing in the sport.
As sports returned to relative normalcy in 2021, there were 43 eight-man teams across the state. and there were still 42 two seasons later. But the number slipped to 39 last fall, and it looks like only 32 are going that route this fall.
Of the 39 from two seasons ago, only 25 returned in 2024. According to Steve's research, 10 others moved to 11-man football, three affiliated with another school's 11-man program, and one school closed.
More than half of the eight-man teams this fall reside in Sections 3, 4, and 9, and the bottom dropped out when all five Section 5 teams from a year ago exited eight-man football.
