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Editor’s note:?This is a response from the Tri-Valley League to sports editor Jeff Fishbein’s opinion column that appeared in the May 12 edition of The Sentinel.
You recently wrote a column about “TVL playoff again unfair to Juniata.” We are responding to that column because the information contained in the column was not based on factual information. Our league tries to provide the best athletic experience for the players of our member schools and we would like to clarify some of the points that were made as part of your column.
* District 6 has “Open Playoffs” for many of their sports. This means any school that applies is accepted into the District 6 playoffs. Because of this fact, the District 6 playoffs never begin on a set date. For example, one year five AA schools may apply and the next year 12 schools may play. This example would cause District 6 to add another play date into their schedule. The District 6 playoff schedule is often not released until near the very end of the season. This makes it very difficult to determine TVL playoff dates. For this exact reason the TVL has begun to set aside an entire week for playoffs. Since you also mentioned District 4 schools in your column, their district play-offs are open to schools whose records are 500 or better, so the same issues could happen with District 4 schools.
* PIAA rules allow schools to play more than the maximum number of contests in a season if it is for a league playoff and if the district committee has approved it. For many years the TVL had such playoffs, but when our membership went down, we stopped having such games. Since our membership has increased we now sponsor the playoffs again. District 6 was not aware we did this, because when we sponsored them before, Juniata was a District 3 school. District 6 is now aware of the playoffs and things should run smoothly.
* There are no league sanctions for not entering the league playoffs and they are certainly not a “cash cow.” The TVL winter playoffs, by far our best supported playoffs, netted $4,251.00. Some spring playoffs will definitely lose money. It is the league’s hope that at some point we can give back to the schools by eliminating league dues and possibly revenue sharing with the schools that make the playoffs. In today’s age with the financial issues each school faces, we feel this is a positive for the schools.
* We know of no league that hosts a football playoff and maintains 10 regular season games, but if there is such a league we would welcome their expertise on how to run such a playoff.
Mr. Fishbein, over the years you have covered many of our athletes and we truly appreciate that fact. We also recognize this was a column, which allows you a little more latitude with your opinion. However, people reading your column assume you have the facts, which allows you to form your opinion. In the future, please talk to league representatives to make sure you have all the information. You are also very welcome to attend our meetings.
Tri-Valley League Athletic Directors, Executive Director and Statistician