Making Sense of Dollars

In an effort to save money, major sports scheduling changes are coming to the River-to-River Conference. Triangular wrestling matches, combined boys and girls track meets and baseball and softball doubleheaders are on the horizon as school districts continue to look for new ways to pinch pennies.

Conference President and West Frankfort Athletic Director Richard Glodich said schools will centralize competition by using single sites for multi-team events, saving travel expenses for the schools. The changes have been approved by all the conference members.

Wrestling will be the first sport to implement the changes this winter. Triangular matches will be conducted among the six teams that make up the Ohio Division, and the six Mississippi Division teams. Each squad will wrestle the same Conference divisional matches as before. The triangular scheduling is not new to wrestling coaches. It is a practice that has been growing in the region.

"Conference track will start this year," Glodich said. "We will split divisions this year. We will run the boys and girls conference meets together to save money."

In spring 2016, baseball and softball will adopt a doubleheader policy between schools, eliminating the travel of a "home and home" series. These multiple, same-site games will be played on Saturdays starting at 11 a.m.

"This also gives us an advantage of having time to get wet fields ready if games have to be pushed back," he said.

Glodich said that when all factors are considered, it typically costs area school districts $4 per mile to transport athletes.

"Since 2010 schools have continually looked for cost savings measures in regard to transportation and in particular extracurricular transportation," said Benton High School District Superintendent Dr. Kelly Stewart.

In fact, some schools have already begun taking cost reducing transportation measures. Pay careful attention to parking areas near athletic venues, and you might notice small carriers replacing buses.These are being utilized for smaller squads, such as golf or cheerleading teams. These small vans are also used to haul equipment.

"The State of Illinois cut funding for transportation by 42 percent in 2010, and it has never been restored," Stewart said. "Most schools own a 15-passenger bus which cuts costs."

Another benefit of scheduling weekend sporting events would be to cut the amount of in-week travel time a student-athlete must experience. Harrisburg, for example, must travel to Massac County for events, returning high schoolers home at later hours.

This is why you might see freshman and sophomore football games played back-to-back on a Saturday morning. Volleyball now plays freshman, junior varsity and varsity on the same night.

"The recent scheduling changes proposed by the SIRR Conference are a continued effort by our districts to cut cost while maintaining programs for our students," said Stewart.