High school basketball gets shuffled due to COVID; ASU out as regional host

By TIM GAYLE

Alabama State University has pulled out as the host site for one of the four Alabama High School Athletic Association regionals.

Citing COVID-19 concerns, Hornet administrators elected not to serve as the host site for the AHSAA Southwest Regional, but will continue playing ASU home games in Dunn-Oliver Acadome.

ASU administrators notified AHSAA officials last week, leaving the high school organization scrambling to find an alternate location for the regional, which starts in a month. After searching in vain for a suitable replacement site, the decision was made to combine the Southeast and Southwest regionals at Garrett Coliseum.

The high school organization had altered its postseason format, condensing postseason play into two sub-regional rounds and four consecutive days of regional finals that would play just four games per day, spacing them out to comply with COVID-19 restrictions. Moving two regionals to one location likely would result in drastic changes. 

“There’s a schedule they’re working on now,” said Ron Ingram, AHSAA assistant director for communications. “We looked at other sites but there’s just not enough time to work out the details.” 

The COVID-altered postseason format has a second sub-regional game scheduled for Feb. 18 (girls) and Feb. 19 (boys), allowing those teams to take Saturday and Sunday off before regional finals start on Monday, Feb. 22. The regionals continue through Thursday, Feb. 25, with the state tournament starting the following day in Birmingham.

Games were scheduled to run from 9 a.m.-7 p.m., leaving an hour or more between the four games to keep fans of different teams from interacting, but combining two regionals in one location will leave officials little choice but to play more games each day.

One option may be the Multiplex, which will have the Alabama Independent School Association state tournament and all-star game running through Feb. 19. After trying to move the Southwest Regional to another city on short notice, AHSAA officials apparently consider the best option is to play both regionals at Garrett.

“I think plan D, E, F, whatever it was, is to play them both over here,” said Garrett Coliseum manager Randy Stephenson. “They can do them both over here. I haven’t seen the schedule yet, but part of the reason they’re doing what they’re doing is to get away from eight games a day.”

The coliseum held both the AHSAA and AISA postseason volleyball tournaments that were scheduled for the Multiplex after ongoing construction at the site prevented that facility’s use. Both tournaments were forced to contend with reduced power in the coliseum after an electrical malfunction that will be repaired by the end of the month.

“They’ve got everything done outside,” Stephenson said. “Alabama Power is coming next week to set the poles and the transformer. Everything’s ready to come into the building.”

The transformer dated from the original construction of the coliseum which started in 1948. Other electrical modifications will need to be made to the facility to bring it up to date, but the new transformer will be in place by the start of the AHSAA Class 1A-4A state wrestling tournament, which takes place in the facility on Feb. 12-13. 

While AHSAA officials understand the university’s decision to back out of hosting the Southwest Regional, it marks the third time in the 27-year history of the regionals that Alabama State has been the focal point of a controversy involving the regionals. In 1994, the first year regionals were held, the Central Regional was held at the Acadome but ASU sent AHSAA officials a bill for use of the facility that wasn’t in line with the other three regionals and it was moved to Troy. 

The Central Regional returned to Alabama State in 2007 but after the 2016 regional, ASU officials notified the AHSAA that it did not intend to renew a contract to host the event, a decision the university later reversed in an embarrassing move that forced the city to break a contract to hold the event at Garrett Coliseum.

Beginning in 2019, Garrett Coliseum was secured as the host site for both the AHSAA Super South Regional wrestling tournament, which had been held for several years at the Multiplex, and the South Regional, which had been held for the previous six years in Dothan.

When it moved to Garrett, it was renamed the Southeast Regional and the regional at ASU was renamed the Southwest Regional.The Alabama High School Athletic Association approved a modified postseason format based on COVID-19 restrictions, splitting area tournaments into two sites and permitting two rounds of sub-regional games before teams can advance to regional finals.

The format was approved on Wednesday by the AHSAA Central Board of Control, which held its meeting behind closed doors, citing COVID-19 restrictions.

The Alabama Independent School Association is working on a modified postseason plan as well, but is awaiting venue availability before finalizing the plan.

Area tournaments reorganized

Up until Wednesday’s meeting, boys’ and girls’ basketball teams were playing for the right to host the area tournament, with the top seed hosting the event and remaining teams in the area playing at the top seed’s gym. After Wednesday’s decision, the third seed will now play an area tournament semifinal game at the site of the second seed, with the winner advancing three days later to the area tournament championship game.

For areas that have five teams -- there are none in central Alabama -- a play-in game featuring the fourth and fifth seeds would play on Monday, Feb. 8. On Tuesday, Feb. 9, the fourth-seeded girls’ team in the area will play at the top seed, while the third seed plays at the second seed. The winners will meet at the highest remaining seed on Friday, Feb. 12. On Wednesday, Feb. 10, the fourth-seeded boys’ team in the area will play at the top seed, while the third seed will play at the No. 2 seed. The winners will meet at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, Feb. 13.

With gym capacities reduced to 20 percent by COVID-19 restrictions, the decision to play one game at each site allows for maximum capacity for fans of the two participants while eliminating the need to clear out the gym between games. 

Citing those same reasons, the Central Board decided to play two sub-region games and only play the regional final at the regional -- in central Alabama, Garrett Coliseum will be the site for both the Southeast Regional and the Southwest Regional.

The first sub-regional round, matching the area runners-up at the home gym of the area champions, will be held on Monday, Feb. 15, for girls and Tuesday, Feb. 16, for boys. 

In 1A, Area 7 that includes Autaugaville and Billingsley will face the top two teams from Area 5 -- R.C. Hatch, A.L Johnson, Keith, Linden and University Charter School.

In 3A, Area 6 that includes Catholic, Prattville Christian, Montgomery Academy and Trinity will face the top two teams from Area 7 -- Beulah, Dadeville and Reeltown.

In 4A, Area 3 that includes St. James will face the top two teams from Area 2 -- Ashford, Dale County, Geneva County and Straughn. Area 5 that includes Alabama Christian, LAMP and BTW Magnet will face the top two teams from Area 6 -- Bibb County, Dallas County, Montevallo and West Blocton.

In 5A, Area 6 that includes Elmore County, Holtville and Marbury  In 6A, Area 3 that includes Lee, Lanier, Carver and Park Crossing will play the top two teams from Area 4 -- Eufaula, Opelika, Russell County and Valley. Area 5 that includes Stanhope Elmore and Wetumpka will play the top two teams from Area 6 -- Calera, Chilton County, Helena and Pelham.

The second sub-regional round, which would normally take place as a regional semifinal, will be held at school sites on Thursday, Feb. 18, for girls and Friday, Feb. 19, for boys. The host school will follow the format used in football that is based on travel -- if one team travels for the first sub-regional round and the other doesn’t, the traveling team will host the second sub-regional. 

If neither travel or both travel, the team on top of the bracket will host the game. In that scenario, in 6A, Wetumpka and Stanhope Elmore will travel; in 5A, Brew Tech, Tallassee and Pike Road will travel; in 4A, ACA, LAMP and BTW Magnet will travel to the sub-region group that includes St. James; and in 3A, Prattville Christian, Montgomery Academy and Trinity will travel. 

Those teams all advance to the Southeast Regional finals at Garrett Coliseum.

The second sub-regional round for the Southwest Regional, provided both teams are at home or both travel in the first round, would have Lee, Lanier Carver or Park Crossing home for the second round in 6A; Elmore County, Holtville or Marbury on the road in 5A; and Autaugaville or Billingsley on the road in 1A. In 7A, the Area 3 runner-up (which includes Jeff Davis and Prattville) will travel to Area 1 in Mobile, while the Area 1 runner-up visits the Area 3 champion.

Regional finals for boys and girls are tentatively set for Monday, Feb. 22, for 4A and 5A; Tuesday, Feb. 23, for 3A and 6A; Wednesday, Feb. 24, for 1A and 7A; and Thursday, Feb. 25, for Class 2A. Those dates may be modified because the Southeast and Southwest regionals are at the same site.

Because Legacy Arena is currently being renovated, the championship games will be held at Bill Harris Arena at the Crossplex and UAB’s Bartow Arena. 

Semifinal games will be held at Harris Arena Feb. 26 (4A), Feb. 27 (5A), March 1 (3A) and March 2 (1A). Semifinal games at Bartow include 6A on March 1 and 7A on March 2.

Championship games will be held on March 3-6, with the March 3 games (6A and 7A) at Bartow and the remaining games at Harris, including 4A and 5A finals on March 4, 1A and 3A finals on March 5 and 2A finals on March 6.