Public League realigns football conferences

There’s no getting around the fact that Public League football has struggled mightily in the IHSA playoffs in recent years.

Last fall, Public League teams went 0-22 in the first round against outside competition and were outscored by an average margin of 49-7.

Two city schools, Morgan Park and Dyett, won their openers but both were against Public League opponents. Morgan Park, which had a signature second-round win against Sycamore in Class 5A, was the only Public League team to reach the quarterfinals. In 2022, only Morgan Park and Kenwood represented CPS in the quarterfinals.

David Rosengard, CPS’ executive director of sports administration, isn’t blind to the problem.

“We really need to improve how we compete at the state level,” Rosengard said. “We all know that.”

It’s not a simple fix and it requires a multipart solution.

One change being made is another in what has been an annual series of realignments of the Public League football conferences.

The top 16 teams will again be in the Red, with all eligible to qualify for the IHSA playoffs. The top 14 teams in the second-level White will be split into two conferences and also will all be IHSA playoff-eligible. But the other 24 White teams will be split into four conferences with just the league champs eligible for the IHSA playoffs. As in past years, all 25 Blue teams are ineligible for the state playoffs.

That all but guarantees fewer Public League teams in the state playoffs, opening up more spots for other schools — including 4-5 teams. Six of the latter qualified in 2023, including eventual 5A champ Nazareth, which became the first team in IHSA history to win state after having a losing record in the regular season.

“We’re trying to listen to what was happening throughout the state,” Rosengard said. “We’re trying to be respectful. We also want to offer opportunities to our teams. But we want to try to get a level of teams that can compete a little bit differently.”

The only Public League to play for a state title in the first 50 years of the IHSA playoffs was Robeson, which lost in the 5A final in 1982. But under current Sandburg coach Troy McAllister, Phillips had an unprecedented run in the 2010s, finishing second in 4A in 2014 and winning titles in 2015 (4A) and 2017 (5A).

It’ll take work for Public League teams to get back to that level. And there are other plans in place — in addition to not sending the less competitive teams to the postseason — designed to help close that gap with the rest of the state.

“Our task is to work with our coaches and our players to support and [figure out], ‘How do we get better?’” Rosengard said. “We’ve talked about that extensively. We’re going to try some things this summer during contact days.”

Part of that will be a series of clinics for Public League players and coaches, not just for the skill position players and linemen but also for special teams: long snappers, kickers and punters.

The clinics could be in Public League stadiums in the morning, with 7-on-7 events in the afternoon.

The bottom line, according to Rosengard: “We need to get better as a league.”

Red, White changes

There are three new members of the Red, who moved up after winning White titles last fall: Johnson (from the White South-West), Lincoln Park (from the White North-West) and Payton (from the White West). They replace Curie, Hyde Park and Urban Prep.

The top-tier White sections will be the South (Corliss, Dyett, Hubbard, Hyde Park, Lindblom, Urban Prep and Vocational) and the North (Crane, Curie, Lake View, Mather, North Lawndale, Senn and Sullivan).

The 13 schools remaining in the Red are defending champ Morgan Park, Amundsen, Brooks, Bulls Prep, Clark, Kenwood, Lane, Perspectives, Philips, Simeon, Taft, Westinghouse and Young.