Late last week, I received an e-mail from Kentucky High School Athletic Association Media Relations Director Brian Milam that included some interesting details from the Association’s latest Board of Control meeting.
Among those details was the fact that the board is discussing possibilities for changing the structure of the annual high school football playoffs. Currently, the first two weeks of the playoffs are set in stone. Beginning in round three, pairings are decided based on the most current RPI rankings. The proposed change would have RPI coming into play beginning in round two.
The e-mail that I received explained it like this, “One concept to consider is using RPI-based pairings starting in the second round. The first round could then either involve adjacent districts or be within a district, and the board will survey the membership on those options. The intent is to avoid repeated playoff matchups. The board will consider the survey results, and if any change is approved, it could be in place for the 2027 season.”
This possibility intrigues me, and I think it has potential. One of the main complaints about playoff football for many years now is the fact that early round matchups are always so one sided. It’s pretty much nothing but blowouts in round one, and much of the same in round two. Perhaps utilizing this new format would make things a little more exciting, and a little more fair. I will be interested to see where it goes.
Also included in the e-mail was a few words concerning Frank Riherd, Jr., who has maintained KHSAA.org’s online scoreboard for nearly 30 years now.
Riherd made it known some time ago that he would be stepping away from these duties, but with a recent diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), he has now announced that he will be finishing up after June 30 of this year. KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tacket was quoted, saying, “We deeply love Frank and the great things he has done for the KHSAA, its member school administrators and coaches, and a generation of students, and want that legacy project to continue long into the future. While the future scoreboard may not be identical and could take on a different look or feel, we would not be acting responsibly if we didn’t work to continue this great project. We are committed to the scoreboard continuing in 2026-27 and beyond after Frank steps aside, and we are forever indebted.”
If you are a sports reporter, coach, administrator or simply a fan of high school athletics, you likely already know how import Riherd’s scoreboard is when it comes to keeping track of scores and stats for teams across the commonwealth. It is truly an invaluable tool, which is why I am happy to hear that the KHSAA plans to keep it going. I know there may be some differences, but my hope is that they can keep it as close to the current format as possible.
Thank you, Mr. Riherd, for your many years of amazing work. It has benefitted thousands of people along the way.
