Minimal changes enacted for 2024-25 sports year

ALBUQUERQUE—Soccer, softball and football were topics with considerable interest at the final New Mexico Activities Association board of directors meeting of the 2023-24 school year on May 30.

FOOTBALL: The board voted to eliminate the “wins vs. district champions” portion of the seeding and selection criteria, something many coaches have wanted to be rid of for many years, even before the most recent realignment that increased the size of districts and reduced the overall number of 11-man districts from 20 to 13 in classes 2A-6A.

That leaves just five criteria points in the football selection process. NMAA Associate Director Dusty Young said this particular criteria was not attainable for many schools due to having a maximum of 10 regular-season games. The “wins vs. district champions” remains part of the criteria in other sports, such as basketball, which feature far more regular season contests.

There also were two discussion items related to prep football and its postseason.

In a spring survey sent by the NMAA, one of the subjects posited the following: higher seeds would host throughout all the football postseason, rather than having past history dictate the host for the semifinal and championship rounds.

The state’s athletic directors voted 68% in favor of this, the coaches 64% in favor. But that number is being pushed more by the 8-man thru Class 4A voters, Young said. Among the 5A and 6A coaches, he added, it was closer to a 50-50 vote.

One of the issues is making sure smaller school football venues are capable of hosting big playoff games, taking into account things such as seating capacity, quality of locker rooms and accommodations for people with disabilities.

Another survey question addressed the controversial topic of centralizing state championship football games.

It was 64% ADs/60% coaches in favor of this, Young said. The 5A and 6A coaches, as with the higher seeds question, were more of an even split.

One of the other alternatives briefly floated was more of a regionalization of title games, when it applied — like playing a hypothetical Jal-Eunice 2A state final at a nearby stadium in, say, Lovington or Hobbs.

SOCCER: It’s rare an action item fails to find approval from the NMAA board, but it happened regarding how the state soccer playoffs would play out.

Currently in all the classifications, the higher seed hosts games in the first round, quarterfinals and semifinals. The NMAA asked the board to revise this format with a proposal that only the first round and quarterfinals go to the higher seed, with the championship game and the semifinals to be held in the metro area.

The board split down the middle, 6-6; a tie meant the motion failed, so for now only the six championship games in November will be played in the metro area.

One soccer-related item that did gain board approval was this: Regular-season tournament games, which have previously been recorded as a tie for both teams — regardless of whether the game was decided in overtime or on penalty kicks — will now be reflected as a win/loss for the competing teams.

The OT/penalty kicks are applied only during tournaments.

SOFTBALL: NMAA Executive Director Sally Marquez perhaps laid the groundwork for future tweaking to what is a complicated and busy state tournament schedule.

In the larger classes, for example, the first round is single elimination, followed by double elimination in Week 2.

Marquez said 87% of athletic directors would like to amend the format, going single elimination in both the first round and the quarterfinals. It could be that double elimination be applied once each division reaches the semifinals.

“That’s an option,” Marquez said. Keeping the status quo is also an option. “There’s a lot of work to do before we make the final decision.”

This year, a large number of games in Week 2 were disrupted in Rio Rancho by rain, creating a scheduling nightmare, although the NMAA said it was able to mitigate most of the rescheduling that had to be done.

Changes to the 2025 playoff schedule could still occur before the end of this calendar year, Marquez said. The next NMAA board of directors meeting is in September. It was only a discussion item May 30.

SWIMMING/DIVING: With the high school season and club season pretty much overlapping, there is competition for both athletes and officials.

Marquez plans to ask the state’s coaches their thoughts on the sport’s issues.

One possibility, Marquez said, is shifting swimming from a winter sport to a fall sport, a change that she said has been discussed.

ROUNDING UP THE REST: Among the other voting items Thursday included the protocols for the eligibility of athletes who transfer after tryouts.

Students who transfer after taking part in tryouts — or after practicing at that school for five or more days after the official practice start date — won’t be able to compete at a varsity level at a new school for that school year.

A student who transfers after participating in an NMAA-sanctioned competition (at any level) would be restricted from participating in that sport at any level if they leave for a new school.

The NMAA considers an athlete to have had a season of participation if he or she takes part in an NMAA-sanctioned competition.