Big changes are coming for the 2024-2025 sports season in West Virginia. One major change is the elimination of the sectional basketball tournament. Officials hope this change will increase competition in the playoffs. Instead of having separate sectional tournaments, two sections will be combined to create a regional tournament. The final four teams will advance to the state tournament in Charleston.
Fairmont Senior Boys basketball team, which was the state runner-up in class AAA last year, might be one of the teams affected by the new regulations. Despite the changes, their coach, Dave Retton, believes that upsets will still occur regardless of the system in place. Retton also suggests creating an outlet for playoff teams who may only play once in three weeks under the new regulations.
On the football side, changes have been made to the game shortening rule. Now, if a team is down 42 points or more in the third quarter, a running clock can be implemented. This is a change from the previous rule of needing to be down 35 points or more in the fourth quarter. Morgantown Mohigans head coach, Sean Biser, believes that the new rule will help make the game safer and provide a challenge for both teams involved.
Overall, with these changes in place, West Virginia sports fans can expect an exciting and competitive 2024-2025 sports season.