Athletic director: winter season full but co‑op rules and MIAA power rankings squeeze small districts

The athletic director told the Blackstone‑Millville School Committee on Jan. 12 that winter athletics are underway with strong participation but flagged policy and structural pressures that may reduce opportunities for small districts.

The director reported that boys’ basketball filled three levels with 42 players and ‘‘we didn't have to cut a single kid, so everybody that tried out is playing,’’ an outcome he described as a success for the program. He said girls’ basketball has full teams across levels (24 players) and that several teams have prospects to advance to postseason play.

Policy and co‑op concerns: committee members and the athletic director spent substantial time on co‑op rules and the MIAA power‑ranking system. The director explained that new co‑op requirements and statewide power rankings were intended to make postseason selection fairer but warned they could penalize smaller districts and produce unintended incentives for school choice. ‘‘The letter of the law says that the reason for that co‑ops exist is when two schools both don't have enough players; but if we have two kids who want to play hockey, we don't qualify as a co‑op,’’ he said, describing how the regulations are tightening.

Officials also discussed persistent refereeing shortages and uneven officiating that, combined with the ranking system, may heighten tensions at competitive events and complicate scheduling. The athletic director said the district will launch a single athletics Google Site to centralize schedules and noted Arbiter and other schedule platforms as resources.

Personnel and program continuity: resignations were announced for long‑time head football coach Josh Uglow and the varsity volleyball coach Vanessa; the athletic director said job postings will be filed and the district will recruit replacements.

Next steps: the athletic director said he will continue to monitor MIAA changes and report back; he offered to provide follow‑up reports at year‑end summarizing co‑op outcomes and any state guidance changes.