Regional Tourney Receives Makeover
Inland Empire League boys and girls basketball teams may find the road to state filled with more obstacles next year.
A proposal by the coaches to revamp the state-qualifying regional tournament was approved by league administrators. That’s good news as far as the coaches are concerned. The hope is the team surviving a much more rigorous regional tournament will be tested for state.
The tourney will feature wholesale changes, too. Among new twists are:
The boys and girls tournaments will be held at the home of the league champ.
The format will be true double elimination.
The championship game will be moved from a Saturday to a Tuesday, thus cutting off the layoff to state for the winner from 11 days to eight.
A new tiebreaking criteria will be used to determine tourney seeding. A coin toss will be used to break ties if head-tohead, games against upper division teams and strength of schedule criteria can’t settle seeds.
Nine of the 10 boys and girls coaches supported the changes. IEL administrators voted 4-1. The proposal will go before officials for a final vote in May.
Additionally, the regional champion will be awarded a trophy and players will receive medals.
The league also will benefit from increased gate receipts, with the tournament at the home of the league champion.
NCAA zebra
If you tuned in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament first-round game between Massachusetts and Central Florida, you may have seen a familiar face.
Lewiston High athletic director Ken Krahn, making his tourney debut, was among the three-man officiating crew.
Krahn, 46, has worked as a referee for 19 years, the last 13 in the Big Sky Conference. By virtue of being rated the top official in the Big Sky, Krahn earned an NCAA tourney game. First-year NCAA officials work one game. If Krahn earns a trip to the tournament in future years, he’ll be eligible to do more than one game.
As he took the court, Krahn thought back two decades to his first games as a referee, when he worked junior varsity games for $10. “I had to pinch myself a few times,” he said.
Moscow to play at Kibbie Dome
The Moscow High football team will play all of its home games at the University of Idaho’s Kibbie Dome next fall. The Bears’ field at the junior high will be torn up as a new track is installed.
, DataTimes