https://www.thevillages.com/life/villager-backstory-meet-dick-dullaghan/?fbclid=IwAR1gYRllHqNFw8H_AClW6XeQIAxvxUtDbX06I1Hz2ITA22kdCilrZ-okgXk
Ran across this article posted on the Ben Davis High School Alumni page. Nice piece on Coach Dullaghan and what he's up to these days. Sounds like a lot of green fairways.
Might be an incentive to play a tough schedule, truthfully. That would make you better for the tournament. Maybe teams might sandbag? I don't know. Just spitballing.
Let's say that by the competition factor that 6A would have the 32 most successful programs over a given period by some mathematical algorithm. Then 5A would have the next 32 and then so on. I guess the only thing you might fight is the perception that some of the low schools would be seen as "losers" or something. It might also have the unintended consequence of the "rich get even richer."
I absolutely would support something like this. Maybe call it just the competition factor. It can work you up or down. If a school has sustained success they move up and up and up. If they have sustained struggle, they move down.
Makes for some messy travel in 6A Sectionals. Lafayette Jeff probably has to go up I-65 and Noblesville up I-69 if Crimsonace's great enrollment projections are correct.
The MIC shuffled a few years back because it seemed that the teams would often play in the final weeks and then end up playing in the first round of Sectional. They shuffled so that the teams wouldn't have to play back-to-back or close to back-to-back from reg. season to the tourney. Then Pike/LC joined and that necessitated a bit of shuffling of games again. This was particularly bad for NC/Warren/LN/LC who often end up in the same Sectional.