The upcoming 2024-2025 sports season in West Virginia will bring major changes to the sporting landscape. One significant change is the elimination of sectional basketball tournaments, which officials hope 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.
Among the teams that may be affected by this new regulation is Fairmont Senior Boys basketball team, which finished as the state runner-up in class AAA last year. Despite these 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 game shortening rules. Now, if a team is down 42 points or more in the third quarter, a running clock can be implemented. This is a departure from previous rules that required being down 35 points or more in the fourth quarter before a running clock could be put into effect. Morgantown Mohigans head coach, Sean Biser, believes that this new rule will make games 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.
