WILSONVILLE – A new proposal out late last month could completely change the way high school football is structured in Oregon starting next season. In an effort to address issues with competitive balance and declining participation, the OSAA has assembled an ad-hoc advisory committee to come up with a solution.

The group met last month and released its second proposal, which would allow some school’s to drop down a level based on a two or four year period of success on the field. Teams that fall below a specific threshold would be given the opportunity to drop down to a lower classification for a trial period.

From the Umpqua Basin, Sutherlin and Riddle were the only teams to fall below the threshold, but both teams were already designated to drop down a classification based on the new enrollment cutoffs established in the OSAA’s new classification and districting guidelines for the 2018-2022 block.

The biggest change in the ad-hoc committee’s proposal would be for the Roseburg Indians. For football only, the Indians could be headed to one of four 6A super conferences. In the latest proposal, Roseburg would be placed in a 12-team conference with schools from Medford, Grants Pass, Eugene, Salem, and Bend. The conference could be split into two 6-team divisions.

The committee will meet again on Tuesday in Wilsonville and another meeting will be held on January 31.