It appears a proposal that would move the PIAA football playoffs from four to six classes in 2016 has some legs to it.

District 9 representative Bill Tonkin first presented the proposal to the PIAA in December and was met with an overwhelming approval by the directors of the Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association, who voted in favor by a 30-3 margin.

The proposal aims to shorten the season by one week and offer a more level playing field for each class. Furthermore, it's aimed to prevent teams from practicing and playing in poor weather, avoiding disruptions to winter season sports and improving attendance at state playoff games.

Last season, the PIAA championship games were played on Dec. 13 and 14. This year's championship dates are a week later, slated for Dec. 18 and 19.

The PIAA has recommended a move to its strategic planning committee and Tonkin will further discuss the proposal with athletic directors this month.

This is the second time a six-classification proposal has come into play. In 2009, a plan passed two readings at the PIAA level before it was ultimately voted down by a 15-13 margin at it's final stage of the process.

Pennsylvania has 581 schools competing in football, which puts them in the upper echelon of national numbers, as Texas, California, Ohio and Michigan have more schools playing football. The plan would reduce the number of schools from each classification from 146 to 97. The proposal also moves up the practice date for football by one week and would eliminate a second scrimmage, only if schools choose to do so, as long as they would fit it into their schedule before their regular season opener, which would be August 26 in 2016.

The state championship games would then be held the first weekend of December.

There is still a long way to go for this proposal to be approved, but it appears there is more confidence in the action being taken now, than it was back in 2009.

The WPIAL will still be a major force in the voting of the this proposal, as the plan would restructure the PIAA tournament, which plays a factor into the WPIAL playing their district championship games in one weekend. If the plan is approved, they would not be able to to play all their district championship contests at Heinz Field. That could be a problem for many.

It also could open the door for other sports clamoring for more classifications, as 729 schools across the state participate in basketball and 672 in baseball. If football can get more classes with fewer participating schools, the argument for other sports that have more schools participating would be valid.

As far as where District 11 schools would fall in the ranks for football a potential list for all six classes is below.

Class 6A (12): Allen, Easton, Emmaus, Freedom, Dieruff, Liberty, Northampton, Parkland, Pleasant Valley, Pocono Mountain East, Pocono Mountain West and Stroudsburg.

Class 5A (6): Bangor, East Stroudsburg North, East Stroudsburg South, Nazareth, Southern Lehigh and Whitehall.

Class 4A (6): Blue Mountain, Central Catholic, Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, Pottsville and Saucon Valley.

Class 3A (12): Bethlehem Catholic, North Schuylkill, Northern Lehigh, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Palisades, Palmerton, Pen Argyl, Pine Grove, Salisbury, Tamaqua and Wilson.

Class 2A (5): Catasauqua, Mahanoy, Minersville, Panther Valley and Schuylkill Haven.

Class 1A (6) : Marian Catholic, Nativity BVM, Shenandoah, Tri-Valley and Williams Valley.

Teams would have the option to move up in a classification as well.