Butler supports Fox Chapel’s proposal for WPIAL football realignment as way to rejoin league
A proposal that would see major realignment of the WPIAL’s football sections and scheduling could lead to Butler’s return to its longtime former home.
Fox Chapel released a proposal Tuesday, Sept. 30, that seeks to restructure how the WPIAL aligns its sections. Fox Chapel athletic director Mike O’Brien said it would improve competitive balance and address player safety concerns.
The plan, the school district’s third in recent years and with input from about 30 schools, according to Butler athletic director Bill Mylan, has the Golden Tornado returning to the WPIAL as a member of “League 3,” in a five-team section including Hampton, Shaler, Armstrong and the Foxes.
Mylan said it may require this plan or something similar for Butler to return to the WPIAL instead of being forced back into Section 1-6A with all of the Class 6A schools in the league.
“We aren’t even gonna consider entertaining that until we know what classifications come out and if they come out with some kind of proposal (that addresses competitive balance),” Mylan said.
Butler left the WPIAL in just football five years ago after years of losing. Looking to rebuild the program with the hope of one day returning to the league, the Tornado joined District 10 for four years and have been independent since 2024. They are 4-2 so far this season.
The plan divides WPIAL into seven leagues, and those are subdivided into sections. Rather than being based almost exclusively on male enrollment, the proposal takes into account a team’s recent roster size, how competitive it has been and geography.
The WPIAL’s current alignment is structured around PIAA classification and enrollment sizes first, with some consideration to geography and competitive balance.
“By establishing a structure that fosters competitive balance, this proposal ensures meaningful opportunities for growth and development for nearly 121 football programs,” O’Brien said in the proposal’s statement.
“The plan prioritizes player safety, well-being, and an enhanced overall experience for all participants, creating benefits that extend across the entire high school football landscape.”
Butler would be the lone 6A school in a section of 5A teams.
“I know I like the coaches for those teams, I know I get along with all those guys,” Butler head coach Eric Christy said.
The 16-team League 3 would also include Chartiers Valley, Ringgold, Laurel Highlands, West Mifflin, Latrobe and Connellsville in one section, and Beaver, Baldwin, Imani Christian, Hopewell and Blackhawk in a second section.
Seneca Valley would play in League 1 and face some familiar section opponents in Pine-Richland and North Allegheny.
Mars and North Catholic would be placed in League 2; Freeport and Knoch are slotted in League 4; and Summit Academy would be in the smallest grouping, League 7.
“What’s out on paper makes sense,” Christy said, acknowledging it’s difficult to “get into” because it’s a hypothetical proposal that could change if it even gets approved. “Anytime you hear the phrase competitive balance makes sense.”
Teams would still have to compete in their classifications come the postseason, as required by PIAA.
To determine playoff qualification, Fox Chapel’s plan proposes using a “Modified Harbin Point System” that weights wins and losses based on the opponents classification — a win against a League 1 team would reward seven points, League 2 would award 6.5 points, League 3 five, League 4 4.5, League 5 three, League 6 2.5 and League 7 one point.
Christy acknowledged Butler’s initial plan when it left WPIAL was to one day rejoin, but he also wants to make sure the Tornado are ready to compete again.
He’s previously said the team needs to dominate as an independent and win at least eight games a season to think about competing in an all-6A WPIAL section. Realignment along competitive balance lines would be more palatable.
“We wanna get competitive balance,” Christy said. “‘Hey, Butler is competitive with these.’ Great.”
“I love it because it gives us competitive games,” Mylan said. “At some point, no matter where you’re classified … from year to year you’re going to have teams that are more talented than others. … I don’t mind a couple (butt kickers) on our schedule, but (not a season full of them).”
Previous plans to realign the WPIAL based more on competitive balance have been shot down. Mylan and Christy said they participated in a meeting led by O’Brien in the spring. Mylan said around 30 schools were represented and the meeting included some of the league’s “powerhouses.”
The WPIAL would have to approve further discussion and pass it to the football subcommittee to consider approval of the proposal or one like it. As an independent, Butler is not part of the football subcommittee.
The next PIAA two-year enrollment cycle begins in 2026, and Mylan said schools will input their male and female enrollment figures between Oct. 1 and 15 to the PIAA. The PIAA typically announces the next cycle’s classifications, with a period for school districts to petition for a change, sometime in the winter.
Mylan and Christy are unsure if the proposal will be approved. Mylan said he thought a spring proposal would get some traction, but it was quickly shot down.
“I don’t even have a guess,” he said of the proposal’s possibility of approval.
Fox Chapel’s realignment plan, including current PIAA classifications.
