Expect much squabbling over the next six months between the PIAA, WPIAL and football coaches around the state.

A new proposal from District 9 football committee chairperson Bob Tonkin is in its formative stages.

According to the Washington Observer-Reporter, PIAA Executive Director Bob Lombardi said the process is in a “discussion phase” to move to six classes in football.

Under the new proposal, all six classes would be split into around 97 teams apiece and would shorten the season by one week.

While it would enviably require more driving and cause some scheduling issues for bigger/smaller schools in many districts, it’s a step in the right direction.

The PIAA just needs to find a way to iron out numerous kinks, like where to lose a week from the season and how to adjust team’s schedules and playoff qualification.

The earliest any proposal could take effect is 2016. It would be the first expansion the PIAA has made since it added Quad-A in 1980.

In 2009, a planned expansion to six classes was voted down after passing two readings at the PIAA level.

Karns City football coach Ed Conto hopes the state makes the switch.

Based on current enrollment figures, the Gremlins would move up to Class AAA.

The cutoff for AA is 209 and Karns City’s current male enrollment is 213.

“I know it’s been an ongoing thing for a couple of years now,” Conto said. “We need to do something to shorten the weeks of the season, it’s overlapping too far into basketball. Going to six classifications is a fair thing to do.”

Based on current male enrollment figures, seven of the 13 area football schools would move up at least one class.

Butler and Seneca Valley, both in the WPIAL, would be in the new 6A class.

Only eight other schools in the district — Canon-McMillan, Central Catholic, Connellsville, Hempfield, Mt. Lebanon, Norwin, North Allegheny and Penn Hills — would be the same size.

Mars and Knoch would both bump to 4A, while Grove City, Karns City and Slippery Rock would head up to AAA.

Moniteau (AA), Summit Academy (AA), A-C Valley (A), Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (A) and Union (A) would all stay put.

The biggest holdup right now will come from the WPIAL.

There is a lot of pride in playing the championship games at Heinz Field every season.

It’s a neat tradition and more exciting than playing at Hershey Park.

But there’s no way the Steelers could sign off on hosting six title games in such a short amount of time.

With attendance down — and it’s not like the Steelers give them the stadium rent-free — moving away from the stadium might make for a better atmosphere.

“If you have four public schools and four private schools, the attendance for the public school is always double or triple the private,” Conto said. “Attendance-wise, the PIAA was losing a lot of money because of that.”

Josh Rizzo is a sports writer for the Butler Eagle.