Div. 1A tournament conversations have ramped up among a couple MIAA committees lately, and field hockey’s committee is joining in.
As part of a nearly two-hour meeting in which members discussed several notable topics Wednesday morning, the MIAA field hockey committee voted 11-0, with one abstention, in favor of further exploring the premier tournament with the Tournament Management Committee.
Members weighed in on future tournament venues, NFHS rule changes and the 2025 state tournament format as well, but an open discussion on the Div. 1A tournament took up the most time.
“I think it’s worth exploring,” said coach’s representative and Quaboag head coach John O’Neill. “I think anything that makes field hockey better is worth exploring. And I think this is an opportunity to make the sport grow.”
“Maybe this an opportunity for the next evolution of (the statewide tournament),” said field hockey committee liaison and MIAA deputy director Sherry Bryant. “Another way to add an exciting element to our tournament offerings, and another opportunity to bring some interest to the sports and highlight the student-athletes.”
All four years of the newer statewide tournament format have seen Watertown (Div. 3) and Uxbridge (Div. 4) crowned state champions, while Walpole and Andover have met in every Div. 1 state final. Sandwich (Div. 3) appeared in three of the last four state finals, and Monomoy (Div. 4) has reached the last two. In the seasons those two didn’t get to the title game, they still made the Final Four.
Bryant said that based on other committee discussions and how pattern of dominance might be defined, field hockey is “borderline” and doesn’t directly fit the current criteria, but that could change.
By design, the Div. 1A tournament takes the dominant programs across all divisions from any given year and puts them together in a separate bracket to open up competitiveness for the divisions they were pulled from. As of now, teams that qualify for the Div. 1A tournament – which would be the teams with the highest ratings in the current power rankings system in any given year – would not be able to opt out of the premier tournament.
“I can see both sides,” said Quaboag athletic director Dave Bouchard. “I can see (the powers say) they want to stay so they have a better chance to compete for a state championship. And I can see lots of other teams saying, ‘Let’s get them out to give other people a chance.’ ”
“I think a 1A would be wonderful for this sport and I think that it would really help the sport grow,” O’Neill added. “Uxbridge already plays some of the top teams in the state, Div. 1, 2, 3, 4. … I would love to see what they would do in a state tournament with all of those teams. And I would to see what those teams would do in a state tournament against Uxbridge because I think that would make the state tournament unique.”
Bryant encouraged members to discuss the topic with their constituents before the field hockey committee’s next meeting, tentatively scheduled for May 22.
Members agreed that regardless of a Div. 1A, four divisions is right for field hockey.
In a review of the 2024 state tournament, Bryant felt it was an “overall success” with the last-minute changeover of Terri Pillsbury (former Saugus athletic director) and Cami Molinare (Manchester-Essex athletic director) as new tournament directors. Bryant revealed an approximate $3,000 loss from the tournament, which she said is a “growing trend” among other sports, too.
Feedback on Worcester State as host of the state finals was positive, though Bryant recommended members consider high school venues for the future.
“People have commented on the tournament atmosphere,” Bryant said. “(Volleyball teams) thought it was awesome and they requested to do the same thing in the spring.”
Field hockey played the 2021 and 2022 state finals at high schools, and O’Neill’s retort was how excitement “lost momentum” because teams didn’t know their site until shortly before the final, rather than programs building a path to a championship venue since the preseason. Bouchard thought a high school site could be predetermined well in advance, and felt it was worth exploring to avoid a state championship in the emptiness of larger college venues that slate early morning games.
Members agreed on ratifying some of the language of the 2025 state tournament format rules as well. That included clarifying overtime procedure, as the old explanation confused officials and they initially skipped a mandated double overtime before corrections were made in a tied Div. 1 first-round matchup last postseason.