The Cage. Ask any local high school kid who has played high school basketball what their goal was at the start of every basketball season. My guess is 95% of them would mention The Cage.
For those of you who don’t know what The Cage is, it is the historic former home of UMass basketball. It has been the home to UMass greats Julius Erving, Jack Leahman and even John Calipari. But most people now know it as the home to one of the best events in high school sports, the Western Mass Basketball Championships. And now, thanks to an Eastern Mass driven proposal from the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, we are staring at the real possibility of this event simply disappearing, never to return.
The MIAA will tell you they are in the business of promoting the interests of our schools and student-athletes. They will tell you this decision will lead to greater “fairness” and a “true statewide tournament.” But make no mistake, this proposal is about two things — money and power.
The power aspect is the Eastern Mass schools know they can pass this proposal even if there is unanimous opposition from the Western and Central Mass schools. And the money piece simply involves the MIAA thinking that this “true statewide tournament” will draw more revenue for them, especially in the marquee sports.
Personally I have been lucky enough to be on the bench as an assistant coach to celebrate a state basketball championship. I also have been able to celebrate two Western Mass championships as a coach (in both baseball and basketball). So, I can tell you that both were great events in my coaching career, but the greatest memories I have all are from those WMass titles.
And it is not even close. The idea that future players, coaches, and fans will never have the opportunity to storm the court at The Cage and celebrate a WMass Championship is truly devastating. Instead we are looking at our local teams driving two hours to play some nameless, faceless opponent with many parents missing their kids play because of an inability to make it to the game. And guess what, the MIAA does not care!
There is a public meeting on Monday, Feb. 24, at Chicopee Comp where the MIAA will pay lip-service to the concerns of WMass schools and coaches. But make no mistake, they don’t care and view this change as inevitable.
I strongly encourage anyone who is at all connected to WMass high school sports to attend this meeting and let the MIAA know we will not go silently as they bully their way to a result they have already determined. Let your voices be heard and keep The Cage dreams alive.
Ralph Loos
Amherst
The writer is a varsity girls coach at Amherst High School.