CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- The PIAA wants nothing to do with high school spring football practice, but the state body will permit teams to be more "physical" in offseason workouts.

At Thursday's Board of Control meetings, the PIAA passed a rule that allows teams to use a school's blocking/tackling sleds for offseason workouts. The rule also allows teams to practice "form" tackling and blocking.

This new measure comes on the heels of a rule passed for this spring that permits teams to use helmets and shoulder pads in offseason workouts and seven-on-seven competitions. But under that rule, "physical contact" was not allowed unless a blocking/tackling dummy or shield was used.

According to the rule passed Thursday, "physical contact is blocking and/or tackling." But "physical contact" now permits blocking/tackling with shields and sleds, and also "minimum risk form blocking or tackling."

Confusing? Well, the PIAA has commissioned Blackhawk High School coach Joe Hamilton and his staff to produce a video that will explain what is allowed and not allowed in form tackling and blocking. The video will be available on the PIAA's website.

However, the new rules do not mean that the PIAA is heading toward organized spring football practices with full pads and contact. The PIAA is against spring football practices and won't even put the idea to a vote. Apparently, most athletic directors in the state are opposed to it, too.

Tom Wagner, a PIAA Board of Control member and representative of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Directors Association, informed the board Thursday that he sent an e-mail to every athletic director in the state, asking them whether they favored spring football practice. Wagner said that only about 140 athletic directors responded, but that it was clear that ADs are opposed to it.

"More than 80 percent reject the idea," Wagner said, "and some of those athletic directors are also football coaches."

A few weeks ago, the WPIAL Board of Control stated it is against spring football practices in full pads.

• The organization is concerned about a drastic drop in ticket revenue from the PIAA basketball playoffs the past few years, especially this past season. In the 2010 PIAA basketball playoffs, ticket revenue was down almost $400,000 from a few years ago.

"It used to be that we could count on more than $1 million dollars from basketball," said PIAA Executive Director Brad Cashman. "This past year, it was only $700,000."

One of the reasons for the drop in basketball ticket revenue is that teams from the Philadelphia Public and Catholic Leagues have little fan following, especially those teams in the Public League. Some schools might bring more than 1,000 fans to a big PIAA playoff game. But it is not uncommon for a Public League team to bring fewer than 100 fans for a championship game.

Bob Lombardi, associate executive director of the PIAA, pointed out to the board how a few years ago a Philadelphia team made it to a championship game with a ticket presale of $17.

"Now I don't know how that happens when tickets were $8 and $4," Lombardi said with a laugh. "But that gives you an idea of what we're dealing with sometimes."

Some board members contend that the abolishment of true east-west brackets a few years ago has hurt basketball attendance. Some Eastern Pennsylvania schools play through the western side of the basketball brackets. Thus, sometimes a school from the Pittsburgh area might play a team from Philadelphia on a Wednesday night and the game is played three hours from each school. That affects attendance drastically.

• The PIAA has steering committees for every sport, and those committees meet to come up with ideas to present to the PIAA Board of Control. In June, the PIAA basketball steering committee will examine the possibility of returning to true east-west brackets. But the committee will also examine the possibility of having separate tournaments for public and private/parochial schools.

• The PIAA passed new team wrestling championship brackets that change the number of teams involved in Class AA from 16 to 17, and in Class AAA from 18 to 20. The WPIAL will continue to have two teams qualify in Class AA and three in AAA.

Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.