CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association has put off a final vote on two proposals that, if passed, could lead to Pittsburgh-area high schools pulling out of the state football playoffs.

Plans to shorten the football season from 16 weeks to 15 weeks and to increase the number of classification from four to six will be taken up again at the PIAA's July 23-24 meeting in Mechanicsburg.

The PIAA board of directors voted 20-11 Thursday to send the matter to a committee for further consideration after Rich Constantine, the president of PIAA District 7, asked for the delay so a compromise could possibly be worked out.

Most schools in District 7, the Pittsburgh-based Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League, strongly oppose the six-class format because it could mean the end to playing the WPIAL championship games in a single day at Heinz Field.

In a recent survey of WPIAL schools, 92 percent were against six classes and 75 percent favored dropping out of the state playoffs if the six-class format passed. Many coaches said it is more important to them and their players to play regionally televised championship games in the Steelers' stadium than it is to advance to the state playoffs.

"Our main goal at Yough is make the WPIAL playoffs and win a WPIAL title," Yough High coach Jim Wehner said. "We don't talk about winning a PIAA title."

Because of the wear and tear on Heinz's grass field, it is unlikely the Steelers would allow the high school championship games to be played on more than one day.

WPIAL executive director Tim O'Malley said dropping out of the PIAA playoffs would be "a last resort," but it would be considered if the PIAA went to six classes. The WPIAL is the nation's largest high school sports conference.

A six-class system would result in nearly three-quarters of all WPIAL schools advancing to the playoffs, and four Class A schools from District 5 moving into the WPIAL playoffs.

The six-class proposal passed two previous PIAA board votes with 18 and 17 affirmative votes, respectively, on the 31-member board but needed a two-thirds majority to pass a third and final vote.

Also Thursday, the PIAA voted to keep the basketball championships at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center through the 2011-12 season. Until the PIAA championships moved to Penn State in 2007, they were held in Hershey for 27 consecutive seasons.

The PIAA individual and team wrestling championships will remain at the Giant Center in Hershey through 2012, while the swimming championships will stay at Bucknell University in Lewisburg.