Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, Emma Lazarus once wrote ... and had she been referring to the Connecticut boys' high school basketball tournament, she might have taken her own swan dive into Upper New York Bay. The hardwood huddled masses have been thrown to the hungry heathens for too many years.

Until now.

And so mad props and bon mots to the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, the state's governing body for high school athletics, for hearing the voices from the wilderness. The CIAC Boys' Basketball Committee and Connecticut High School Coaches Association Executive Board have sent a plan forward to the state athletic directors that potentially alters next season's state tournament format, essentially liberating small public schools from the specter of playing schools of choice in the state tournament.

A school of choice, as defined by the CIAC, consists of "all schools that can draw students from numerous communities or from outside their district's boundaries," which includes charter, magnet, parochial, technical and vocational agriculture.

In recent years, schools of choice have dominated the Class S and Class M divisions, thus drawing the ire of coaches and other observers who believe — correctly — that choice schools bear a perpetual competitive advantage.

In recent years, Tourtellotte and Wheeler have played for the same trophy as Sacred Heart and its gaggle of Division I players. East Catholic, with college-bound starters from Hartford, Bloomfield, South Windsor and Wethersfield, has eliminated Waterford in the semifinals and quarterfinals, while the Lancers' starters come from Pennicott Rd., Alewife Rd. and Niantic River Rd.

This isn't merely an inconvenience, like having to fold socks. This is an annual problem.

Now, however, the model (seen in the accompanying graphic) divides the state into Divisions I, II, III and IV, based on enrollment, historical performance, schedule strength and input from a committee.

Divisions III and IV, the erstwhile Class M and S, are virtually all public schools playing by similar rules. Most choice schools have moved into Divisions I and II, thus creating more equity.

The CIAC sent a survey to coaches and other administrators recently seeking input before the next step.

But this is a great start.

I have long believed this much: Just because schools have similar boys' enrollments hardly necessitates a balanced state tournament model. It's the mechanism behind the way enrollments are formed, not the numbers themselves. A public high school and school of choice might have 300 boys apiece. But if the public high school's pool of potential players comes from one town and the school of choice draws from multiple towns, the school of choice has a competitive advantage. Perpetually.

CIAC officials should be commended for hearing the message and acting on it.

Lone complaint: I'm not sure how the committee arrived at the decision to place Ledyard in Division I (the state's most difficult) and New London in Division II. True enough, Ledyard has thrived for the last six years under coach Dave Cornish, playing tough schedules and competing in Class LL, despite enrollment numbers (even with the Agri-Science program) that suggest otherwise.

Historically, however, New London is the superior program. It is a bigger school, given that its enrollment numbers factor in the Science and Technology High School, able to draw from towns throughout the region. Hence, if the CIAC seeks feedback, here's some feedback: The Division I distinction, despite the recent success, is unfair to Ledyard.

Otherwise, the new format groups most choice schools in the same divisions. They can go summon potential players now from wherever they want, if they so choose. Relatively small public schools (Bacon, Waterford, Stonington) and small public schools (Old Lyme, Wheeler, Tourtellotte) get to play opponents who are playing by the same rules. That's called equity.

The plan has yet to be ratified. But it's heading that way. And that's good news. Maybe a tweak here and there. But congrats to the CIAC for listening. The huddled masses appreciate it.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.

PROPOSED CIAC BOYS' BASKETBALL DIVISIONS / 2016-17

(Local schools in bold print)

CLASS LL (DIVISION I)

Amity, Bridgeport Central, Cheshire, Crosby, Danbury, East Catholic, East Hartford, Fairfield Ludlowe, Fairfield Prep, Fairfield Warde, Glastonbury, Greenwich, Hamden, Hartford Public, Hillhouse, Ledyard, Manchester, McMahon, New Britain, Newington, NFA, Northwest Catholic, Norwalk, Notre Dame-West Haven, Ridgefield, Sacred Heart, Shelton, Simsbury, South Windsor, Southington, Stamford, Staples, Trinity Catholic, Trumbull, Weaver, Westill, Wilbur Cross, Windsor, Xavier.

CLASS L (DIVISION II)

Avon, Barlow, Bassick, Berlin, Bloomfield, Branford, Bristol Central, Bristol Eastern, Bulkeley, Bunnell, Career-New Haven, Conard, Darien, East Lyme, E.O. Smith, Farmington, Fitch, Foran, Guilford, Hall, Hand, Harding, Holy Cross, Immaculate, Kennedy, Lyman Hall, Maloney, Masuk, Middletown, Naugatuck, New Fairfield, New London, Newtown, North Haven, Notre Dame-Fairfield, Platt, Pomperaug, RHAM, Sheehan, St. Joseph, Stratford, Torrington, Wilby, West Haven, Wethersfield, Wilton, Woodstock Academy.

CLASS M (DIVISION III)

Abbott Tech, Ansonia, Bacon Academy, Bethel, Bullard-Havens, Brookfield, Capital, Career-Waterbury, Cheney Tech, Classical, Creed, Cromwell, East Haven, Ellington, Enfield, Granby, Haddam-Killingworth, Kaynor Tech, Killingly, Kolbe-Cathedral, Law, Lewis Mills, Montville, New Canaan, Nonnewaug, Northwestern Regional, Norwich Tech, Plainfield, Plainville, Prince Tech, Rockville, Rocky Hill, Sport Scences, St. Bernard, St. Paul, Stonington, Suffield, Tolland, University, Valley Regional, Vinal Tech, Waterford, Watertown, Weston, Windham, Wolcott, Woodland.

CLASS S (DIVISION IV)

Achievement, Aerospace, Amistad, Bolton, Canton, Coginchaug, Coventry, Derby, East Hampton, East Granby, East Windsor, Ellis Tech, Gilbert, Grasso Tech, Griswold, Goodwin Tech, Hale-Ray, Housatonic, Lyman Memorial, Litchfield, Metro Learning Center, Med Prof., Morgan, North Branford, O'Brien Tech, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Oxford, Parish Hill, Platt Tech, Portland, Public Safety, Putnam, Seymour, Shepaug Valley, Somers, Stafford, Terryville, Thomaston, Tourtellotte, Trinity College, Two Rivers, Wamogo, Westbrook, Wheeler, Whitney Tech, Wilcox Tech, Windham Tech, Windsor Locks, Wolcott Tech.

Note: Proposal was sent to all high school athletic directors and a copy was forwarded to The Day.