[Spectacular_Insanity]

Well if you liked Cross Game then I would definitely check out Touch and H2. They are both my Mitsuru Adachi and follow similar threads about baseball with a romance subplot. Or is it a romance with a baseball subplot? You get my drift. They've got aging animation art, but the story is solid and still there. Touch was a personal favorite, as it also has several movies. One live-action and four animated, I believe. I didn't watch the live-action, but I did watch 3 of the animated movies. I really enjoyed them.

If you're looking for more sports-oriented shows, then also check out Eyeshield 21 (amer. football), Giant Killing (soccer), Knight in the Area (soccer) or Kuroko no Basuke ("Kuroko's Basketball"). My personal favorite of these is Knight in the Area, but YMMV.

If you're looking for a romance with some competitive flavor thrown in, definitely check out Chihayafuru. It's Josei, but I have to say its romantic subplot is better than most romantic anime's actual romantic MAIN plot. Chihayafuru is one of those rare anime that pulls off touching, exciting, cute, and funny all at the same time. If Deadman Wonderland, Bakuman 2nd, and Mirai Nikki hadn't been airing in the same season, it would have probably made my #1 favorite slot for Fall 2011. That being said, it's my favorite josei/shoujo of all time, so there's that.

Some shoujo romance shows that are airing this season are Sukitte Ii Na Yo and Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun. Both very different in premise and execution, but both are instantly recognizable as fitting somewhere into that shoujo romance niche. Sukitte is much more serious and even a little bit on the morose side (leaning towards josei), Kaibutsu is much more on the gags/humor side (leaning towards shounen). Just depends on what you like.

And while I got talking about it, I suppose Mirai Nikki *might* fit your requirements in the loosest of terms. It does, in fact have a romance that takes place in a school, but it's got Yuno the Yandere in it. (Welcome to Mirai Nikki, where every path is a Yuno Path) I loved it, but it's borderline horror which you might not like. (Or you might love it like I did, I have no idea)

Another (yes, that's its actual name) is also a horror anime with a tragic end, but also a decent romantic subplot. The main plot was the main focus, however, and if you don't know what happens it'll keep you guessing. (It did me, I kept thinking it was going to be a Sixth Sense ending, then it wasn't. I felt dumb.)

Also Bakuman. But while the romance is the driving force of the main character's motivation, one would argue that the focus of the show flips back and forth between the main character's work as a mangaka and his love interest. I personally love it, though it's only in the school setting for the first season or so.

For an ongoing anime this year I'm really enjoying Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo. I'm actually not sure if this is going to be a harem or not, but the focus does seem to be on one girl more than the others (Mashiro), so we'll see. Immensely enjoyable show that's got a light scattering of ecchi with funny dialogue and very cute voice acting. Oh, and the OP and ED are sung by the voice actresses, too. I freaking love that.

Those ones were more recent, but how about an old one? A personal childhood favorite of mine was Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure. The romantic subplot was really sweet and endearing, and while the show is more-or-less a parody of Evangelion, I always considered it superior to Eva because it was essentially Eva with good character development, a convincing love story, and main characters that didn't make you want to gouge your eyes out with a rusty spoon. That, and Mitsuki Rara is probably still on my top-5 list of anime girl crushes, lol.

Another (kinda) old one for ya. Ah! My Goddess. Probably one of my favorite anime ever (top 10 AT LEAST), and it's got a great romance between a goddess and a motor geek. It's a school setting, but keep in mind it's also a college school setting, so it's not as rigid in structure as a typical school anime is, and it doesn't revolve around their school activities aside from K1's club.

I think that's enough for now. I honestly don't think I can put any more down with decent descriptions (more like my personal opinions) without going into everything I ever watched that was 1) Romance 2) School-Life and/or 3) Osananajimi ("Childhood Friends"). That would freaking take an entire thread unto itself. >_>