High School Split Playoffs..No More

[Cajun90]

My .02

I've had my kids in private/public for 14 years now. Mostly private with four different schools. I won't go into details but one just left a private for another private for sports reasons (they didn't offer the sport at school #1).

I'm personally sick of hearing about the "recruitment". I've never seen anything close to that and actually seen the opposite. Parents who have the means to send their children to private school and choose to do so obviously look at the whole picture and athletics is part of it for kids that are involved in athletics. Bottom line is that they don't need to recruit. Parents and kids look for those attributes in a school.

My child left a school (private) that didn't offer her sport and went to another school (private) that excels at her sport because she choose to do that. It cost our family very heavily in more ways than one but it was her choose.

Bottom line this private vs. public is bogus and sends the wrong message. Time for the private schools to go another direction.

[Duggie35]

There is a reason why private/select schools are gaining students and the public school system is losing students, and athletics is not the primary reason.

[Bankruptcyman]

If a new private school association was formed you could have an approximate 16 team 5A - 4A private league. That would leave an approximate 40 team 3A-1A private league. If LHSAA would not allow private league to play any of its members, then private league immediately announces immediate eligibility to all transfers. Large private schools could also schedule some of the elite schools from other states. Agree to pay the best officials more money and have the best officiate your games. The LHSAA is comprised of 30% private schools. Private schools will always get the shaft by pure majority vote. When they have had enough there will be a split. Scheduling will be difficult for private schools and more travel but gates will be better. Right now the public schools do not appreciate the value of the private schools.

[Bankruptcyman]

How about a schedule for STM and Teurlings where they have games against Jesuit, E.D. White, Evangel, St. Aug, Catholic BR, St. Paul's, etc. We could have an Acadiana Catholic League with VC, Hanson, Catholic -NI, Opelousas Catholic, St. Ed's, Sacred Heart -VP along with Westminster, LCA, Ascension Episcopal and Highland Baptist. The interest these games create could be huge.

[Mitch]

Can someone please tell me why a split is such a bad idea? Is it so wrong to have a level playing field for the schools that can't afford to pay the best coaches or have the best facilities to develop players? Evangel is a perfect example. The school didn't exist and two, three years later they're winning state championships. I know coaching is a big reason why but it takes athletes too. How can a public school compete with that? Answer- They can't! Not unless they have boosters to pay for great coaches and facilities. Most small schools don't have the resources to do that. Anyway, I would like to hear the downside of a split format. Thanks.

[BrockMeaux]

Because it's not a level playing field. The split is for playoffs only. Therefore, schools like VC and AES spend all regular season beating up on small public schools like Gueydan and Centerville, then go off to do their thing in the select field of the playoffs. The 1A public bracket, meanwhile, includes an inane number of byes for top seeds because they can't fill a bracket because teams that are winless are asked to participate (Gueydan, for example, turned down playoff bids for two years because we were winless the first two years of the split before making it as a mid-seed last year with 2 wins). That waters down the product to the point of it no longer mattering.

In my opinion, the answer is to give fewer trophies, not more. There are pretty much two solutions: one, private schools form their own association, play their own regular and postseasons, if they want to recruit openly, go for it. I'd have no problem with that. Option two, totally redefine the class makeups and districts. 1A grows a bit to include the smaller end of what is now 2A, 2A grows to include the bottom half of current 3A, 3A grows to include about half of what is now 4A, 4A grows to include the rest of 4A and the majority of 5A. You then create two optional "open class" divisions for people that want to play up or against more elite programs, one for smaller schools that would include schools the size of current 1-3A and all private schools of that size, and one for the "big boys" that want to play up in competition, public or private, the size of 800+ students on campus; I'd also be alright with letting the open class schools - whether public or private - be open in recruiting as long as there were some guidelines in place so it's not the wild west. So basically, classes 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, and let's call them Open Class A and Open Class AA. 6 championships; districts, regular seasons, and playoffs happen by class (so the 1A public schools wouldn't be in the same district as the private schools in Open Class A, for example); and you still provide a split, but you also eliminate a classification and grow the other classes so that you aren't forced to water down a bracket with low-to-0 win teams just to have a playoff.

You may not agree with that, and that's fine. But at least the way I have it drawn up in my head, it would make sense and serve as a good middle ground for those who want championships to mean something while still splitting off juggernauts into separate classes to appease those principals who want their programs to make the playoffs and have championship hopes, all staying under the banner of the LHSAA.

[CajunRed]

There is a reason why private/select schools are gaining students and the public school system is losing students, and athletics is not the primary reason.

Yes

[CajunRed]

The schools that are in favor of reuniting (select & non-select) should get together and discuss the possibility of creating a new high school athletic organization in Louisiana.

Yes

[CrazyCajun]

No Wonder we are spitting out a bunch of immature, self entitled and helpless young adults. They get to real life and sit around waiting for someone to level the "playing field." They are being taught that crap all through school.

[31Ragin97]

Can someone please tell me why a split is such a bad idea? Is it so wrong to have a level playing field for the schools that can't afford to pay the best coaches or have the best facilities to develop players? .....t... Thanks.

Interesting point,could make a good college thread as well

[RedBug58]

Can someone please tell me why a split is such a bad idea? Is it so wrong to have a level playing field for the schools that can't afford to pay the best coaches or have the best facilities to develop players? Evangel is a perfect example. The school didn't exist and two, three years later they're winning state championships. I know coaching is a big reason why but it takes athletes too. How can a public school compete with that? Answer- They can't! Not unless they have boosters to pay for great coaches and facilities. Most small schools don't have the resources to do that. Anyway, I would like to hear the downside of a split format. Thanks.

Acadiana HS seems to do just fine. Multiple state football championships. On the flip side, STM has never won a state championship. There are a lot more factors than just public/private.

[CajunJack55]

Acadiana HS seems to do just fine. Multiple state football championships. On the flip side, STM has never won a state championship. There are a lot more factors than just public/private.

This happened after the Evangels weren't allowed to play in 5A or 4A any longer and then them and John Curtis were forced to play down. I think it was a few bad apples. This is were most of the ____ hit the fan. Small public schools were fine (for the most part) with the way things were until John Curtis, Evangel and Calvery came along. Now no one wants to play them. In my opinion let them play 5A if they want, tweek and inforce the rules like they do here in Texas. They need to find a way to make everyone play by the same rules not just "level the playing field"