School District Votes to Separate Private from Public in PIAA

[jrshooter]

Re: School District Votes to Separate Private from Public in PIAA

Well, it sorta depends on how you're looking at it.

In essence, every kid at a private school is coming there from a public school district. They could have enrolled in St. Patrick's at age 5, they still reside in a public school district. So are the "unfair" transfers those that happen upon entrance into ninth grade? Seventh? 11th?

I still say if Wilson wants to fly that flag, it had better have a damn impeccable history when it comes to athletic-based transfers.

[Dozsa2]

Re: School District Votes to Separate Private from Public in PIAA

When I was in high school, Erie Cathedral Prep and Bethlehem Catholic both 'played up' to AAAA. While I don't really care either way what happens with this (I'm more of a college football fan), imagine the top 'non-boundary' class if those schools are divided to big school and small school for their own playoffs:

Erie Cathedral Prep
Pittsburgh Central Catholic
Imhotep
Bishop McDevitt
Berks Catholic
Bethlehem Catholic
St. Joseph's Prep
LaSalle
Archbishop Wood

[jrshooter]

Re: School District Votes to Separate Private from Public in PIAA

Wyomissing adds its voice.

https://www.readingeagle.com/sports/...arate-playoffs

[Fightingscot82]

Re: School District Votes to Separate Private from Public in PIAA

I'm not sure this is the best solution. Once we go back to separate playoff brackets we'll still have that debate about "Who is better?"

Nobody and I mean NOBODY can cite how one of the 49 other states handles this better than PA. The PIAA should (or pay someone to) study how this is handled elsewhere and propose 2-3 options. Without doing any work, I'd say the options are a) separate playoffs, b) make privates play up one level, or c) limit participants to a radius around the school.

[EastStroud13]

Re: School District Votes to Separate Private from Public in PIAA

My thought has always been to give every non-boundary school a multiplier to multiply their enrollment by to get an enrollment number to use for classification (e.g. 1.3).

A random thought I just had was to give extra points to teams that meet certain thresholds in the state playoffs. For example, say a private school wins the state title, they get something like 0.4 added to their enrollment multiplier, thus increasing their classification number. Second place could get 0.3, semifinalists get 0.2, quarterfinalists get 0.1. And then after each year a team doesn't make the state playoffs, they are reduced by 0.1, with a minimum of that 1.3 baseline multiplier.

Essentially what this would do would be a) account for the non-boundary issue, and b) self-correct for competitive balance in the case of teams that are still dominant. So for example, if Cathedral Prep goes deep in the playoffs enough years in a row, they eventually are forced up to 5A and later 6A. No idea if anyone would agree to this but it's fun to think about!

[iupgroundhog]

Re: School District Votes to Separate Private from Public in PIAA

I'm not sure this is the best solution. Once we go back to separate playoff brackets we'll still have that debate about "Who is better?"

Nobody and I mean NOBODY can cite how one of the 49 other states handles this better than PA. The PIAA should (or pay someone to) study how this is handled elsewhere and propose 2-3 options. Without doing any work, I'd say the options are a) separate playoffs, b) make privates play up one level, or c) limit participants to a radius around the school.

I think the only solution is separate playoffs. It's apples and oranges. Yes, you will be left with the question of "Who is better?" In rivalry situations like the Wyomissing-Berks Catholic one cited in the article they can hash it out on the field for the bragging rights.during the regular season. In the end, the playing field has to be level.

[jrshooter]

Re: School District Votes to Separate Private from Public in PIAA

I'm not sure this is the best solution. Once we go back to separate playoff brackets we'll still have that debate about "Who is better?"

Nobody and I mean NOBODY can cite how one of the 49 other states handles this better than PA. The PIAA should (or pay someone to) study how this is handled elsewhere and propose 2-3 options. Without doing any work, I'd say the options are a) separate playoffs, b) make privates play up one level, or c) limit participants to a radius around the school.

This is what I've said from the very beginning, Fightingscot.

We HAD this before. Probably earlier than some of you remember. And they always had the frustration at the end of the year, wondering how the non-public champ would do against the public champ. You know what the main difference was? You didn't have Philly sending super-teams into states every year, because they weren't part of the mix.

So you have a state semifinalist saying, "We would have won states if Imhotep wasn't drawing kids from other places." And my question is, what is the tragedy in that? You have Team A, you have Team B. The better team usually wins. I know the playing field isn't exactly even, but as has been mentioned previously, it's a sword that cuts both ways. Ask Harrisburg, McDevitt, Steel-High and Central Dauphin.

Good kids are going to gravitate toward good programs -- and perhaps even more crucially, hot programs. Period.

Use a multiplier if necessary. But don't create separate classes and dilute the state championships.

[Bloom Burger]

[Fightingscot82]

Re: School District Votes to Separate Private from Public in PIAA

Publicly-funded but not public. There's a difference. There are private companies out there running charter schools.

[jrshooter]

Re: School District Votes to Separate Private from Public in PIAA

As bad as it is in football, basketball is worse, especially at the small school level. Tiny rural country schools have to play charter school all star teams and get murdered.

Again, this is the natural separation process.

Forbes Road goes 23-1 against Southern Fulton, Turkeyfoot Valley and Rockwood. Then they run into Lincoln Park in the first round of states. One, they see where they fit in the larger scheme of things. Two, they probably have a story they'll be telling at their 35th high school reunion.

[Horror Child]

Re: School District Votes to Separate Private from Public in PIAA

The Inter-Ac league still isn't in the PIAA, are they?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: School District Votes to Separate Private from Public in PIAA

Again, this is the natural separation process.

Forbes Road goes 23-1 against Southern Fulton, Turkeyfoot Valley and Rockwood. Then they run into Lincoln Park in the first round of states. One, they see where they fit in the larger scheme of things. Two, they probably have a story they'll be telling at their 35th high school reunion.

Lincoln Park is just ..... not even what to call it.

#dirty

[Bloom Burger]

Re: School District Votes to Separate Private from Public in PIAA

Publicly-funded but not public. There's a difference. There are private companies out there running charter schools.

[jrshooter]

Re: School District Votes to Separate Private from Public in PIAA

The Inter-Ac league still isn't in the PIAA, are they?

No. Unless I'm mistaken, those schools are the state's only outliers at this point.

[EastStroud13]

Re: School District Votes to Separate Private from Public in PIAA

I know Wyoming Seminary is non-PIAA for football and wrestling, but I think they are PIAA for some other sports.