Removal of all-star games not welcomed by all coaches
In October 2013, the NCAA passed legislation restricting Division I football coaches from attending or speaking at high school events that featured an all-star game.
That included the Texas High School Coaches Association and Coaching School, which attracts 12,000 coaches from across the state but also hosted football and basketball all-star games dating back roughly 75 years.
Last year, the THSCA went on without the college coaches after a waiver was denied. But the association went the other way for this year’s convention, which wraps up Wednesday at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
In a move that didn’t come easily and has drawn criticism from some during coaching school, the THSCA eliminated the all-star games and filled its three-day convention with lectures and sessions with college coaches from across Texas and the nation.
Revenue a factor
“The all-star game is something that we dearly loved,” THSCA executive director D.W. Rutledge said. “We didn’t want to see it changed, but it came down to us having to make a decision messing with the dynamics of coaching school, which brings in revenue, or doing away with the all-star games.
“When you sit down and look at it, coaching school is the main thing our revenue is coming from, and the all-star game was our biggest liability.”
The football game started in 1935, and basketball followed in 1946. Many notables played in the games, including Pro Football Hall of Famers Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell and Thurman Thomas.
In recent years, however, the game lost its luster. Many of the state’s top athletes are on their respective college campuses by now. And with other high-profile football games like the Under Armour All-American Game and U.S. Army All-American Bowl, players have skipped the Texas game.
That caused problems for the THSCA.
“Our attendance had declined greatly,” Rutledge said. “We gave away 10,000-12,000 free tickets and got 5,000 people to the game. It cost us about $140,000-$150,000 to put on the all-star game each year. That wasn’t really a deciding factor, but if we kept the all-star game and couldn’t bring the college coaches in, that would really hurt the convention.”
The decision didn’t come without dissension.
“I think that was a mistake,” New Waverly basketball coach Dettrick Gordwin said. “I think it gives us a good chance to showcase our kids and show kind of what we’ve got. Not only that, it is a platform for those guys to get extra exposure.”
Added Tyler John Tyler football coach Ricklan Holmes: “As high school coaches that are in very good contact with college coaches, we are able see those guys anyway. We are able to go to their campus and get the same type of lectures they are giving to us here.”
Another option?
But others agreed with the move, seeing the benefit in being around college coaches. It will probably stay this way — the NCAA has denied three waivers — though there has been talk of moving the games to a different time.
“The relationship the coaches develop with not only the head coach and staff helps with recruiting on both sides,” Rutledge said. “That’s a real important dynamic for the coaches that come in here, and we try to bring those relations to a point at coaching school.”