Harvest Prep embraces challenge in new division
One couldn’t blame coach Milan Smith and his Harvest Prep football players for going to work each day with a chip on their shoulders.
Since Smith took over the program in 2014, all the Warriors have done is win. They’ve reached the playoffs six straight times, advancing to the state semifinals in 2016 and 2019. That resume includes a 37-0 record in Midstate League play.
But regardless of Harvest Prep’s achievements, Smith feels like he is continually fighting an uphill climb.
The MSL relocated the Warriors from the Cardinal Division to the Ohio Division, which includes larger schools, for football only starting in 2019. Nevertheless, they beat the likes of Columbus Academy, Grandview, Ready and Whitehall to win another conference title.
During the offseason, the Ohio High School Athletic Association used competitive-balance modifications to move the Warriors from Division VII to Division V.
“We’ve never shied away from challenges; in fact, we tend to thrive on adversity,” Smith said. “Any of our opponents will attest to how prepared we are and how hard we compete regardless of who we play. Every year it seems like it’s something new we’ve got to battle. I may not understand or necessary agree with the rules that are applied to us, but we’ll play with the cards we’re dealt with and I’m sure we’ll compete.”
In 2019, Harvest Prep had just 79 boys in school. But that enrollment number was adjusted to 164 (one boy over the cutoff) by the OHSAA for two reasons: The private school attracts a handful of transfers and most of its players live in Columbus and not in its designated attendance zone of Canal Winchester.
Buckeyes coach Ryan Day has proposed a condensed season that begins in January.
Revenue produced by football makes up more than half of the Ohio State athletic department’s annual operating budget, according to a review of recent financial reports submitted to the NCAA.
The two biggest sources of footballrelated revenue from Ohio State are ticket sales and media rights, which approached more than $80 million in the 2019 fiscal year. The school also makes money from concessions, food sales and parking fees on gamedays.
Financial concerns have trailed Ohio State since the outbreak of COVID-19 in March that first put the 2020 football season in limbo.
As a result, the athletic department began the 2021 fiscal year with an interim budget in place for July and August.
Other Big Ten schools are in a similar financial predicament without a football season.
Iowa has forecasted a loss of $100 million in revenue, prompting the school to cut four sports teams last week, including men’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and men’s tennis. jkaufman@dispatch,com @joeyrkaufman
It is one thing to have clusters of coronavirus cropping up among students who are ignoring protocols for mass gatherings, it is quite another thing to submit big-time athletes to undue risk, all for the sake of maintaining the high standards of living for big-time coaches and administrators.
The SEC, ACC and Big 12 are a mess right now. Last week, UNC reacted to 130 confirmed cases of COVID-19 by reverting to online classes. And the football players got back to practice. Meanwhile, at Alabama, 531 cases were confirmed and the school president threatened suspensions for students who violated safety protocols. And the football players practiced. At Syracuse, 23 students were suspended for partying in close quarters. And the football players practiced.
There is a difference. marace@dispatch.com @Michaelarace1