Competitive balance is approved; what’s next?

A competitive-balance proposal was passed yesterday by members of the Ohio High School Athletic Association after years of trying. Even so, there was a wait-and-see reaction to the news.

No one, including OHSAA commissioner Dan Ross, is sure what impact the plan — which will modify how schools are classified for postseason tournaments in certain sports — will have on curtailing a perceived imbalance in championships won by public and private schools.

“I’ve said all along that this piece is a journey and this is just

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a starting point,” said Ross, who headed a committee that drafted the proposal, which was passed 411-323 in a twoweek vote of principals statewide. Proposals in each of the previous three years had failed, albeit by progressively narrower margins.

“There’s a lot of work ahead before we implement a pilot program (in 2015-16) and put this into place for the 2016-17 school year,” Ross said. “My immediate feeling is that I’m really relieved that we don’t have to think about groups pushing for separate tournaments for a while.”

Historically, a school’s enrollment determined the tournament classification for its teams.

The new plan applies modifying factors to players on each roster according to where his or her parents reside, the history of his or her education, or both. A correlating number — zero, one or two — will be assigned to each player and multiplied by a sport factor, which differs for various sports, to create an adjusted enrollment number.

It is unknown how many schools will be bumped up a division until each school’s stateissued enrollment count and subsequent rosters are compiled. At that point, the divisions for each tournament will be aligned and determined.

“While I think the OHSAA has thoroughly thought out the process, and its intent is good, the formula is difficult for a lot of people to understand,” said Steve Conley, athletic director and dean of students at Fairbanks, a small public school in Union County. “It will take a little while to process how everything works.

“I was in favor of trying to balance out the numbers some. The majority

“I’m really relieved that we don’t have to think about groups pushing for separate (publicand privateschool) tournaments for a while.” — Dan Ross, OHSAA commissioner “I’m sure a lot of people voted for it simply because they were tired of hearing about it.” — Mike Roark, Watterson athletic director

of our competition in the tournaments consists of private and religionbased schools, and in some instances, you feel like you might be at a disadvantage. While the new plan won’t affect us much because the vast majority of our kids live in our district, it might bump a few of our opponents to a higher division.”

Many parochial schools and large districts that promote open enrollment, such as Columbus’, take issue with the formula because their students come from a wider area.

Nonpublic schools can designate one chosen feeder parish in which their players count as a zero. Those outside that parish but enrolled in the same educational system since seventh grade count as a one. Columbus public students attending schools outside their designated neighborhood zone also would count as a one.

“I was against the basic idea from the start, but this was by far the most equitable plan that they’ve rolled out yet,” said Mike Roark, athletic director atWatterson, a midsized Catholic school.

“I do have grave reservations about the technology aspect of it. Many of us ADs are teachers, too, and we’re ridiculously busy. We’re going to have to jump through a lot of hoops to find out where all of our kids went to school in seventh grade.”

Initially, the plan will apply to football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer and volleyball. Ross said that any future changes to the formula would require approval from principals.

Thomas Worthington athletic director Scott Dorne said that some concerns about competitive balance remain unresolved.

“The new formula still doesn’t address the disparity from the largest Division I schools to the smallest Division I schools, and a lot of the Ohio Capital Conference schools are affected by that, especially at the state tournament level,” he said. “It also doesn’t address sports like track and cross country because they’re considered individual sports. I know those coaches are concerned about that.”

Roark suggested that schools that might not be affected at all could have swung the vote, but Ross said that trends for voting have yet to be analyzed. Votes were cast by 90 percent of schools.

“I’m sure a lot of people voted for it simply because they were tired of hearing about it,” Roark said. “If you’re Hilliard Davidson or Cincinnati St. Xavier, I’m sure you probably voted for it because you’re going to stay Division I no matter what. You can’t move up.

“I think nearly everyone across the state would agree to one thing: This plan is far superior to separation. Everyone would suffer in that scenario.”