AOA granted membership

Beginning in the 2018 fall season, Andrews Osborne Academy will be members of the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

The OHSAA informed Andrews Osborne its application for membership was approved June 7, outgoing athletic director James Valle confirmed to The News-Herald.

“The school believes it’s going to really help the athletic programs, all the teams be on a level playing field as everybody else,” Valle said. “It’s going to give all of our students, international students in particular, the same opportunities as other competitor schools with us have.”

Andrews Osborne applied for OHSAA membership in May. The Andrews Osborne athletic department operated under the OHSAA’s bylaws and regulations during a probationary year in 2017-18.

Andrews Osborne has never been in the OHSAA under its current form. The Andrews School was a member of the OHSAA before it merged with the Phillips-Osborne School in 2007. The addition of international students led Andrews Osborne to remain outside the OHSAA for the past 11 years.

Valle’s tenure at Andrews Osborne ends June 30, when he becomes athletic director at Crystal Springs Uplands School in Hillsborough, California, near San Francisco. Scott McNevan takes over as the Phoenix’s AD on July 1.

Valle believes OHSAA membership will raise the school’s profile with prospective students who previously would not have considered Andrews Osborne. The Phoenix hope to become more competitive with schools such as Gilmour, Hawken, Hathaway Brown and other private schools in the region.

“Many of them will look at us and say, ‘Well, you’re not an OHSAA school, that’s important to us, we’re going to go to another school,’ ” Valle said. “The school hopes and believes that’s going to help eliminate that barrier from some students considering the school.”

A key component to Andrews Osborne’s interest in OHSAA membership derived from an amendment to last year’s state budget bill.

The amendment stated international students in the state on F1 visas who live in dormitories built before 2014 are entitled to four years of athletic eligibility. Valle estimates Andrews Osborne’s student body is composed of 60 percent local students and 40 percent international students.

A majority of Andrews Osborne’s international students are in the country on F1 visas, which the school is able to issue.

During Andrews Osborne’s probationary year, the school needed to demonstrate its viability as an athletic program. The Phoenix needed to verify their student-athletes would have eligibility under the OHSAA, coaches needed to meet OHSAA certification standards, at least two teams per season needed to play at least 50 percent of maximum allowable contests against OHSAA member schools and declare those teams would participate in the OHSAA postseason.

During basketball season, for example, the Phoenix needed to play at least 11 games against OHSAA competition.

Enrollment figures and competitive balance measures will likely slot Andrews Osborne in Division III or IV. The Phoenix compete in the Lake Effect Conference, which includes two other OHSAA schools for 2018-19 — Lake Ridge Academy and St. Martin de Porres.

“We made a lot of efforts with some of our programs to compete at high levels against competitive teams out of the area,” Valle said, “out of the state, at outof-state tournaments and we’ve been successful with that. Ultimately, I think with any other school, you want to have that type of competition but you want to play local.”