This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate There are few, if any, issues in high school sports in New York state that spur more debate than this question: Should private schools, which can draw athletes from anywhere, be competing against public schools, whose athletes come from a single district?
It's a question the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA), which oversees high school sports statewide with the exception of New York City, is giving serious thought. During a meeting this past summer, the organization discussed the possibility of holding separate postseason tournaments for private and public schools. In other words, there would be two state champions: a public champion and a private champion. Robert Zayas, the executive director of NYSPHSAA, plans to meet with a group of private schools in October, ahead of a possible vote on the proposal in January. Meantime, there are many questions to be answered: Would all sports hold separate playoffs, or just a select few? Wouldn't the best public and best private school want the chance to play each other? And how much resistance will there be from private schools who feel they're being punished for their success? "There are so many things that we need to take a look at to determine what we are going to do," Zayas said. "We are exploring all possible solutions, attempting to discuss everybody's idea." Schools in the Genessee Valley, near Rochester, are pushing the issue because of Aquinas Institute, a private school that has won nine sectional football titles in the past 10 years. The Little Irish claimed both the state football and basketball titles during the 2015-16 scholastic year, beating two Capital Region public schools en route: Aquinas topped Saratoga 42-19 in the state football final and defeated Shenendehowa 55-51 in the boys' basketball semifinals. But Aquinas' dominance is just the latest flashpoint in a debate that's been raging since NYSPHSAA began allowing private schools to become members in late 1970s. Now, 73 of NYSPHSAA's 784 members are private or charter schools. Most private schools join the organization because they need to compete against public schools to field a viable athletic program. Otherwise, they'd spend exorbitant amounts of time and money travelling around the state to find other private schools to compete against. But whenever a private school wins a championship, it raises questions about whether they have an unfair advantage because of their ability to draw athletes from anywhere. "This argument has been around forever," said Troy boys' basketball coach Rich Hurley, who has heard it from both sides. He played and coached at Bishop Maginn in Albany, winning a state championship in 2008. Christian Brothers Academy basketball coach Dave Doemel led the program to nine consecutive Section II title games, and at the height of the Brothers' run, many area fans wondered if the private schools should be separated from the public schools in the playoffs. "It has really been a basketball issue," Doemel said. "We had a good run, along with Bishop Maginn, at one point. I really don't think anyone else is (currently) as worried about this statewide as they are out in Western New York." NYSPHSAA officials have been aware of the public-private tensions for decades. One of the issues is that private schools are difficult to classify. Public schools are grouped so that they compete against schools of similar enrollment sizes. But it's far more difficult to classify private schools, which often have small enrollments but strong athletic programs. Section II, the division of NYSPHSAA in which Capital Region schools compete, for years has classified the strongest private schools so they compete against large public schools, heading off some of the tensions locally. "It is a national issue. It has been discussed for not years, but decades, throughout the country," Zayas said. "Winning (by private schools) prompts the discussion." New York isn't the only state grappling with the issue. In December, New Jersey state commissioner of education David Hespe overturned a pair of votes made by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association that would have separated public and non-public schools for state football and wrestling tournaments. Hespe said there was no compelling evidence suggesting private schools had inherent advantages. Past results in New York tell a similar story: From 2008 through 2016, a total of 1,801 championships were awarded to NYSPHSAA members; only 97 of those were captured by non-public/charter schools, or 5.4 percent. Of the 1,158 individual titles won during that span in sports such as track and field, only 4.7 percent went to athletes from non-public/charter schools. Still, there's another reason success by private schools often raises eyebrows: Their championships often are accompanied by accusations that they're recruiting athletes, a practice that's prohibited by NYSPHSAA but also one that's very difficult to prove. "I think what has heightened this issue is there a few private schools around the state that are thought to have recruited players," said Chris Culnan, the athletic director at Shenendehowa High School who also graduated from and coached at CBA. He suggested that cracking down on private schools breaking the rules would be a better alternative than holding separate playoffs. "Would (holding separate playoffs) work? I don't believe so," Culnan said. "I don't see it changing." There are other options NYSPHSAA could pursue, such as moving all the private schools into their own section, so they only compete against each other all year long, or reclassifying more private schools to make them compete against bigger public schools. Of course, any change could have unintended consequences. Separating public schools from private schools could water down competition. That might lead to more top athletes looking at prepatory schools, which have high-level athletic programs. But whatever course NYSPHSAA takes, it's unlikely to temper the debate, not so long as the organization continues to serve both private and public schools. "People that say, 'Kick the private schools out' don't understand the dynamics of the situation," Zayas said, "and what ramifications it would have to our organization." • 518-454-5062 • @TUSidelines |
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