A couple weeks ago, I was scolded by the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Athletic Association (OSSAA) for criticizing the fact that it allows athletic competition between our public schools and private schools in the state playoffs (for all sports and activities). More specifically, I called out the OSSAA for being (in the words of Joe Tunnell, my high school football coach) "a gutless wonder", for fearing a lawsuit that would result if the playing field were leveled. I don't blame the OSSAA for taking offense to my calling it a "gutless wonder", so I apologized. I will not apologize, however, for my original assertion - "The OSSAA allows unfair competition between public schools and private schools during our playoffs. Private schools have many advantages which public schools do not, when competing for state titles in Oklahoma. Private schools can accept or reject students at will, thereby belonging to any classification level, Class-A through 6-A, they wish. Public schools must accept all students and belong to the classification level their enrollment dictates. Private schools can also technically "recruit" the best players from anywhere in the nation, although they claim they don't. Public schools cannot recruit players, by OSSAA rule. Private schools have the best facilities, equipment, and players money can buy, as they provide "scholarships" (known as sponsorships) to students. Public schools rely on public tax dollars to provide student funding and pay for facilities and equipment. The inequities that exist between publics and privates create unfair advantages for privates that are manifested on the playing field. Most states have attempted to level the playing field between private schools and public schools. Texas, for example, requires private schools to compete in only the top classification - 6A, during play-off competition. As a result, only two private schools play in the Texas public school league. Oklahoma, meanwhile, attempted to level the playing field somewhat a few years ago by requiring private schools to move up one classification level if they fit certain criteria. For example, if a private school in class-3A placed in the top eight the previous year, they would be required to move up to class-4A for the succeeding year. This "watered down" attempt at leveling the playing field did absolutely nothing, as the same private schools continued to dominate the OSSAA play-offs. Let's take a look at what the data says, in order to either refute or verify that private schools have unfair advantages over public schools, in athletic competition.
There are currently 262 schools, 245 publics (94%)and 17 privates (6%) in class-A thru 6-A playing high school football in Oklahoma. This year, 114 (47%) public schools made the play-offs, while 14 (82%) private schools qualified for the play-offs. This statistic alone says that a player on a private school team has a better chance of qualifying for the playoffs, and then winning a state title. This leads coaches for private schools to have better recruiting years. Of the 114 public schools which made the playoffs, 33 (29%) advanced to the top 8, while 7 (50%) of the 14 private schools advanced. Please be aware at this point that the percentages of publics and privates must be roughly equal for a true level playing field to exist.
One other anecdotal statistic: Heritage Hall High School (Class-3A and Class-4A) since its admittance into the OSSAA in 1976 - has won 80 state athletic titles! In 2015 alone, Heritage Hall won 10 state titles in Baseball, Cheerleading,Football, Boys Golf, Slow Pitch Softball, Boys Soccer, Boys Tennis, Girls Tennis, Boys Track, and Volleyball. Data such as these should be embarrassing for a private school, but they are not. Private schools use data, and facilities to lure better athletes to their schools, so will continue their unprecedented dominance over public schools. Furthermore, I predict the OSSAA will never level the playing field that public and private schools play on - for fear of lawsuits.
Mr. Beckham -
ReplyDeleteAs a graduate of Heritage Hall, I'd like to draw your attention to some important facts regarding our athletic department and the OSSAA.
First, back in the 1980s when I was at Heritage Hall, we were a relatively young school and in class 2-A. With some exceptions, our teams were good, but never great. We have the SAME training facilities NOW as we did then, with the exception of a second gym and, I will grant you, outstanding new tennis facilities. Further, we have the SAME athletic director now as we did when I graduated in 1984. The reason Heritage Hall dominates is because our Athletic Department hires great coaches who do great work. And they happen to train exceptional student-athletes. Why would that be embarrassing?? I'm very proud - and our student-athletes are proud. What's wrong with that??
Another key difference between then and now is that Heritage Hall competes in MANY sports that were not part of the athletic programs offered many years ago -- among them cheerleading, soccer, volleyball and softball. That, again, has to do with an athletic department that values a variety of options for their students. Again, that's a good thing.
You state that private schools can essentially dictate the size of the "class" in which they play by capping enrollment. Enrollment is capped based on the educational/classroom capacity of Heritage Hall - not by the size of the teams we'd meet on the field. Heritage Hall is a SCHOOL first, and sports will always come behind academics.
Our school's size in terms of enrollment would classify us as 2-A, but we play 4-A. This is hardly an advantage for Heritage Hall. What it means is we DO NOT have "benches" as deep as traditional 4-A schools - that means our kids not only have to be exceptionally well-trained to play more than one position (especially in football), but our kids also have to STAY HEALTHY AND UNHURT -- we simply don't have depth at any position to sustain a large number of injuries. That's not exactly a level playing field on our side.
Secondly, in terms of the OSSAA, it is a governing body in terms of rules and regulations ONLY. It governs how we play games - including WHO we can play and how we guarantee safety. And it's there for the entire state. That's a good thing. The OSSAA provides standards and standardization - that promotes fairness. Why would you want a second such group to govern private or parochial schools? That's just silly.
I'll add here that HH's former football coach Andy Bogert has been a LEADER within the OSSAA in terms of preventing serious injury among football players. He's worked very hard to educate other players and coaches outside HH on tackling in such a way as to prevent concussion. Would you deny that important information to a public school kid by kicking HH and other private schools out of OSSAA?
For that matter, why would you begrudge any student-athlete from the ultimate prize - a state championship?? Every school in the OSSAA is governed the same, and the "class" system has generally worked well for eons. The fact is there will always be winners and losers. And while I have enjoyed and taken much pride in Heritage Hall's successes on the playing fields, the time will come when our student-athletes will lose games, championships, and seasons.
I don't understand your ire for private and parochial schools, but in terms of the OSSAA, your arguments don't wash.
Mr. Beckham: I think that education in Oklahoma has many more pressing concerns than whether or not private schools compete against similar sized schools. Maybe you should focus on actually improving the overall quality of OK public schools.
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