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IHSA competitive balance proposal headed to a vote
The Associated Press
November 28, 2005, 6:28 PM CST
Illinois high schools will decide over the next month whether to adopt new rules to level the playing field between public schools and private schools that critics argue are winning a disproportionate share of state sports titles.
An Illinois High School Association commission Monday approved a vote on a proposal that would promote competitive balance by multiplying the enrollment of private schools by a factor of 1.65 for purposes of placing them into classes for state championship tournaments.
Voting by the IHSA's 751 member schools begins Tuesday and runs through Dec. 28, said Marty Hickman, executive director of the Bloomington-based organization. He said results will be announced Dec. 29.
The so-called multiplier would apply to all private schools, unlike a rule adopted by the IHSA in March that only imposed a multiplier on private schools with at least 450 students. The IHSA agreed to let that rule expire this month to settle a Cook County lawsuit filed in September by 37 private schools.
Several of those schools were bumped from Class A to Class AA under the rule. They argued the multiplier penalizes teams for success and puts them at a competitive disadvantage.
The settlement required a binding vote by members to settle the ongoing dispute between private schools, which can draw student-athletes from up to 30 miles away, and public schools, with their tighter, locked-in geographic boundaries.
Under the settlement, schools submitted nearly a dozen new proposals to the IHSA ranging from separate tournaments for public and private schools to banning multipliers altogether. The proposal headed for a vote was chosen by the IHSA's Legislative Commission, comprised of 35 principals and athletic directors from around the state.
If approved, Hickman said the new multiplier would take effect in February, in time for basketball and other spring sports tournaments. He said he doubts any new multiplier proposals would surface soon if it fails.
"I think the board is more than willing to let the membership resolve this through a vote," Hickman said.
Private school officials said they, too, are pleased that members -- not just the IHSA board -- will settle the dispute.
"At least we got it to a vote and that's what we were asking for from the beginning. However it comes out, we'll live with it," said Dennis Litteken, principal at Breese Mater Dei.
Still, Litteken says the latest multiplier proposal is unfair because it applies to students who live blocks from his school and not just those from miles away. He said private schools should not be penalized for drawing students who live in their local public school district.
Dan Sharp, athletic director at 12-time state football champion Joliet Catholic, predicted the multiplier will pass because public schools account for more than 80 percent of the IHSA's members.
While the latest proposal would have the same impact on Joliet Catholic as the IHSA's old rule, Sharp fears the new multiplier could hurt smaller private schools because schools with fewer than 450 students will be affected.
Hickman said the new multiplier would have little more impact than the old one in two-class sports such as basketball, but could move some schools up in the IHSA's eight-class football tournament.
He said the multiplier would have more impact if the IHSA expands its current two-class sports. An advisory vote is scheduled over the next month on adding classes in some sports, including four classes for boys and girls basketball.
Copyright © 2005, The Associated Press