[BillyMac]

Here in Conecticut, Catholic high school basketball is taken very seriously and is "big time" basketball. All Catholic high schools, like all public high schools, fall under the guidelines and rules of the CIAC, the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, a body that governs most interscholastic sports for both public high schools and Catholic high schools in the state of Connecticut. Our CIAC state tournaments divide high school teams into divisions based on their male or female enrollments, and Catholic high schools have won most of the state basketball championships, despite the fact that there are a lot fewer Catholic high schools in the state than public high schools. Not only do Catholic high school teams play public high school teams in the state tournnament, they are very often in the same interscholastic league or conference, and play each other during the regular season. Here in Conncecticut, we do not have a Catholic high school only tournament or tournament division, nor do we have Catholic high school only leagues or conferences.

Public high school coaches and athletic directors often complain that Catholic high school basketball programs have an unfair advantage because they can draw students, and players, from many towns over a wide geographic area, whereas, here in Connecticut, with the rare exception of a few technical schools, or regional high schools, most in rural areas, public high schools are forced, by the CIAC rules, to only take players from their own town or city, or in the case of cities with more than one public high school, are forced by the CIAC rules to take players from only one small geographic area of that city. Some public high school coaches and athletic directors have further complained that Catholic high school coaches "recruit" players, something that is forbidden by CIAC rules, that is, schools cannot recruit students for their athletic ability.

That being said, Cathlolic high school basketball programs often, but not always, exhibit some of the "bad" things that are associated with "big time" high school basketball, especially regarding bad feelings between players and fans when Cathlolic high schools play public high schools, for the reasons outlined above, something that must often be addressed, or dealt with, by officials.

However, here in Connecticut, things are starting to change. Due to the federal "No Child Left Behind" act, as well as state initiatives trying to improve education in the state, especially in the urban schools, we are seeing more "magnet" schools and regional schools that attract students, and athletes, from wider geographic areas. One New Haven magnet school has already seen some success in both football and basketball. The CIAC will eventually be forced to change it's tournament rules and guidelines to adjust to these changes.

Also, with one possible exception, here in Conncecticut, Christian high school basketball is usually "low key". Christian high schools do not belong to the CIAC, and all have their own post season tournament. School enrollments are usually quite low, with many teams fielding seventh or eighth grade players on "varsity" teams. Games usually start with a prayer, and the players, coaches, and fans, for the most part, with very few exceptions, are very respectful to officials and opponents.

These are the facts about Cathlolic high school and Christian high school basketball programs here in Connecticut. I hope that Forum members do not find this post to be anti-Catholic or anti-Christian. I am a Catholic, have a tattoo of a cross on my upper arm, and will be attending mass in few hours.