Should a state association accomodate a religious school for the playoffs?

[Mark Padgett]

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/ore...510.xml&coll=7

[mplagrow]

You're opening a pretty big worm of cans if you accomodate the school in this instance, IMHO.

[truerookie]

Wow!!. There may be a chance

[Nevadaref]

The NCAA specifically accomodates BYU by placing them in a bracket which plays on Thursday and Saturday, not Friday and Sunday in the basketball tournaments.

[canuckrefguy]

"What it looks like, frankly, in the record, is that you're not making any accommodations for this religious purpose but you're making accommodations . . . for all sorts of secular purposes," Justice Thomas Balmer said to the OSAA's attorney.

Interesting....wonder what he meant by that

[Texas Aggie]

What the school is asking for here is not a reasonable accommodation. In BYU's case, the only time it becomes even remotely problematic is for the NCAA basketball tournament. Further, BYU wants Sunday's off. If they wanted Saturday's off and made the final four, I can assure you the NCAA wouldn't be accommodating.

[cmathews]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

The NCAA specifically accomodates BYU by placing them in a bracket which plays on Thursday and Saturday, not Friday and Sunday in the basketball tournaments.

they actually go further than that....Thursday Saturday brackets sometimes feed Friday, Sunday.. A couple years ago, it was mentioned that the NCAA was set to move them to another "pod" if they advanced to avoid the Sunday thing. I personally think it is wrong to make the accomodations, other Christians also observe the Sabbath on Sunday, Notre Dame doesn't hesitate to play on Sunday in tournaments. I also would be willing to bet that you can find plenty of people playing basketball in Provo on Sunday...this isn't "working" on the Sabbath, it is playing....

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by cmathews

they actually go further than that....Thursday Saturday brackets sometimes feed Friday, Sunday.. A couple years ago, it was mentioned that the NCAA was set to move them to another "pod" if they advanced to avoid the Sunday thing.

This was done because the committee overlooked the fact BYU was scheduled to play on a Sunday if they won the first round that year. BYU lost and it was not an issue.

Peace

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by cmathews

other Christians also observe the Sabbath on Sunday,

Originally Posted by REF in PA

They are accommodating the traditional Sabbath for most Christians

Nobody observes the Sabbath on Sunday. The Sabbath, by definition, is the last day of the week when God rested after creation. It's Saturday, specifically sunset Friday through sunset Saturday.

Christians who "rest" on Sunday observe "the Lord's day" because it's the day that Jesus rose from the dead.

[stripes]

Originally Posted by cmathews

they actually go further than that....Thursday Saturday brackets sometimes feed Friday, Sunday.. A couple years ago, it was mentioned that the NCAA was set to move them to another "pod" if they advanced to avoid the Sunday thing. I personally think it is wrong to make the accomodations, other Christians also observe the Sabbath on Sunday, Notre Dame doesn't hesitate to play on Sunday in tournaments. I also would be willing to bet that you can find plenty of people playing basketball in Provo on Sunday...this isn't "working" on the Sabbath, it is playing....

You can interpret "Keeping the Sabbath day holy" in any way you choose. The way that the leadership of the school (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) interprets it is to not participate in athletic contests on Sundays. If individuals in Provo (or anywhere else in the world for that matter) want to play on Sundays, that is their choice.

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

The NCAA specifically accomodates BYU by placing them in a bracket which plays on Thursday and Saturday, not Friday and Sunday in the basketball tournaments.

This is true. I understand there are also a couple of other schools like that too. But perhaps you don't hear about them because they're not quite as successful?

Rise and shout!

[Stat-Man]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/ore...510.xml&coll=7

We have a pending case in Michigan that is very similar. We have a Jewish school that wants the MHSAA to reschedule any post-season contests it would play in if they happen from Sunday Friday to Sundown Saturday. The MHSAA said no and when the school tried to alter its membership resolution the following year, the school sued the MHSAA and got an injunction allowing them to stay a member until a decision is made.

Personally, I feel that if a school wants to put its relgious values as a priority above everything else, fine, but don't expect the public to feel obliged to go along with it.

Also, we have a college in theassociation I work with that is 7 Day Adventist. They do not play form Sundown Friday to Sundown Saturday either. What they have done the past two years at our volleyball tournament is play through Friday afternoon, and then let the other team they play advance in their place, regardless the score. They have asked for consideration in moving the tournament from Thursday-Saturday to Wednesday-Friday, but the majority of schools don't want to miss an additional day of class time, so the status quo remains.