Zach Powell on sports: PIAA doesn't have a 'school problem', just refuses to move with the times | News, sports, jobs

Jackson Butler of Bishop McCort is brought to the mat by Reagan Milheim of Warrior Rund during their bout at 145 pounds during the PIAA Wrestling Championships in Hershey. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun Gazette

Since the end of winter university sports, the stressful topic of border and border schools has become relevant again. I get it, it's tiring to even think about it. But it needs to be discussed again. The results of the PIAA Basketball Championships brought this theme to life again after nine of the 12 basketball state championships went to private schools.

That's pretty absurd.

The public schools that won basketball titles were Aliquippa boys (2A), Blackhawk girls (4A) and Central York boys (6A). According to a recent Penn Hills Progress article, PIAA Executive Director Bob Lombardi mentioned this “There are a lot of schools that are careful about whether or not they attract students.” And this is the problem “It’s not just a public versus private/charter school issue, it’s a school issue that typically comes down to a coach or an administration.”

He's partly right. It can't be a player's problem, never was and never will be. So it's a school matter, but a private school matter. The schools that collect all the state championships leave public schools with minimal opportunities.

Lombardi and PIAA administrators certainly feel they've made enough changes, such as implementing the new transfer rule, but that's not the problem. The PIAA has an old-fashioned mentality and point-blank refusal to make changes. And until it becomes clear how much postseason competition between private and public schools hurts high school athletes, the issue will be a recurring theme for some time.

The discussion of borderline and non-borderline playoff contests is not an easy one. There are implications for almost any path you choose to take, but that should be the focus of the PIAA. There is the recruiting aspect of private schools having the right to recruit students, which helps generate revenue, but there is also the complication of students being athletes “transmitted” or “To move” Schools, or who cross-border schools can compete against in the postseason.

The extent of the “transfer” of schools is a big part of the debate. While the PIAA gives students the freedom to move within different school districts within the state, the private school route appears to be the real problem.

The PIAA has implemented transfer rules for those who change school districts and must sit out a year. Page 17 of the PIAA Constitution and Bylaws states: “Athletics should remain subordinate to academics” But do parents and schools really follow this rule? It appears that the PIAA does not regulate the transfer of all of its schools' athletes, leading to unfair competition, especially when student-athletes do not transfer for academic reasons. The situation is different if, for example, a parent gets a new job in a particular school district.

No disrespect to private schools, they can recruit the students they want to their school and that's often one of the ways the school makes money, but the way these cross-border schools can recruit certain kids, just to winning is currently happening at an absurd rate.

I am the ultimate competitor when it comes to sports – and all fans want to see the best of the competition. But when the competition is consistently dominated by one group of schools each year, it's difficult for all 12 districts in the state to compete when teams are full and full of talent. And much of the stacked roster is made up of athletes who are committed to competing at the collegiate level, which isn't the case at all public schools. Public schools may have significant numbers of collegiate athletes on multiple teams, but private school athletes typically move on to the next level if they are not already being recruited or have interest from higher education institutions.

Not to mention the resources that private schools receive compared to public schools – donations and personalized sports equipment, to say the least.

The basketball issue may not be as relevant in north-central Pennsylvania in Districts 4/6 as it is in Districts 1-3/7-12, where the powerhouses are located. But in sports like wrestling, where that field dominates championship qualification, it does matter.

Last season's wrestling was a success for both Central Mountain and Bald Eagle Area, with the Wildcats finishing third in the state in Class AAA and the Eagles exiting after the second day after losing back-to-back duals.

In the Class AA first round, Bald Eagle Area drew against Notre Dame-Green Pond, a strong, private, Catholic wrestling school with Division I athletes who were ranked third in the state. The fourth-place team BEA lost to in the consolation bracket was Reynolds, a public school.

Before reaching the Team Wrestling Championships, BEA had to face Bishop McCort, a wrestling powerhouse who, as one anonymous sportswriter puts it, is well-known “They carry themselves like a college program.” at the private, Catholic school in Johnstown. The Eagles lost 58-15 in the District 6 Duals.

The Eagles had to settle for a doubleheader against Quaker Valley in which BEA dominated 55-9, but they could have easily punched their ticket to the first round of the state tournament if border and non-border schools had been sanctioned differently.

Bald Eagle Area is a school with fewer than 1,000 students. The Eagles have not won a state wrestling title since 1999. In a sport that is constantly growing and where athletes are getting better, there is no guarantee when the Eagles will return to the state tournament. Given the size of schools in the Bald Eagle Area, talent doesn't always flow through small schools, so a team like BEA faces a Bishop McCort – even though McCort is also small at just under 400 students – private schools like the one in Johnstown never question whether they'll return to the state tournament, because they get the next best talent. Public schools like BEA don't always have this option. If it's a bad year, it's a bad year.

Class AAA was a little easier on the border vs. non-border question, as Central Mountain had no problems until it faced familiar foe Bethlehem Catholic in the tournament's championship semifinals. The Wildcats narrowed the gap from their loss to BECA two years ago (53-3) to 34-19 this year, but that doesn't make up for the loss for the second straight year.

From 2016 to 2024, with the exception of a few seasons, the team championships were a war between Nazareth and Bethlehem Catholic, with the addition of Waynesburg Central, another public school. Yet Nazareth, a public institution, had not won consecutive titles during that span. On the other hand, BECA has topped the state tournament standings for 13 years.

Bethlehem Catholic, once Class AA in 2011, won four consecutive team titles from 2011 to 2014 before falling in 2015, but was back in contention in Class AAA in 2016 and won six of the next nine titles, including this season.

While winning three straight titles doesn't make a school a powerhouse – many schools have a class that does – winning six titles in less than a decade should raise some red flags. But no one questions that because BECA is a private school that can recruit. But their success keeps public and some private school athletes from achieving team success in the few years a team might be a dynasty.

Pennsylvania isn't the only state dealing with the public vs. private debate, like Colorado and Wisconsin. But there are states like New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Louisiana that have separate entities for playoff competition between public and private schools, so there is no reason for the PIAA to begin conversations about how to make changes.

Several layers must be unpacked so that the separation is close to the existing one. The PIAA currently prohibits separate playoffs under its legislation enacted in 1972. Bald Eagle Area Athletic Director Doug Dyke and other Center County High School athletic directors have proposed an amendment to the bill. But how far will this go?

This certainly isn't the 1970s anymore, and even if it can't effect change, the PIAA could at least start untying this messy knot by acknowledging the possibilities rather than running from them, which is what it has done over the last few years has years now.

Zach Powell is the sports editor of The Express. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @RealZachPowell.