The high school football championships may soon double in size, after the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Relations Committee recommended that the Executive Committee take immediate action on a motion to change the number of divisions for select schools from two to five.

In January, LHSAA principals voted to pass Amendment 18, which created separate playoffs for select, or private schools.

Under the original amendment, select schools would be split into two divisions for the playoffs, with Classes 2A and 1A schools going into one division and schools in Classes 5A-3A going to the other.

That would have increased the number of state championship games from five to seven.

The new recommendation would increase that number to 10. Select schools would play in five smaller brackets and compete only against schools in the same classification.

Iowa Principal Mike Oakley, a member of the School Relations Committee, said the Executive Committee could conduct a conference call to vote on the recommendation, but said he was not sure when that would take place due to the upcoming state softball tournament and ongoing playoffs in baseball, tennis and track and field.

The School Relations Committee also asked for immediate action on a recommendation that Type 5 charter schools that do not have a select admissions policy be removed from the select school category.

Oakley said that change would likely only affect two football-playing schools.

Other suggestions made by the committee but not recommended for immediate action, were:

• A review of all current residence and transfer rules to include a proposal that attendance zones for schools shall be the parish boundary lines.

• Consideration of the use of some type of playoff success factor for every classification cycle.

• To allow a school to play up in any higher classification.

• In the sport of football, change the current system from five classifications to four divisions. Under the current format of Item No. 18, playoff subdivisions will be created from the four divisions.

• Schools that provide financial aid to students must use an approved financial aid processing service.

• To secure the necessary budgetary funding to hire a private detective to conduct recruitment and other necessary investigations.

• To have random, unannounced rules compliance visits throughout the school year at member schools.

• Alleged violations reported during the 10-day time period prior to the end of the regular season until the end of the championships in the same sport shall not be conducted until the end of the championships.

• Student-athletes shall not be allowed to compete in the same sport at two different schools in the same sports season.

(Associated Press)

Brett Duke