Hundreds of school officials meet to discuss PIAA playoff system, rules

STATE COLLEGE – School leaders from across Pennsylvania gathered in State College Tuesday to discuss the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association playoff system and whether the current rules are fair for all schools.

The organization is a nonprofit and voluntary membership corporation. The organization was created to develop and enforce rules regulating interscholastic athletic competitions.

Hundreds of school officials showed up to make sure their voices are heard. Some of them even suggested leaving the PIAA if nothing's done.

"Nothing’s going to happen if we don’t do this and I told my board at the end of the day it’s going to have to be a grassroots movement," Northern Bedford County School District Superintendent Todd Beatty said.

All the representatives 6 News talked to Tuesday say they're here for one main issue -- they believe there's an uneven playing field right now between public and private schools.

Representatives from more than 150 school districts say "non-boundary" (private and charter schools) are dominating state championships.

"We believe that this is a problem and it needs to be addressed and hopefully this is going to show everybody, show the PIAA that we are concerned and we believe that there is a competitive balance and that we're willing to fight for our student athletes," Philipsburg-Osceola Assistant Athletic Director Matt Curtis said.

Just last week, the PIAA approved two measures to hopefully fix the problem: one that would prohibit students who transfer to a school from playing in the playoffs that same year. The other is a tweak to the "competitive balance" formula that would "bump up" teams that win a lot.

"The changes I see being purposed by them they're not equitable and it's been this way for many years, decades,” Juniata High School Principal Ed Apple said. “I can’t allow that to happen to my kids, my coaches, or teams."

Officials from several different schools spoke out -- discussing potential solutions.

"The solution I would like to see is the separation of the four classifications for the boundary schools and your charter schools,” Apple said.

"This is for the student-athletes and we hope that all the student-athletes are addressed and everybody gets a fair shot," Curtis said.

They plan to present not only their beliefs, but surveys and data to the PIAA in hopes that thins will change.

"I don't think winning is everything but I think to have a competitive opportunity is and I also heard that there is a safety factor,” Beatty said. “Two hundred and forty pounds against 150 pounds in football, that's a safety issue."

As far as what's next, officials say they are still working on a position statement but they plan to send out chain emails to iron out more details.

After touching base --, they hope to plan a meeting with not only the PIAA but the Catholic and charter coalitions.

The PIAA has released a statement in response to Tuesday's meeting stating: The current board is well-represented both by public and private schools.

It goes on to say: "Much of the information included in today's presentations has been discussed by the board. Open dialogue among all stakeholders will continue to be a strength of the PIAA."

They've previously said they cannot hold separate playoffs for public and private schools because of state law.

ncG1vNJzZmivmpawtcKNnKamZ56axLR7y6iamqRfncKvsNGem6xln5t6tK%2FHqKalZZ%2Bbs6qvyJqjrGWdmrK1edOoZJ2ho5jCtL%2BMqaCamV2luaLFzp%2BdZqupqMGmuYyrrKWdow%3D%3D