By CRAIG HALL
Last week, I wrote a couple of columns outlining what I believe Oklahoma’s public schools should do to improve high school athletics. Several people actually read them and took the time to comment.
OPINION
For that, I was grateful.
Unfortunately, the most common response was, “Won’t happen.”
Okay, why won’t it happen?
I believe the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) has allowed private schools to wield too much influence over an organization that should primarily serve public schools.
Private schools are in the minority. The OSSAA should be more concerned with representing the interests of public schools, or at least making sure they are treated fairly.
That obviously isn’t happening.
Over the last decade or so, Heavener football has been through the wringer. The Wolves spent several seasons in Class 3A, where they simply couldn’t compete consistently. They finally had a good season in Class 2A, only for the OSSAA to split the classification into two divisions.
Heavener is one of the smallest schools in Class 2A-I. Traditionally, the Wolves have competed against schools such as Spiro, Antlers, Wilburton, Hartshorne and Valliant.
Those are the schools Heavener should be playing.
Instead, when the OSSAA initially divided Class 2A, Heavener was placed in a district featuring three schools from the Shawnee area, two near the Texas border and another near Tulsa.
That made little sense geographically.
Then came another round of changes. Following a legal challenge involving Oklahoma City-area schools, the OSSAA revised its classifications, moving some private schools into lower classes.
Heavener wound up in a district that included Checotah, which dropped from Class 3A, along with defending Class 3A state champion Lincoln Christian and two other private schools, Victory Christian and Sequoyah-Tahlequah.
Meanwhile, Spiro was moved into Class 2A-I after finishing 0-10 in Class 2A-II the previous season.
How does any of that make sense?
The OSSAA seems to favor certain schools while leaving others, such as Heavener, to deal with the consequences.
The Wolves could have fielded their best team in years and still struggled to finish higher than fourth in the district. They also had to make two trips to Tulsa for district games against private schools
I would argue Heavener was placed in the toughest districts in Class 2A-I, against at least four schools it has never played previously in the regular season.
And then people wonder why some schools simply stop playing.
Spiro forfeited its games during the second half of the season. Okemah also forfeited its game at Pocola last week.
There was a time when forfeiting high school football games was almost unheard of. Now, we’re seeing it happen more frequently.
Why?
Part of the problem is declining participation. Fewer students want to play football, especially when they know their team has little chance of competing against some of its opponents.
When schools are consistently placed in situations where the competition is so uneven, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep players interested.
That’s not good for the athletes, the schools or high school football in Oklahoma.
Some might call leaving the OSSAA a case of taking your ball and going home.
I don’t see it that way.
I see it as recognizing that the current system isn’t working and demanding something better.
My preference would be to replace the OSSAA with an organization designed to serve Oklahoma’s public schools. Private schools could have their own classification or association.
If private schools are allowed to compete against public schools, they should have to follow the same rules, including restrictions on recruiting and athletic scholarships.
There should be a level playing field.
If I were in charge of Heavener athletics, I would seriously consider going independent in football next season.
Would that be ideal? No.
But neither is continuing to compete in a system that places the Wolves at such a disadvantage.
Heavener could maintain its traditional non-district games and schedule reasonable opponents such as Hugo, Roland, Spiro and perhaps Checotah. The Wolves could also schedule junior varsity teams from larger schools to fill out the schedule.
At least the players would have an opportunity to compete in games where the outcome wasn’t practically decided before kickoff.
Of course, going independent would mean giving up the opportunity to compete for a state championship under the current system.
But let’s be realistic. How much of an opportunity does Heavener have now?
One reason meaningful changes haven’t happened is that the private-school issue doesn’t affect Oklahoma’s largest public schools nearly as much.
It’s primarily the smaller schools in Classes 3A, 2A and A that find themselves competing against private schools with different advantages and circumstances.
The larger schools have little incentive to push for changes when the current arrangement doesn’t significantly affect them.
That leaves smaller public schools to deal with the consequences.
I don’t believe going independent is the best long-term answer for Heavener or any other public school.
The best answer would be meaningful reform of Oklahoma high school athletics, with classifications based on enrollment, districts organized geographically and rules that apply fairly to everyone.
But if the OSSAA isn’t willing to make those changes, public schools need to start considering alternatives.
After all, the purpose of high school athletics should be to provide students with opportunities to participate, compete, improve and enjoy representing their schools.
It shouldn’t be about protecting the interests of a select group of schools.
And it certainly shouldn’t be about forcing smaller public schools into districts where they have little realistic chance of competing.
The sad thing is, this problem isn’t limited to football. In basketball, regional and area tournaments are almost always held a considerable distance from Heavener, with Roland being one of the few exceptions. Spiro has a facility that would be excellent for hosting regional or area tournaments, but that would require other schools to travel farther. Instead, those tournaments seem to be pushed closer to central Oklahoma, leaving schools like Heavener to make the long trips year after year.
Something needs to change.
And saying “Won’t happen” is exactly why it hasn’t.