NCHSAA to hear a proposal to hold separate playoff brackets for charter and parochial schools

The proposal, made by Nash Central High School Principal Jonathan Tribula, will be heard this week

If a proposal which the NCHSAA is considering comes to pass, private and charter schools in North Carolina, such as Charlotte Catholic, which has dominated in several sports including football, would play in a separate state playoff bracket. / Charlotte Catholic High School

Separate playoff brackets could be in the future for charter schools and parochial schools if a proposal is adopted by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

The NCHSAA Board of Directors will consider in their meeting this week a proposal by Nash Central High School Principal Jonathan Tribula to do just that.

“…When it comes down to the playoffs in all sports, many principals, coaches and athletic directors want there to be “fair play,” Tribula said in his proposal. “Schools who do not have a defined attendance zone can have student-athletes from across multiple counties which can create “all-star” teams.”

The NCHSAA is already in the process of switching from four classifications to eight for the 2024-25 school year. 

Tribula’s proposal would, for playoff purposes, six classifications for schools with defined attendance zones and two for schools without defined attendance zones.

The North Central principal stressed that he is not proposing a change in conference realignment.

“I believe based off proximity of schools, there must be split conferences and there are going to be schools in conferences that have a defined attendance zone and schools who do not have a defined attendance zone,” Tribula said in his proposal.

Numerous charter schools and parochial schools have enjoyed tremendous success in the NCHSAA. 

There are only three parochial schools currently in the NCHSAA. They are longstanding members and have won many state championships.

Charlotte Catholic has won eight state championships in football. In 2015-16, Catholic won the football state championships as well as the boys’ and girls’ basketball state championships. The girls’ swim team won 14 consecutive state championships from 2002-15.

Bishop McGuinness set a national record with nine consecutive state championships in girls’ basketball from 2006-14. The Bishops have added two more titles since then. Winston-Salem Prep has two state championships. 

Cardinal Gibbons won its first football state championship in 2021. The Crusaders have won 12 volleyball state championships and are the reigning title holder.

Charter schools have been making more of an impact in recent years.

Winston-Salem Prep has won six 1-A state championships in boys’ basketball. Wilson Prep has won three of the last four 1-A state championships. Lincoln Charter, Voyager Academy, Henderson Collegiate and Bishop McGuinness have all claimed 1-A state championships since 2016.

Uwharrie Charter has won the last two 1-A baseball state championships. 

The proposal will be taken up by the NCHSAA Board of Directors on Wednesday. But the NCHSAA had in 2023 adopted a bylaw approved by member schools requiring classifications be determined by attendance figures.

South Carolina has faced the same issue with charter schools and parochial schools. Two of them won football state championships last year.

The South Carolina High School League responded by enacting an attendance multiplier in which any student from outside a school’s designated attendance zone would count as three. That resulted in most of those schools moving up a classification. Some moved up two classifications. South Carolina has five classifications.