SCHSL got it right, again
By Justin Jarrett
LowcoSports.com
Trust me when I say I’ve been no apologist for the S.C. High School League over the years, instead opting to roast antiquated policies, short-sighted rules, and plenty of hand-sitting.
So I’m as surprised as anyone to find myself suddenly defending — maybe even touting? — the organization’s recent ruling that takes necessary steps to rectify a massive competitive balance issue, and perhaps even more stunningly, its appeals committee’s uber-rational rulings on where to place the most controversial member-schools.
The “3x” multiplier SCHSL put in place for next school year — which counts in triplicate all students from outside a school’s designated attendance zone when considering enrollment for classification purposes — came with built-in flaws thanks to legislation that ties the league’s hands to some degree. As such, any multiplier had to be applied to all schools, not just the private schools and charter schools that were gaining a significant advantage from drawing from wide geographical areas in population centers like Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville. It also treated powerhouse programs like Oceanside Collegiate Academy in Mount Pleasant and Gray Collegiate Academy in Lexigton the same as tiny startups that are struggling to field athletic programs, as well as schools like Bridges Prep, which are stuck somewhere in between.
That made the appeals process a critical component of making this thing work. It was the one shot at evaluating each case on its own merit and allowing some sanity to enter the chat in the form of subjectivity. And again, against all odds, they nailed it.
OK, they did some funky stuff like putting only 33 teams in Class 3A — please tell me we’re not taking 32 to the football playoffs — but they got the big stuff right.
By and large, the committee swatted away the absurd arguments and sent the whiners on their way, while recognizing the true hardships that the new rule might unintentionally create. Reason reared its head in the case of Bridges Prep, which was unanimously granted its appeal to move to Class 2A rather than jumping two classifications to Class 3A. Coincidentally, Bridges will retain its region rivalry with Whale Branch, which will also move up a class for the next two years.
It’s where the Bucs belong, at least for now. Bridges is no longer on par with typical Class 1A schools, which are primarily rural schools with limited resources. Few, if any, have teams like the Bucs’ Lower State champion volleyball team that are loaded with teammates from club teams, or robust rosters like the Bucs boast for wrestling and soccer.
But neither does Bridges belong in the same classification as Oceanside Collegiate, which was bumped up one classification to Class 3A and still feels like a big fish in a small pond after being split up from fellow power Gray Collegiate, which was vaulted all the way to Class 4A. It’s hard to even compare Bridges to Battery Creek considering the Dolphins have a beautiful new state-of-the-art weight room, something the Bucs still lack.
The landscape is shifting in real time, though, and Bridges is one of a number of up-and-coming charter schools with designs on following the same blueprint that created the competitive imbalance. The Bucs have a beautiful new gym on the way — which will include that coveted weight room — and new programs are on the horizon, perhaps including football.
The beauty of SCHSL and its appeals committee handling this upheaval as well as it did is that they’ve proven the system can work. In two years, the same process could produce different results, as it should. A dynamic problem requires a dynamic solution, and this one hits the mark.
SCHSL REALIGNMENT 2024-26
CLASS 4A: Beaufort
CLASS 3A: Battery Creek
CLASS 2A: Bridges Prep, Whale Branch
Justin Jarrett is the sports editor of The Island News and the founder of LowcoSports.com. He was the sports editor of the Island Packet and the Beaufort Gazette for 6½ years. He has a passion for sports and community journalism and a questionable sense of humor.
