It was just a matter of time, I suppose, but when the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association recently voted to allow one of its member schools to actively recruit athletes and award athletic scholarships, it signaled more than just a sign of the times.
It is a warning to other prep athletic associations to be prepared for similar proposals from member schools.
Why should we expect anything less? From corporate sponsors to 7-on-7 tournaments and skills competitions, there is big money to be made from high school recruits. And any time there’s money to be made, there will be people willing to look past the purity of high school sports and think only of ways to cash in.
That’s what led Red Lion Christian to propose to Delaware’s prep athletic rules makers that it will voluntarily withdraw from postseason tournaments in both football and boys’ basketball if it can be allowed to recruit and award athletic scholarships. Essentially Red Lion Christian will not be a full member of the DIAA in those two sports but will remain in all other sports.
Red Lion Christian wants to build nationally known programs in those two sports, traveling around the country to play the best teams in other states and showcase its athletes. In layman’s terms, the school wants to become a sports factory where parents, eager for their kids to be seen by college recruiters, are willing to pay whatever the tuition costs. The school also is banking on the popularity of those two sports to attract student-athletes in other sports to attend the school.