It took almost 20 years, but most of Tennessee’s small public schools finally got what they’ve been asking for with Tuesday’s decision by the TSSAA that likely will lead most of the private schools playing with them in Division I to move to Division II.
The Legislative Council’s new rules don’t allow private schools to offer work-study programs to help pay for tuition. They also state that the immediate family of a student-athlete must pay the tuition and that siblings of a student-athlete no longer can receive tuition breaks, either.
Stephen HargisThe new rules go into effect for the 2017-18 school year, and any school considering a move to D-II will have until around October of next year to notify the TSSAA. According to one TSSAA official, there is the likelihood of going from six public-school classifications in football to four or at most five, and there could be three private school classes, depending on how many of the private schools currently competing in Division I switch.
But while the new rules will move out some of the tougher competition – programs such as Boyd-Buchanan, Chattanooga Christian, Christ Presbyterian Academy, Knoxville Catholic, Notre Dame, etc. – standing in the way of the championships that always have been at the heart of this debate, they also lift the ban on giving financial aid to athletes once those schools do switch to D-II.
Although winning state championships isn’t written into the mission statement of any private school, having a competitive athletic program does make a school more attractive to prospective families.