The Controversy Continues

Now that a couple of 4-A leagues have ban  their schools from playing the Private schools there is plenty of talk for an against schools like Cardinal Gibbons.  Let's see when and how all of this got to this point.

Way back in the 70's Cardinal Gibbons joined the NCHSAA but after about 20 years they went back to the private school league only to ask to rejoin the NCHSAA again in 2005.  The question to beg would be, why would any member  that plays only public schools want to let a private school in.  I think the answer way back in the 70's and again in 2005 is little bitty old Cardinal Gibbons will be easy pickings for every member of our conference to get a win and it would count as part of your eligible playoff record to qualify.

What has happened Cardinal Gibbons has grown into a huge private school that can beat any other school in North Carolina.  Back 30 years ago Ravenscroft was the juggernaut of private schools you didn't see them get invited to join anybody's conference.

 I have no problem what so ever as long as their pool of available athletes is no bigger than other teams they play.  What is the radius of Green Hope  where their pool of students come from.  Three miles?  It just happens that certain schools are in upper class neighbor hoods and most of their students come from there  How many students that go to Gibbons  live within a mile of the school?
Cardinal Gibbons says that no athlete outside of a 25 mile radius of Cardinal Gibbons is allowed to play sports.  Get out a map and look and see how far 25 miles is  as the crow flies and you will see any athlete as far west as Hillsbourgh, east to Knightdale, north almost half way to Hederson and south  to almost Lillington.  Don't you think they might find enough players from that area to beat up on everybody.  Northern Nash who gets students from Battleboro what is it at most seven miles from the school.

Let's put this thing into some perspective.  The four public schools in Nash County are pretty much all equal in size as it relates to number of students.  Southern Nash is bigger area wise in order to have the same number of students as the rest.  Let's say that we are going to allow Southern Nash to have athletes within that 25 mile radius of Stanhope and you will see that Southern Nash could pull in students from all most all of Nash, parts of Edgecombe, Wilson, Johnston and almost all of Wake County.  Do you think Northern Nash, Nash Central  and Rocky Mount would want to be in the same league with them?
Many years Pitt County had open enrollment go to the school of your choice.  North Pitt and D H Conley suffered. Once South Central was created Pitt County went back to the district system  But Rose supporters have ever since wanted to go back to open enrollment.  Just this week Rose was changed to a Magnet School in order they can have open enrollment while the others must observe their districts.

This thing right now is based on the three parochial schools but this is sooner or later going to include Charter and Prep schools who also have no athletic boundaries.  Here is another factor effecting public schools.  If you are a football school and we will Say Hunt High in Wilson.  I would bet if you looked at the money spent on all sports for every sport at Hunt over the last five years 50 percent comes from three and four football playoff games every year.  How would you like to have to face Cardinal Gibbons in the opening round and lose, there goes your athletic budget for this year.

Why has the NCHSAA gone with Eight football playoffs  champions for several years?  MONEY!  Why does it take as many as ten baseball playoff games to win the baseball title? MONEY!  What money has done has caused many teams to qualify for playoffs that are not deserving.  If they thought they could make money off it they would take the worse 16 teams in each division and play a loser advances bracket and play to see who is the worse team. Right now there is no money in that.  What the Cardinal Gibbons of the world are doing to the public schools strapped for athletic funds is taking away their money when in the public school eye Cardinal Gibbons is rolling in it.