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Akron Public Schools Athletic Director Joe Howard says he supports proposed OHSAA changes designed to even the playing field between parochial and public schools in state tournaments

The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced a couple of weeks ago that it would allow members to vote on implementing a state tournament formula that would help level the playing field between private or parochial schools and public schools when the tourneys begin at the end of each season.

The new formula would add a number of calculations to determining the division in which a team would compete. For example, football powerhouses such as Youngstown Cardinal Mooney and Youngstown Ursuline, which now compete in the smaller-school divisions, would move up a division or two to better match-up against schools that have similar talent. The new formula would take into account not only the student enrollment, but the winning and championship tradition of the teams, the radius in which they can draw student-athletes and other demographic and socio-economic factors affecting each school.

The changes are being considered after research revealed that private or parochial schools, which make up 17 percent of the OHSAA’s membership, had won 43 percent of the state titles in all sports.

City Series Athletic Director Joe Howard supports the changes and hopes it will be approved by the OHSAA member schools in a vote this spring. He tells me that it’s time the playing field was leveled to allow many deserving public schools an equitable shot at a state title.

“I’ve always been in favor of the change, and never in favor of separate parochial and public school divisions, so this works for us (the City Series)," Howard said. "But no system is going to be perfect. We’ll give it a try, and I have a hunch that for the next couple of years, they’ll be fine-tuning it.”

Howard says if this tournament formula change is adopted, then it would have a big impact on all City Series schools in division assignments -- with one possible exception.

"The only school that I could see it maybe not affecting at all is Buchtel in football, only because of their history in that sport," he explained. "The rest of the schools in the city would probably drop down a division.”

Akron has only one Division I school, while the rest are Division II or III. He thinks under the proposed formula, all the Division II Akron schools would drop to Division III.

Howard says the current formula “has the scales tipped the wrong way.  I’m not looking for a clear-cut advantage, but I want the scales to be even, and I think the way the OHSAA will do their best to make it that way.”

According to Howard, the change would not hurt any schools as far as he can tell, and he adds that it will make for a more fair and balanced postseason for Ohio high schools.

On any given night

While Buchtel is cruising along as the top dog in City Series boys basketball, the race is far from over. Buchtel still has to play the second half of its 12-game conference schedule, and some teams that struggled to begin the league season are now beginning to put it all together to make the battle interesting down the stretch. For example, Kenmore has come to life of late after getting off to an 0-3 start in the league. Garfield surprised second-place Firestone on Tuesday night. week. It’s proof again that on any given night, most of the teams in the City Series have a chance to win.

Griffins try again to break Irish domination

Speaking of Buchtel, the Griffins will get a good idea of just how prepared they are to make a run for a Division II state title after their Saturday night trip to St. Vincent-St. Mary. The Irish knocked a previously-undefeated Buchtel squad out of the Canton District tournament last season, and have dominated the series between the two teams over the past several years. St. Vincent St. Mary will try to rebound from a loss to powerful Columbus Northland last weekend in Columbus. The Irish are only 6-7 on the season, but don’t let that record fool you. They’ve played one of the toughest schedules in  the state and are ranked 10th in the state in the Associated Press' Division II poll. Coach Dru Joyce believes he’ll have his team primed and ready for another title run by the time the regular season comes to an end, and many believe the Irish will be a tough out.