A very public matter: Classifying public and private football teams

“Many people do not understand the advantage private schools have,’’ said Erik Soliday, head coach for Class A Turner County in South Georgia. “Public schools are restricted to the kids within their county, so we have a limited pool of students to work with. Private schools have basically an unlimited pool to draw from.’’

Gerry Romberg, head coach for Atlanta private school Westminster, countered that private schools also are limited. They can take only students who can qualify academically and pay tuition, he said. It is against GHSA rules for private or public schools to recruit or favor athletes for admission.

"I hate the assumption that just because you're successful you recruit [athletes],’’ Romberg said. “I would love for any public school coach to come and watch one of our practices or games and look at our talent level. We win because we have a tremendous staff that coaches our kids up through hard work and preparation.’’

The public-private debate has been contentious within the GHSA for years.

Under pressure from state legislators, the GHSA assigned a multiplier of 1.5 to private schools’ enrollment from 2000-01 to 2008-09. If still in effect, the multiplier would push about 40 percent of football-playing private schools, including Westminster, into higher classifications to compete against larger public schools.

Ralph Swearngin, executive director of the GHSA, says the decision to get rid of the multiplier came after a committee of public and private coaches and administrators found the multiplier to be irrelevant. A similar percentage of championships were won by private schools before and after 2000, Swearngin said.

Meanwhile, the climate within the Georgia legislature changed.

“At that time, there was rising sentiment in the leadership of the Georgia Assembly that the multiplier was not constitutional,’’ Swearngin said.

During the 2008 football season, the first after the GHSA abolished the multiplier, Wesleyan of Norcross moved down to Class A and became the first private school in 10 years to win a football state title in Georgia’s smallest classification.

Private schools have won 25 of 34 Class A championships in all sports since the multiplier was eliminated. Wesleyan has more state titles (10) than all Class A public schools combined in that time period.

Some of the increasing success of private schools has to do with their increasing numbers. In 1999, there were 19 football-playing private schools in the GHSA. Today, there are 41, and 33 of those compete in Class A, where opposition to private schools is most staunch.

All 15 football coaches of public Class A schools who responded to the survey wanted private schools classified differently, and 11 wanted them put in separate classifications altogether, as South Carolina does.

Lincoln County’s Larry Campbell, Georgia’s winningest football coach, has been the most vocal critic of the decision to abolish the multiplier. Campbell also is athletics director at his Class A school.

"You get in the playoffs, and it’s just matter of time when you face a private school and you’re out,’’ he said. ‘’I’m not speaking of football. We can hold our own. Our tennis teams and softball teams get embarrassed. They can call me a crybaby or whatever they want, but it’s unfair to call it a level playing field.’’

Campbell’s teams have been eliminated in the playoffs each of the past three seasons by private schools. But only three private schools -- Darlington (1998), Marist (2002) and Wesleyan (2008) -- have won football state titles during the past 20 years.

Greater Atlanta Christian head coach Tim Cokely had no opinion on what was best for other sports, but he said few private schools have the manpower in football to play higher than their enrollment places them. GAC plays in Class AA, which has not had a private-school champion in more than 30 years.

“I had to play Buford and Carver this year,’’ Cokely said. “It would be hard for me to fathom that a private school could be as good as them when they’re going to sign 15 to 20 players [to college scholarships]. There just aren’t any private schools doing that.’’

The Survey Says

Should public and private schools be classified differently by the GHSA?

71  percent -- Yes

24 percent -- No

5 percent -- Don’t know

How should the GHSA handle the issue?

36 percent -- Private and public schools should be placed in different classifications

32 percent -- A multiplier should be applied to the enrollment numbers of private schools to classify them

3 percent -- Either of the above

24 percent -- The GHSA’s current policy is the most practical or appropriate position

5 percent -- Don’t know

THE SURVEY SAYS

More than 140 high school football coaches responded to an extensive questionnaire on some of the biggest issues facing their sport. The series, which began on Sunday, continues throughout state championship week.

Coming this week:

Sunday: Coaches: It's a parent trap

Monday: Top ingredients for a winning program

Tuesday: Private school classification dilemma

Wednesday: Biggest changes in the sport

Thursday: Diversity among coaches

Friday: Best active coaches; best of all time

Saturday: State finals in Georgia Dome? Is it working?

Sunday: An official look at officials