Legislators, NCHSAA debate future of HS athletics

The future of high school athletics in North Carolina has been under contention in recent days.

As a result of a 22-month-long investigation by state lawmakers into the North Carolina High School Athletics Association with regards to its finances, oversight, transparency and other topics, a group of Republican lawmakers proposed HB 91.

The bill, named the Accountability and Fair Play in Athletics bill, seeks to dissolve the NCHSAA after the 2021-2022 academic year and replace it with a new governmental commission that would oversee high school athletics. The NCHSAA has served as the governing body for high school athletics in the state since 1913.

The commission would consist of nine members appointed by the governor, along with four appointed by the Senate and four by the House.

“We have a problem with their appeal process and with the amount of money they’ve gotten from different sources – primarily the percentage of the gate receipts of the games that are played after the regular season,” said Sen. Tom McInnis (R-25th District — Anson, Richmond, Moore, Scotland) in a phone interview Friday, who was originally appointed to the subcommittee created to look into the NCHSAA.

“They’ve got an excessive amount of money in their fund balance and there’s no need to keep charging additional fees and additional financial penalties and things like that,” McInnis continued. “The fund balance is sufficient to run the organization for almost 10 years if they took in no fees for the next 10 years.”

Currently, the NCHSAA has total assets valued at about $41 million, including an endowment fund that comprises almost half that, according to HighSchoolOT.

After its initial unveiling by Republican senators in the General Assembly on July 20, the bill has cleared both the Senate Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Finance in the last week. It is next set to go before the Committee on Rules and Operations. The Senate session will reconvene next week.

On Wednesday, NCHSAA administrators, including commissioner Que Tucker and members of the Board of Directors, met with McInnis and several other lawmakers behind closed doors in Raleigh to discuss and attempt to find a resolution. McInnis said the meeting was positive.

“We discussed all aspects and where everybody could learn everybody’s position,” McInnis said. “We came out with positive vibes with all the members of the association that were there.”

McInnis said this was just the beginning and he anticipates more meetings going forward between legislators and the NCHSAA in order to arrive at some kind of common ground.

“The lines of communication have been opened widely so that everybody understands the dynamics of the players and actors involved,” McInnis said. “Everybody understands what our goals and our objectives are, and I think everybody is prepared to work towards those goals and objectives.”

There is a significant amount of opposition to the bill. The National Federation of State High School Associations voiced its support for the NCHSAA behind a statement from NFHS executive director Dr. Karissa Niehoff, while the NC Coaches Association, NC Athletic Directors Association and the Triangle Basketball Officials Association have all released statements opposing the bill and in support of the NCHSAA.

Richmond football head coach Bryan Till said he understands why this legislation has been proposed, and agrees with the need for transparency and accountability from the NCHSAA.

“In my opinion this legislation has come about because of a frustration with the lack of accountability for the NCHSAA as well as a lack of financial transparency,” Till said. “An association that is made of mainly public school-membership should have all of its financial information available to the public. I appreciate that our representatives are working for this.

“The tough thing about HB 91 is that it would start over from scratch and essentially scrap the good parts of the association with those that have frustrated people,” Till continued. “I think scrapping the entire association creates more questions than answers at this point. I don’t see that we need to reinvent the wheel.”

Till said he would like to see a compromise that would be a hybrid model of what is currently in place, along with appointed representation from the General Assembly.

“The schools would have input on voting for members of the board along with appointed members by the governor and general assembly,” Till said. “This could ensure multiple levels of accountability.”

The most significant change Till said he wants to see happen is for the NCHSAA to amend its bylaws that require 75% of the membership to vote for a change to happen.

“We have been unable to effect change in the current model due to the lack of voting by member schools,” Till said. “Not a lack of majority but a lack of participation. Schools are not voting on the issues so nothing is able to change and evolve within the association. This has to be remedied with whatever governing body is in place so that changes to things like realignment can be handled more efficiently.”

Scotland football head coach Richard Bailey said he does not support the bill.

“I support the NCHSAA and believe in what they do for athletics and athletes in the state,” Bailey said.

However, like Till and McInnis, Bailey also believes there should be more transparency from the NCHSAA, and perhaps even independent oversight, as well.

“I do believe, like any organization, there are definitely things they can work on and improve,” Bailey said. “This bill has at least brought attention to some of those items. The biggest thing is we need transparency and we need to really look at how we distribute and collect money in our state and how we should use the endowment money.”

Bailey said he’s spoken with several coaches across the state regarding HB 91, including Till and John A. Holmes High School coach Paul Hoggard, who both serve on the North Carolina Coaches Association Board of Directors.

“I think we have to really look at our faults and be able to admit there are some areas we need to address to get the best experience in athletics for students in North Carolina,” Till said. “Until we can admit we aren’t perfect, we can’t change and get better. This is what we ask of students and this is what we should ask of ourselves as adults. The guiding principle should be to work together to give our students a great experience and the public confidence that we are doing that very thing.”