First LHSAA Football Task Force meeting held

BY: TRACEY JAGNEAUX
Sports Editor

On Wednesday, May 27 the Louisiana High School Athletic Association hosted the first meeting of the newly formed football task force. Coaches and administrators from all over the state met at the LHSAA building at 11 a.m. to discuss issues regarding the current split of select/non-select in the football playoffs. This first meeting was closed to both the public and media. LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine was scheduled to chair the meeting. No further meeting dates have been set, nor has a decision been made on the public and media availability of subsequent meetings.
The split in the football playoffs took effect in 2013 and put select and non-select schools on different paths in the postseason. Select schools are those schools who have more than 25 percent of its student body coming from outside of the set attendance zone for that school. The LHSAA and its members have been in a back and forth struggle to find a way to solve the issue of what non-select schools call an inequitable situation in terms of how attendance is determined.
Last week’s first LHSAA Task Force meeting to address select/nonselect school issues got high marks from the spokesmen who addressed the media afterward.
The LHSAA will begin their summer meetings on Monday, June 8. This will be only a handful of issues that will be addressed by the Executive Committee. Other items on the agenda that will take priority at the meetings include the latest unrest with the Louisiana High School Officials Association and the controversy surrounding pay. Two-year bids for several sports, including basketball, also will be awarded.
Undoubtedly, the main focus should be on how to tackle the split and its impact on the schools throughout the state. The LHSAA has a rich history when it comes to tradition and there are many coaches who wish to keep that tradition.