Public-private dynamic in high school sports is focus of new KU-assisted state survey
In January 2019, a survey showed 87.2% of all Kansas high school wanted some kind of change to the dynamic between public and private sports, but that had an asterisk next to it.
The Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) didn’t fully embrace the results because two public-school principals created and conducted the survey, which KSHSAA saw as a conflict of interest.
Although KSHSAA took in the results and the data was recorded, no action was taken. Executive director Bill Faflick said a third-party survey was needed, so KSHSAA made one on its own.
On May 1, Faflick announced a partnership with a researcher at the University of Kansas. He said he is hoping to get the data back before the next KSHSAA executive board meeting June 17-18.
“We have a survey that is non-biased, ready to go to member schools in the coming weeks,” Faflick said.
The idea of the survey is to see whether Kansas’ high schools feel a need for reclassification because of a recent surge in private school athletic dominance.
From the 1910s — when the first Kansas high school state championships took place — through the 1970s, a public school ruled each decade in the number of titles. But that started to shift in the 1980s.
Kapaun Mt. Carmel won 31 state championships in the 1980s. In the 1990s, Wichita Collegiate tied Shawnee Mission Northwest with 29. And in each of the past two decades, private schools have claimed the most and second-most championships.
St. Thomas Aquinas (110) and Bishop Miege (106) are the top two most successful high school sports programs in Kansas. Both are private, and more than 96% of their titles have come since 1980.
Many school representatives would accept any change over the current model, Faflick said.
“In concept, you might like it, but now how do you implement such a change?” Faflick said. “It’s not just going to be something you throw out and don’t have all the details on. Our member schools deserve to know what all those details are before they adopt it.”
Kansas high school sports are only one year and two seasons into a new classification system, and it is set to change again next year for basketball and volleyball. In that time, public schools have won 76.4% of all available championships.
Only 11 private schools have a title in any sport at any level since the most recent reclassification. There have been 53 public schools with championships since fall 2018.
So what are the potential changes?
There are two prevailing options if a change to the classification of private schools happens.
- Enrollment multiplier: This would take a private school’s number of students, multiply it by a fixed coefficient (normally 1.35 or 1.5) and reclassify under the boosted enrollment.
- Success modifier: This would lift a school (or program) up a classification after a determined variable of success. This could potentially apply to all schools, public and private.
The 2019 survey also provided options to select a separate division for Kansas’ private schools and a fourth selection to make no change. Here were the results:
This past year, KSHSAA has met with every league in Kansas, and through those meetings, Faflick said the public-private dilemma consistently comes up. No consensus has been reached, he said.
“What we may end up with is that what we’re doing currently is still the preferred method for the postseason as opposed to a new option,” Faflick said. “I don’t have that crystal ball to know exactly what our membership is going to say.”
This story was originally published May 11, 2020 at 3:27 PM.