There were no empty seats when the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association board meeting began Wednesday morning.
Oklahoma high school football coaches and athletic directors filled the chairs designated for spectators, and more guests filled the hallways. Board meetings don't usually draw such large audiences, but this one drew statewide attention because important decisions were at hand.
Coaches are waiting to see what happens in the football district.
As a result of a lawsuit brought by five private high schools in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma County District Court ruled on April 9th to prohibit the OSSAA from enforcing amendments to Article 14 of the association's rules that focus on private schools. was lowered. The rule, which promotes private schools to higher competitive classes based on postseason success, will result in a shuffling of football districts once the court's preliminary injunction goes into effect July 1.
Although uncertainty remains, the OSSAA took a step toward the reclassification and redistricting process Wednesday. The Board resolved to create a new soccer classification for 2024-25 and 2025-26 using member schools' first quarter average daily membership statistics from October 1, 2023. .
This is a departure from the original 2024-25 and 2025-26 classifications and districts, which were based on June 2023 year-end statistics. The OSSAA approved these now-defunct districts over the summer.
Average Daily Membership (ADM) measures the average number of students in a school each day and can vary widely from grade to grade. Coupled with the Rule 14 changes, his new ADM number could change any football classification.
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In choosing to use October numbers, the OSSAA Board of Directors listened to member schools. Norman North football coach Justin Jones, executive director of the Oklahoma State Football Coaches Association, said OFBCA's regional representatives and advisory committee voted unanimously in favor of using the October numbers. Jones said these groups included representatives from all categories of soccer.
For those leaders, creating classifications that accurately reflect enrollment at member schools is worth the tedious redistricting process.
“We know it's going to be a tough situation,” Jones said. “But our executive committee will be meeting with me (Wednesday) after this meeting to come up with a plan and move forward so we can work diligently to get this done over the next three weeks.”
Jones said OBCA will have a new draft district recommendation by next week for the OSSAA board to vote on by June.
The OSSAA Board of Directors also voted Wednesday to create a special committee to address the future of Rule 14. The OSSAA subsequently issued a statement announcing that Executive Director David Jackson, Deputy Director Grant Gower, OSSAA attorneys and directors will serve on the committee.
“The committee will consider the resolution of pending litigation and the future of Rule 14,” the statement said.
At the beginning of Wednesday's meeting, the board went into a two-hour executive session to discuss the Rule 14 case. Outside the closed boardroom, coaches and athletic directors filled the hallways and lobbies, anxiously awaiting their return to begin public debate about the football district.
The primary reason for the district change is a court ruling that removed the multiple-class limit for private schools and reinstated the Class 5A cap. This means that the private school cannot move her one class higher than her ADM and can only advance up to class 5A.
The OSSAA meeting agenda listed a discussion regarding baseball's 2024-2025 reclassification, but the board decided to postpone and focus on the more immediate issue of football.
“We know people are wondering where they're going,” said Stacey Butterfield, OSSAA board chair and Jenks superintendent. “We recognize that timing is important as coaches and athletic directors across the state need time to develop their schedules, and everyone will work smartly to accomplish this.”
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“Link rule” that prevents players from following coaches
Starting July 1, high school athletes in Oklahoma will be prohibited from following their coach to another school.
According to the OSSAA, the so-called “linking rule” was passed after the OSSAA surveyed its member schools. The association does not publish survey figures.
Under the linked rule, a high school athlete cannot move schools to play for a coach who has coached this student in high school or club sports in the past year.
Linked rules are not limited to forwarding. Also, this trumps a valid relocation, and a student cannot relocate to a new school district to play for a coach who coached the student in the past year.
“As with all of our rules, we believe that if there is a violation, members should go to the police themselves,” said OSSAA Executive Director David Jackson. “We know about it and we investigate it just like we do all our rules and we enforce it consistently.”
