Principals ditch effort to reinstate joint prep playoffs

By Ron Brocato
Sports Editor

BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana high school administrators today soundly defeated proposals sponsored by Brother Martin High School principal Ryan Gallagher that would have reinstated joint public and private school playoffs in the Class 5A sports of football, basketball, baseball and softball.

A sport-by-sport vote was taken to recreate a joint playoff system for “Select” (private) and “Non-Select” (public) schools in the highest classification (5A). Although the vote totals were not announced, each proposal fell far short of approval. The vote totals will be released by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) in the next few days.

Gallagher and the rest of the principals of Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of New Orleans had proposed the joint playoff system as a way of strengthening competition. 

In recent years, because of the limited number of Catholic, private and other nonpublic schools in the state’s highest classification, Select schools have had difficulty filling out a full 32-team playoff bracket, leading to numerous byes and schools with losing records qualifying for the playoffs.

Gallagher, the Select schools’ Class 5A representative on the executive committee of the LHSAA, said he was disappointed his proposals failed to restore joint playoffs in the LHSAA’s highest enrollment category.

“I thought the northern part of Louisiana would go for it, and I had a positive feeling for it to happen, but it didn’t,” Gallagher said. “I think there are other ways to do this, so we’ll go back to the drawing board and figure it out.

“I’m disappointed for the kids. They are stuck in a watered-down format. I can’t say I’m surprised, but I’m just disappointed. I think there’s a lack of understanding among all the schools. I think Select and Non-Select schools are far more similar than what people suggest.”

Gallagher said he would not abandon the reunification efforts, but that will have to wait until next year.

“We have to find a way for the whole association to vote by majority,” he said. “But if we can’t get this done in Class 5A, I don’t know what’s next. I thought 5A would want to pull together. I thought the big girls and the big boys wanted to play each other.”

A similar proposal for joint playoffs in Class 1A also failed.

The separate Select school football playoffs have created more revenue for the private schools than a joint playoff system would provide, but Gallagher said the monetary benefits were secondary.

“That’s not as significant or beneficial to the top athletes, who want to play the best competition,” Gallagher said. “It’s not about the money. The kids don’t care about the money. It’s about the experience. The kids don’t vote, but they have to play.”

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