OHSAA BIG Playoff Payouts…Schools Left Out

(5-27-21) Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) member schools are finding out that the association wants to make-up its financial losses from the pandemic during state tournaments…while schools are left out of that process financially.

Host schools and participants are doing the work and the association is reaping the benefits.

Sectional Softball and baseball games over $2000 in ticket sales combined. 2 days of district track roughly $17000 in ticket revenue! Nearly $20,000!

— Ayersville Athletics (@AyersvilleAD) May 27, 2021

Some schools have expressed disappointment on social media about the current format. Athletic departments are feeling the pandemic pinch just as much as the association, host schools are not sharing in the gate income and schools participating are not being paid for expenses of travel. In the future will schools decline playing in tournaments and hosting them?

Recently the OHSAA Board passed a fees schedule starting in the fall. Member schools have not had to pay a fee in recent years.

• OHSAA Board Votes 9-0 To Approve Membership Dues Starting In The Fall

What all of this means to schools is less funding for the local athletic departments.

From the April 22nd OHSAA Board meeting

It has been a turbulent pandemic season for the OHSAA and member schools, cancellation of tournaments in 2020, including basketball state finals with loss income. The release of the OHSAA Executive Director last summer and the hiring of a new man to fill the position. A board that was able to pull off some positive changes, including being able to complete all of the state tournaments (Spring still to be held).

But the board has hit some big bumps in the road returning to normal…including changing the number of teams qualifying for the state football playoffs, doubling the participants from 8 to 16 teams in each region.

Latest OHSFCA poll conducted on 12 or 16 team playoff per region: 486 of 711 coaches voted (68% response rate). 342 voted for 12 teams and 144 for 16 teams. 70% of responses for 12 teams. That’s pretty staggering.

— Lynn Groll (@LynnGroll_TDPub) May 26, 2021

None of the issues mentioned above were voted on or approved by the member schools, but all were actions approved by the Board. The OHSAA did ask for input from football coaches and administrators on the increase in teams qualifying for the playoffs…but did what they wanted to anyway.

So who is working for who in all of this…it looks like the member schools are working for the association to recover the loss in finances for the association, but it should be the other way around…the association should be working for the member schools.

Is keeping the income on track for the association the main goal? It looks like it, should it be? In order to make that happen the member schools will need to have more input, especially during these times.

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