Tim Stevens will be reporting with more from the NCHSAA board of directors meeting later today. Stay tuned for a longer story on nando.com/preps after commissioner Davis Whitfield meets with the media
The NCHSAA board of directors did not pass a motion that non-boarding parochial schools who were successful in their sport would move up a class. It will stay the same next year, which keeps Cardinal Gibbons in 3A for all sports - regular-season and playoffs.
The proposal that the board agreed upon in principle in December included moving teams up a class (in the playoffs only) if they had: advanced to the regional semifinals in six of the preceding eight years OR made the regional finals in four of the previous six years OR made the state finals in three consecutive years in its current classification.
That story is at this link: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/12/07/2529555/nchsaa-board-agrees-to-changes.html
The NCHSAA board also voted that transfers from one NCHSAA school to another school within its own LEA (local educational agency) or between LEAs will be ineligible for 365 days without a bonafide change in residence or LEA approval. The LEAs can have their own rules to override the NCHSAA. The NCHSAA rule simply sets a statewide standard.
Spring football practice did not get to the board - it did not get out of committee.
The basketball playoffs will continue to use seeding, but will have minor tweaks like every conference only getting half automatic bids instead half-plus-one. For the Cap-8, for instance, the league would get four automatic bids instead of five.
Seeded playoffs will be added to boys and girls soccer next year as well.
Fuquay-Varina plans to add two varsity athletics programs next year – boys' lacrosse and gymnastics. The Bengals were poised to be the only team in next year's Southwest Wake Athletic 4A Conference to not have either sport.
