CBF UPDATE: ACA gets surprise phone call regarding new classification

Coach Michael Summers and Alabama Christian Academy learned on Thursday of a change in their classification in football. (FILE PHOTO)

By TIM GAYLE

The Alabama High School Athletic Association has found a new way to punish private schools with its Competitive Balance Factor.

Now, the organization is applying the rule to all private schools regardless of whether they’ve ever been elevated in classification by the rule. Alabama Christian Academy, which has never had a sport elevated by CBF in the rule’s four-year existence, was notified on Thursday by AHSAA executive director Alvin Briggs that it would not be allowed by drop in classification in football because of its quarterfinal appearance in 2020.

Alabama Christian has experienced a decline of 54 students in daily attendance since the last classification for the 2020-22 period. At that time, ACA was the 13th smallest 4A school with an average daily enrollment of 221, which was multiplied by the private school multiplier of 1.35 instituted in 1999. This year’s enrollment is at 167, a middle-of-the-pack 2A school until it is multiplied by 1.35, which falls at 225.45, just above the cutoff between 2A and 3A. 

ACA will be 3A in every sport except football and softball. If Thursday’s new ruling is upheld, the Eagles will not be allowed to drop in softball when the reclassification for spring sports takes place next May. 

“There’s an appeal process and we’ve already started the appeal process,” ACA athletic director Aaron Greenwood said. “That’s the next step.”

Previous CBF interpretations by AHSAA officials applied the rule only to schools which had accumulated enough points over a two-year cycle to move up in classification. Catholic, for example, duplicated ACA’s accomplishment by reaching the quarterfinals of the 4A state playoffs in 2019 before losing to UMS-Wright. When the new classification system was approved in 2020, the Knights were allowed to drop to 3A based on their enrollment because they were not elevated by CBF in 2018-19.

“Competitive Balance, the way the rule reads, is implemented (with the threshold of one point for single sports and two points for coed sports) once you move up,” ACA football coach Michael Summers said. “We’re appealing it. Based on our interpretation, we don’t believe this (AHSAA decision) to be correct and we’re appealing it. We’ll appeal it to the district. If they don’t accept our appeal, we’ll appeal it to the (Central) Board. And then whatever step is next, I imagine we’ll do.”

Whether the new interpretation came from AHSAA officials or the governing Central Board is uncertain. Central Board members approved a new classification system on Wednesday with ACA and Madison Academy in 3A and UMS-Wright in 4A based on enrollment numbers, but Briggs notified each school the following day that they would not be allowed to drop in certain sports (ACA and Madison Academy in football, UMS-Wright in volleyball) because they had accumulated enough CBF points to stay in their original class, even though none of the schools were currently elevated by CBF in those sports.

Because the three schools were reclassified a day later, the decision was not made at the open board meeting but apparently in private at a later meeting. 

The Competitive Balance Factor was installed in 2018 to penalize successful private schools by moving them up in respective sports that earned a number of points (more than four for individual sports, more than seven for coed sports) and not allowing them to drop unless they fell below the minimum threshold. 

The rule was tweaked in 2020 before the second implementation of the rule by reducing the data for assessing penalties from three years to two years and by adding another round to the rule, assessing a half-point for any team reaching the second round of the playoffs (or simply appearing in the golf or tennis state tournaments). 

Now, it appears, another twist has been added, applying the rule to private school teams that would normally fall in classification but haven’t even been elevated by Competitive Balance Factor success.

Under the new interpretation, four schools were elevated in football by Competitive Balance, but as many as 12 could have been affected by the AHSAA’s new definition. In volleyball, eight schools were elevated but as many as 22 could have been affected. In cross country, nine earned enough points to move up under Competitive Balance, but as many as 27 achieved the threshold that would have prevented them from moving down if their enrollment numbers forced a change in classification. 

ACA officials are meeting with the district board today to have their appeal heard.

Another school, Madison Academy, also learned on Thursday that it would be moved back to Class 4A after being originally classified as 3A under the same ruling.