Until now, the dispute between public and private schools over competitive balance played out in press conferences and postgame interviews.
Mount Carmel football coach Jordan Lynch and Batavia football coach Dennis Piron both regularly offered juicy quotes that presented their sides of the issue.
The time for empty talk has passed.
Over the next six weeks, schools across the state will discuss several possible rule changes and state tournament format tweaks that could change the landscape of high school sports in Illinois.
The ongoing battle between public and private schools over an alleged “private school competitive advantage” is at the center of the two most significant bylaw proposals the Illinois High School Association released on Tuesday.
The West Suburban Conference submitted both, and it includes Downers Grove North and South, Proviso East and West, Hinsdale Central and South, Leyden, Morton, Addison Trail, Willowbrook, York, Lyons, Glenbard West and Oak Park.
Proposal 8, submitted by the West Suburban, creates separate classes for boundary (public) and non-boundary (private and magnet) schools in the state tournaments.
Under this format, public and private schools would no longer compete for the same state championships.
In four-class sports, there would be three classes for boundary schools and one class for non-boundary schools.
In football, there would be six boundary classes and two non-boundary classes.
Under this proposed system, a basketball state championship game between Young and Glenbard West could not happen.
A football state championship game between Maine South and Loyola would be impossible.
Each of the schools mentioned would face similar schools and win separate state championships.
Proposal 15, also submitted by the West Suburban, creates separate paths to the state finals for boundary and non-boundary schools.
Boundary and non-boundary schools would have separate sectionals and supersectionals, and one non-boundary team would advance to the state semifinals.
So basically, only one private/non-boundary public school would be allowed in the state semifinals in each class every year.
Under this proposed system, schools like Brother Rice, Mount Carmel and Lane would be placed in a separate supersectional, and the winning team would advance directly to the state semifinals in football and basketball.
State championships between traditional public schools and non-boundary schools would be possible.
Still, only one non-boundary school would be in the state finals in every class and sport.
Downers Grove North AD Dave Rose, who wrote Proposal 8 and 15, declined to comment specifically on the bylaws, telling the Sun-Times that, “the proposal is still very early in the....
