North Meck boys, Vance girls declared co-champions by NC High School Athletic Association
North Mecklenburg High sophomore Jeremy Gregory said he’s still disappointed he won’t get to play in a state championship basketball game, but said he was happy with a decision made by the N.C. High School Athletic Association during its spring board meeting.
The NCHSAA decided to name all the teams that reached high school basketball state championship games as co-state champions. In the past, when state championship games were not played, the NCHSAA has not named state champions, simply naming Eastern and Western Regional champions.
The decision means that five Observer-area teams will be named co-state champions: boys teams from North Mecklenburg (4A), Shelby (2A) and Freedom (3A); and girls teams from Newton-Conover (2A) and Vance (4A).
For North Mecklenburg it is the school’s second basketball state championship and its first since 2005. Vance captures its first state girls basketball championship just a few months after its football team won its first last December.
“I’m glad we’re getting some recognition for our good season,” Gregory said Wednesday. “I would’ve been really disappointed to just be regional champions. We worked so hard to be 30-1. I still want to play and just be named one state champion, but this is better than the regional thing and I’m satisfied with it.”
Days before the 2020 state finals were going to played at N.C. State and North Carolina, the NCHSAA was forced to postpone the finals due to the coronavirus outbreak. Last week, when N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper announced that public schools would be closed for the remainder of the school year, the NCHSAA was forced to cancel spring sports and the basketball state finals.
“We felt like that in this crazy time, which we’re in, that crowning and East region and a West region (champion) didn’t do either side justice,” said NCHSAA president Brad Craddock, principal at Glenn High School in Winston-Salem. “We felt like naming co-champions was the best thing we could do to honor all the work the student-athletes had put into it.”
NCHSAA commissioner Que Tucker said unlike during the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918 and a period in the ‘60s when the NCHSAA didn’t hold football championships in all classifications, the basketball cancellations were not planned.
“In those instances,” Tucker said referring to previous years with no champions decided, “where games were not scheduled to be played, then obviously the boards at those times did not name co-champions. In this scenario, we did have (regional champions) and we were three days or two days away from actually playing the games. That makes it a little bit different from what we have looked at, historically speaking.”
Football Rules Changes
The association will adopt football changes that it hopes will make the game safer.
▪ Beginning this fall, teams will have a two-hour reduction of allowed weekly preseason scrimmage hours. It’s dropping to five hours per week, and teams must have 48 hours of no contact before and after scrimmage sessions. The gap does not apply to teams participating in jamborees.
▪ From the first day of fall sports practice, scheduled this year for Aug. 1, until the Monday before the start of the season, teams are limited to 15 minutes of live action contact per group (linebackers, defensive backs, etc.). Once the regular-season starts, teams will be limited to 15 minutes of live action contact per week — full-speed drills between the offense and defense where players are being hit and tackled.
▪ Finally, beginning April 15, 2021, until the last 10 student days of that spring semester, teams may adopt a new drill into practice. Called “BUMP,” it will allow schools to simulate live action. Players can get into position for the tackle, but simply tap the opposition or wrap him up. The drill is to end with no player being taken to the ground. The NCHSAA will allow 60 minutes of BUMP per day during the spring period, but not in the summer.
“(The coaches) felt this was a safer alternative than holding a pad,” said Tra Waters, assistant commissioner of the NCHSAA. “If you’re holding a pad during practice and someone hits you full speed, you don’t have your hands for leverage and you can fall backwards, and (coaches) felt (BUMP) might make it safer.”
High School Football without fans?
Tucker said playing high school football without fans, as some professional and college teams have discussed, would be “financially devastating” to high schools that often depend on football revenue to fund other programs.
“I could imagine a scenario where football is played but the numbers are limited,” Tucker said. “You still are able to allow spectators to come through the turnstiles. Therefore, there could be that opportunity to still generate some funds. Would it pay the bills totally? Perhaps not.”
Tucker and Craddock said it was premature to discuss any changes to the fall calendar. Tucker did say the season could be pushed back, resulting in fewer regular-season games if need be, and that she had been told she could be in conversations with the state board of public education and the state department of public instruction as any decisions are being made that would affect the high school sports calendar.
“We understand that many people are interested in how schools and teams can get back to workouts, practices and competition,” Tucker said. “At this time, it is premature to speculate on a return date and whether or not the fall season will be impacted by COVID-19. We will continue to listen to the advice and mandates of our state’s governor, Department of Health and Human Services, and medical advisors to inform our decisions going forward. Any decision made by the Board of Directors and staff at a future date will be guided by those sources of information, erring on the side of health and safety. We will do our part to ensure health and safety for all of our athletes, coaches and communities.”
Other action take by NCHSAA
In other action, this week, the NCHSAA Board:
▪ Approved policy mirroring the State Board of Education’s decision to extend the validity of Pre-Participation Examinations (PPE) conducted on or after April 1, 2019. Also acknowledged a State Board of Education decision to allow academic eligibility for any student meeting local promotion standards during the fall semester of 2020-2021.
▪ Approved adjustments to the soccer playoff calendar (now a Monday, Thursday format for early rounds) and an adjustment to allow regular-season contests to end in a tie following two 10-minute overtime periods.
▪ Approved the distribution of grant funds in excess of $120,000 to member schools requesting and awarded through the inaugural NCHSAA Grant Program.
