Whoweft

I would be surprised if the legislature does not move forward with HB25. This change by the TSSAA requires that the school administrator from the student's current school (the school the student is leaving) attest that the transfer is "not for athletic reasons." How many school administrators are going to agree to this? Point is, this is not really a one-time transfer rule--it is an attempt to split the baby.

Agreed. I think i would have to see a picture to believe it. I had decided it was all bs, then I heard it come up on 102TalkRadio last night--and they were convinced.

You must be going to different MBA games than I have been to. There students section is the most lively of any other school. MBA is always well coached and has a good game plan. Their kids are physically very strong--although undersized and a bit slow. MBA is in every game because they never quit (ever). They play every play through the whistle --they fight off blocks and pursue the ball. MBA may be aloof in its admission processes-but every year for the last 5 or so, they are between 1 to 3 players away from being competitive for a state title. Those 1 to 3 kids probably ended up at Lipscomb or Ensworth over the last 3 years

I think there is a legit argument to be made regarding Boyd being a DII school - not a D1 school. DII schools already receive clear benefits from being in DII that are not available to public schools. TSSAA is already creating a promotion/demotion factor between DII AA and AAA. If we are going to have a TSSAA and DIIAAA schools, then someone has to play them. DIIAA schools are the closest to DIIAAA in terms of rules/size/benefits, so it is the least unfair to them. I don't think any of these arguments are without weaknesses, but the bottom line is that we should probably combine DII AA and DIIAAA into one division so that everyone has plenty of games to play without driving 6 hours several times a year for regular season games. If DIIAA don't want that to happen, they should probably man up like CCS does and play a DIIAAA team that is close by every year. Rankin getting worked up and playing a game he cannot win is just a bonus for all that have been forced to put up with him for 30 years.

Rankin has done a masterful job winning in his career--but he has completely mastered gaining a competitive advantage over his opponents and (with the exception of Maryville) avoiding stiff competition. I am sure there is some concern about player safety--but I think that is a pretext. I think this is more about the TSSAA telling Rankin who he has to play than anything else. I don't think Rankin is a complete coward--he did play Maryville every year. But he wants to control the risk and number of losses every year.. Bottom line- Rankin has a point about being forced to play any school outside of his conference or playoffs, but his "reasons" for not wanting to play McCallie are disingenuous. He has become a legend whipping inferior opponents and orchestrating situations where he has an overwhelming advantage. If I were a coach that had to coach against Rankin in AA or AAA over the last 20 years, I would enjoy watching Rankin have to take his own medicine.

Can anyone confirm or deny a rumor that has been going around--that is, that the silver ball trophy ended up getting thrown in the trash after the game? I find this hard to believe, but I have now heard this from so many people that I wonder where it is coming from. So, did Coach Kimrey throw the runner up trophy in the trash?

This Baylor team is one of the best I have ever seen in Tennessee. I do not really see any weakness anywhere. Early on, it looked as if Baylor's QB had some accuracy issues- but those were just nerves. He is greatly improved and completing about 80% of his passes. Maybe if the Baylor QB throws a few to McCallie players, McCallie has a better chance. But that is not likely. It McCallie plays great and makes fewer mistakes, McCallie can stay in the game. But this game is Baylor's to lose.

The law is not self-executing. I do not know the exact circumstances, but if he challenged it in court, it would be difficult for any court to say the rules of the TSSAA trump Tennessee State Law.

The goal of the rules/system should be to create parity. There is an argument from the Nashville and Memphis schools that the Chattanooga schools have an unfair advantage because they have boarding students and are not required to have incoming students sit out a year. If this boarding school exception created an imbalance in the talent level or reflected an unfair amount of resources, I think it would be more credible. However, there is not an imbalance in talent levels, nor is there is any unfair imbalance favoring the Chattanooga schools when it comes to resources. One way to gauge whether there is parity or balance is to look at the college talent coming out of these schools. If you compare the number of three star or higher athletes coming out of each school (2024-2027 projected), sure the Chattanooga schools have a lot of talent--but so do Nashville schools. Between Lipscomb, Brentwood Academy and Ensworth, there are 23 kids rated 3 stars or more on the current rosters. Lipscomb and BA, the top two schools in Nashville, have 18 prospects compared with 17 from Baylor and McCallie. This is not an imbalance. I do not think the Chattanoga schools have an unfair talent advantage. I think it is fair to say that the talent level between Chattanooga schools and Nashville teams has become balanced in recent years--particularly this year. But historically, Nashville schools (drawing from a population 4x larger) have had more talent than Chattanoga schools. The number of three star or greater prospects on Lipscomb current 2024 team exceeds the total number of three or higher prospects that McCallie has had over a 25 year period (2001 through 2026) (this is not an exaggeration -- Lipscomb has 12 on its current roster and McCallie has had 11 in total since 2001). Does this seem like an unfair talent advantage? I would say no. Is there an unfair balance of resources? No. In terms of resources, I do not think there is any question that schools like MBA, BA, and Ensworth all have the same resources or more than the Chattanooga schools. The athletic facilities at MBA are some of the most impressive in the country--it is difficult to even find any reference to how much MBA spent on these new facilities. These facilities are so nice that it is disingenuous for anyone to claim that there is any lack of resources preventing MBA from having a boarding program. Ensworth just hired Matt Hassleback (retired NFL QB and ESPN Analyst) who had over $88,000,000 in career earnings. There is no question that Ensworth has all the resources it needs to compete. In this new proposed league, should we just attempt to disadvantage the boarding schools or should MBA be required to give back its indoor facilities or Ensworth fire its NFL coach? Should we cap the number of three star or higher prospect that the boarding schools have or should the same limit apply to Brentwood Academy and Lipscomb? For the record, Baylor has won one state championship in the last 50 years. Before 2019, McCallie won ONE state championship in the 115 years it played football. After losing for decades, these schools did not complain about how unfair it was that they had to compete with Nashville and Memphis schools. They kept competing--year after year - getting their butts kicked and trying find a way to compete. The elephant in the room is that in the last five years, these schools have focused on building a winning culture. There was no quick fix. During this five year period, the boarding schools have not had more high-end prospects than the Nashville schools or more money to spend on facilities or training. The leaders of these schools, the alumni, coaches and staffs have built sound programs with a strong winning culture. Rather than looking for ways to put the boarding schools at a disadvantage so that Nashville and Memphis schools will have 2 to 3x the number of prospects as Chattanooga schools, I would encourage the Nashville schools and Memphis schools to step up, compete, and focus on building the right culture.

Thanks for clarifying. I know this may not be popular, but I do not think the TSSAA transfer rule is enforceable any longer. If you read the Access and Opportunity Act that went into effect in April 2023 (TCA 49-6-309, I think the language is pretty clear. Every school "shall provide transfer students and home school students who enroll or re-enroll in the LEA or public charter school in good academic standing with equal access to all academic and arts programs, clubs, events, and opportunities offered by the LEA or public charter school as provided to non-transfer students enrolled in the LEA or public charter school." I know the TSSAA has not acted or created a new rule to address this, but I think the TSSAA's hands are tied here. So, bringing it back to your point--I don't think the rule requiring that anyone sit out a year will apply to any kid who transfers.

Explain please: The only change that needs to be made is for the rule to state that if a student becomes a boarding student after they have established an athletic record at another school they will be ineligible for one season. Does this mean that a student could transfer to Father Ryan after they have established an athletic record at another school and be eligible?

Do you mean that winning a state championship is tarnished in a public division with less than 75 teams or public or private? I know there are only 11 or so teams in dIIAAA.

This is true. Booger, you is insightful. I do recall what it took to win a state championship when there were only three divisions. If you were going to win in AA, you would have to beat Alcoa, MUS, and BA. I don't think it means less to kids today --they don't know it is easier. In DIIAAA, it is probably not easier. So I guess the question is who is hurt by giving out 10 trophies instead of 3? On a related point, I imagine that the TSSAA's share of playoff ticket sales benefit from having more teams in more playoffs and championships. I don't think the TSSAA staff (if they were asked or had a say) would have an incentive to shrink things down.

Just having some fun.

GMac has found his footing in the antique offense. McCallie appears a bit soft, and overall not very good this year. BA 42 McCallie 31