Schmit: Only one private school allowed in the Elite Eight? It’s being discussed

Oh yeah … the IHSA Competitive Balance Committee. I remember that.

An ad hoc group that’s met monthly since March, its goal is to help solve the debate about private schools and their place in the prep sports landscape. Good luck with that!

They met again last month and were slated to meet this week before a final sit down on Sept. 22. The 17-member committee represents a mix of public and private school officials in addition to IHSA staff members.

Discussing the goals and results of the committee is the perfect way to piggyback on last week’s column that concluded our summer countdown to prep football — one final thought on the private school debate. The mere existence of this committee proves you and I aren’t the only ones thinking about the issue.

The big “wow” to emerge from the July committee meeting was a discussion on allowing just one private school into the Elite Eight of all team-bracketed IHSA state series.

That means last year’s Benet-Marist Class 4A girls volleyball final wouldn’t happen. Ditto for last season’s 6A football championship game between Nazareth and Fenwick and every other all-private school final.

Private schools would advance through the playoffs in a separate bracket, with one champion entering the statewide competition for the quarterfinals and beyond.

Now, before everyone starts flipping out about this idea becoming reality, take the info with a grain of salt. It’s a proposal from a committee with no authority to enforce or implement anything.

The next step, according to the committee meeting notes, would be to present the idea at town halls and gauge potential interest with a straw vote among the IHSA member schools. So this is a loooooong way from actually happening.

But the fact it’s even being discussed? Again, wow.

There’s a reason the idea of limiting private schools to one Elite Eight spot sounds familiar. Back in the day the IHSA had a similar policy in place for the Chicago Public League, which was seen as a way to limit the number of powerhouse city boys basketball teams appearing in the state tournament in Champaign.

As we mentioned in a previous column about the committee, another goal is to sort out eligibility and transfer issues with private schools. But this idea of keeping out private schools for several rounds of the state series is the real doozy.

And it goes way beyond football, because we could still see Mount Carmel, Brother Rice, Fenwick, St. Francis, Montini and other private schools across eight classes win state titles. Seven private school champions could still be crowned like in 2024.

Whether it’s volleyball, baseball, basketball or football, avoiding all-private school finals is the ultimate goal. And getting more public schools into the quarterfinals and semifinals. Simple as that.

Will this nugget of an idea gain traction? I’d bet against it.

We’ll see what emerges next from the Competitive Balance Committee. But to paraphrase last week’s column, we’re going nowhere fast.