MURFREESBORO - It's the ongoing D-I vs. D-II saga and the continuation of it's arguments, discussions and disagreements.
Earlier today, in a meeting held at the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce headquarters, members of the TSSAA legislative council voted to have a complete and thorough study done concerning whether to have a total split of TSSAA D-I and D-II schools.
Trousdale County and Lewis County High Schools had presented a proposal to the TSSAA Legislative Council effective 2015-16 school year, all public schools shall play in Division I and all non-public schools shall play in Division II.
"This is a very serious issue, there are a lot of questions to be answered and we need more facts to be able to make educated decisions," said Soddy Daisy High School principal Danny Gilbert.
"We need to see more scenarios rather than just have all public schools in one division and all private schools in a separate division."
In 1997, D-I and D-II were formed and in 2002, 70% of the TSSAA member schools wanted a complete split, but the TSSAA rejected that majority voice and decided to add the multiplier as a compromise.
"I feel passionate about the split and even with the various differences of opinions, I am glad for nothing else that our proposal brings to light that there is an uneven playing field when D-I and D-II schools compete against one another," said Kevin Creasy, Trousdale County athletics director and football coach.
Mike Roller of Lipscomb Academy asked, "If you put all the D-II schools in one division because so many of them now are in D-I winning state championships, then what will you do with open zone and magnet schools once they start taking home the championships?"
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@Comcast.net