“There was a lot of skepticism and legitimately so,” Ross said. “The playoffs couldn’t have gone any better (at Columbus). … What we heard from the kids and coaches is they wanted to walk down the tunnel and play where the Buckeyes play.”
The games will return to the Ohio State University stadium in 2015-16, but after that it’s a toss-up between Columbus and Stark County.
The long-range plan is to rotate the games. Championship weekend won’t return to Stark County until a Pro Football Hall of Fame Village is completed in Canton. It would feature a four-star hotel and conference center near the Hall of Fame that’s located next to Canton’s Fawcett Stadium. The project has the financial backing of the NFL.
The village likely won’t be ready in 2016. But there also is a chance Ohio Stadium won’t be available, either. OSU is hosting the NCAA women’s volleyball championships on Dec. 15-17, 2016 at Nationwide Arena. That could be a potential conflict between the two events. In that case, the football title games will shift to an alternative site or two and not limited to Columbus.
The seven football title games drew about 60,000 total spectators, which was 20,000 more than at Stark County in 2013. That’s the sixth highest total in playoff history.
Second year of new transfer bylaw: This ended a previous ruling that forced transfers who didn't meet certain criteria to sit out an entire school year before being athletically eligible. Now, transfers who don't meet the criteria must sit out only 50 percent of a regular season in any sport they previously participated in. A transfer is immediately eligible for any sport they have not previously participated in.
“What we hear from the courts is this is a better system,” said Ross.
Ross said he recently heard from several school officials who complained about other teams with “revamped” midseason rosters following the first half – 11 games – of the basketball season because of eligible transfers. “I don’t know how you fix that piece.” He said. “You can’t fix everything.”
Emerging sports: To be added to the OHSAA, a sport must have 150 school members who field such a team. On deck is boys lacrosse, perhaps within a year or two. "It's coming," Ross said. "I don't know when, but it's on the horizon."
With 120 schools offering boys volleyball, that sport was thought to be the next sure thing. However, that number has since fallen to 90.
Other sports that have been requested as inclusion to the OHSAA are sand wrestling, rodeo, rugby, archery, stunt cheerleading and 7-8 man football.
Competitive balance: Completing a rostering system is the goal this year for implementation in the fall of 2016. This is the formula that takes into consideration where an athlete lives, which school district an athlete resided in as a freshman and if an athlete attends a private or public school, among other factors. A numerical value is given to each athlete. Those combined totals will determine a school's divisional classification.
“We have enough issues to deal with competitive balance without having any kind of problems with that,” Ross said. “If we have to wait a year, we’ll wait a year to make sure the system is correct.”
Currently, classification is based on total male and female student enrollment.
Concussions: Baseline testing isn't mandatory in Ohio, but that's the goal. This is preseason cognitive testing that can be compared to an athlete who is suspected of being concussed. The drawback is cost.
“It’s hard for us to say you need to pay whatever it costs for baseline testing,” Ross said. “We’ve been working with hospitals and other organizations to help fund that for schools.”
Referendum item: Currently, anyone who's 19 years old prior to Aug. 1 is athletically ineligible. This will likely be changed to make all 19-year-olds eligible. However, eligibility would end after turning 20, no matter how much of a season remains.
“We don’t really want 20-year-olds playing,” said Ross.
Transgender athletes: This continues to gain national support for legislation. The main issue is males who are in the process of changing gender, how to account for musculature and hormonal advantages and if they should be allowed to play on girls teams.
“It’s probably the No. 1 civil rights issue,” Ross said. “In some state’s it’s a firestorm.”
Two-year cycle of EMIS numbers: Education Management Information System numbers are statewide student numbers provided by the Ohio Department of Education that in turn help determine divisional classification of OHSAA member schools. New classification begins in May and is good for the 2015-17 school years.
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