Dr. D

For clarity, it appears that Northwestern, not the FHSAA, administered the suspension. Not sure that does, or does not, render the arguments here moot, but one could argue that the school is trying to get out ahead of this.

Interestingly, Pensacola Woodham High School closed in 2007. It reopened as a middle school later in 2007, which was also later closed. The building now houses West Florida High School. Woodham went 35-1 during the 1982-84 seasons, winning the Class 4A state championship in 1982 and 1984. They were known as the "Titans", much like another team with an epic history of their own (T.C. Williams in Alexandria, Virginia).

I would add the 2021 Pine Forest team that lost to Tampa Jesuit, 35-29, in the 6A championship game. But your point about Pensacola teams is well stated. I don't see any serious contenders from that area this year.

I agree that this is an interesting concept. But Florida has 67 counties, and what might work well in your county could be a bust in others. No question that you could potentially get more money invested, better coaching, and better quality of play with regional all-star teams. But you lost me when you state that you would get better fan support. While high school football may be transactional to some, it is still an emotional experience for many. It's not just the play on the field; it's about the sights and sounds in the stadium on Friday night, and if the home team wins, all the better. Yes, the hardcore fan will always make an effort to see an "all-star" game, but I don't think that holds true for the casual fan who knows the QB who lives down the street or has a son/daughter in the band or some other personal connection to the school. I'll travel 50 miles to see my local school play on Friday, but I personally would not travel 20 miles to see a game with just a handful of players from my local community, no matter how high the quality of play. And I think that's true of the majority of fans who typically attend games and support their local high school. My belief is you would end up with the typical AAU basketball crowd - parents, hardcore fans, scouts, and hangers-on. Again, probably a better model for the football purist, but I don't see it being more popular in terms of fan support in large parts of the state.

You raise a good point. Let's look at the 2025-2026 tuition for some of the powerhouse schools frequently mentioned herein. STA: $16,500; C-M: $17,150; First Academy: $26,270; AH-P: $42,700(!). I'm sure these are all excellent schools and well worth the money to those so inclined. But makes one wonder how these players from "extreme poverty" (as described by one poster) can afford to pay these rates. Obviously, they are receiving "financial aid" to offset all or some of the expense. I guess they are allowed to do that. But is that same financial aid available to a young lady from the same background who wants to take AP courses and play in the band? Maybe; I guess it's a matter of priorities. Either way, it's easy to see why people are suspicious of these schools and the advantages they possess.

Let's stick with 2025 and FHSAA teams. Preseason Kickoff Classic Games must be played on August 14-16 (i.e. Week 0). The first regular season playing date (Week 1) is August 21. Below is the schedule for the Broward County National Showcase. Any game played on or after August 21 counts as a regular season game for FHSAA teams. August 21 – Piper (Florida) vs. Peachtree Ridge (Georgia), 4 p.m. at Dillard HS August 21 – Archbishop McCarthy (Florida) at Cardinal Gibbons (Florida), 7 p.m. August 21 – Monarch (Florida) vs. Bolles School (Florida), 8 p.m. at Dillard HS August 22 – Corner Canyon (Utah) vs. West Broward (Florida), 4 p.m. at Dillard HS August 22 – American Heritage (Plantation, Florida) vs. St. Joseph’s Prep (Pennsylvania), 7 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas HS August 22 – Dr. Phillips (Florida) at Dillard (Florida), 8 p.m. August 23 – Mater Dei (California) at St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida), 4 p.m. August 23 – Chaminade-Madonna (Florida) vs. St. Frances Academy (Maryland), 8 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas HS

What I find interesting is the wide disparity in transfer rules across the country. Unlike the NCAA, there is no national standard for the number of transfers allowed or when one is eligible after transfer. Some states require a one-year waiting period after transfer, some allow immediate eligibility after the first transfer, and some (like Florida) have a much more liberal set of rules. Tennessee just passed a rule that states a student can transfer once without an address change and not lose any athletic eligibility, and you would have thought they made a deal with the devil to hear the reaction of most high school coaches and administrators. Can't imagine their reaction if they worked in Florida.

Aside from the competitive aspect, Georgia teams have no incentive to schedule tough non-region games because state playoff qualification is based solely on head-to-head, round-robin play in 6- to 9-team regions (top 4 teams qualify in each region). Since Georgia doesn't use silly computer rankings to determine state playoff qualification and seeding like Florida, teams can schedule as tough or easy non-region opponents as they prefer. It might make sense for Florida teams to schedule tougher non-district opponents for competitive reasons, as well as to improve their FHSAA MaxPreps' strength of schedule component, but since no one really knows what goes into the FHSAA MaxPreps' rankings, we really don't know if tougher scheduling pays off in the end.

Thank you for prompting me to do further research. Windermere's situation in 2017 is too difficult to research, although your facts are accurate. Innovation applied for and received an exemption to the 3-year waiting period per the exemptions provided in Bylaws 3.4.1.1.4 & 3.4.1.2.4 -- A newly opening school created by the consolidation or division of the student populations of existing member schools is exempt from the application and provisional periods if a) the new school is governed by the same Board as the existing member schools; and b) the new school meets all other qualifications and conditions of membership. This exemption allowed Innovation to compete in FHSAA championship series/competition in the 2024-25 year, as the girls' soccer team did (although the football team elected to compete as an independent). This exemption could possibly apply to PSL Legacy and any other newly opening schools which meet the above criteria. Sorry for any confusion I may have created.

The FHSAA Bylaws don't distinguish between traditional public schools, charter schools, private schools or university laboratory schools, so I'm almost certain this process applies to all schools applying for FHSAA membership. I know in the past that schools have applied for a waiver to the 3-year waiting period, but there are no provisions for such a waiver in the FHSAA Bylaws, and I'm not aware of a waiver ever being approved.

Any first-time high school must successfully complete an application period (one year), followed by a provisional period (two years) before it is eligible for full membership in the FHSAA. During the application and the provisional period (three total years) the school is permitted to compete against other schools in the state of Florida in preseason and regular-season competition. The school is not permitted to participate in any state championship series/competition in any sport during this three-year period. The school is not placed in a district for the various sports, but essentially plays as an "independent" during this period. After the successful completion of the second year of the provisional period, the school is voted on by the Board of Directors for full membership into the FHSAA. If admitted, the school is eligible to compete in the state championship series/competition in the various sports. The football team would then be placed in a district based on its student enrollment, although there can be adjustments depending on the number of grades (9-12) and rate of enrollment growth in the high school.

Any updates?

Frequent road warriors, North Miami Beach, were edged by Auburn 49-0 this past season. The guaranteed money must have been worth the 600+ mile trip and the beat down.

Richard Morgan is the new coach at Niceville; formerly coached at Oscar Smith in Virginia and Marietta in Georgia.

Local paper says that Thompson does not plan to coach anywhere this year. Intel seems to confirm that he is leaving for "personal reasons". In any event, this opening should attract a lot of interest as it is probably the most desirable position in the panhandle.

My favorite part of this move is the young man's honesty in his X announcement, "I have decided to attend Lakeland Senior High School this coming spring and fall". Leaves a way out to go to yet another school in 2026 if things don't work out this year. I don't blame the young man; he is just doing what the system allows; wish him the best. Now somebody convince me that this type of activity is good for Florida high school football at large.

An example is a player who transferred to Somerset-Canyons after playing the first two games of the 2024 regular season with Palm Beach Central. According to the FHSAA, a student may participate in a sport at his/her new school if the student participated in that same sport at another school during that school year, if the student meets one of the following criteria: (a) Dependent children of active-duty military personnel whose move resulted from military orders. (b) Children who have been relocated due to a foster care placement in a different school zone. (c) Children who move due to a court-ordered change in custody due to separation or divorce, or the serious illness or death of a custodial parent. (d) Authorized for good cause in district, private or charter school board policy. I suspect the bar for "good cause" is pretty low. If a parent applies for a transfer for his/her son, it seems unlikely that anyone in a position of authority is going to seriously question the parent's motivation.

Student eligibility is described in Bylaw 9 of the FHSAA Handbook. In the scenario described here, a transfer student can participate in a sport at his new school as long as he didn't participate in that sport at his old school during that school year. Assuming the student meets all the administrative requirements for school transfer, he is eligible to participate in the sport (in this case, basketball) on the 6th day of attendance at the new school. There are a lot of variables discussed in Bylaw 9, but the scenario described here seems to comply with FHSAA rules for transfer and eligibility.

This is not a home-grown team. They were 25-45 in the 7 years prior to this year, when they suddenly make it all the way to the 2A state championship game. A review of their roster shows they added stud players from Godby, Leon, Camden County, Tampa area, etc. And it doesn't take a ton of studs to make a difference at the 2A level. Now maybe these players were just exercising "school choice" (and good for them). And maybe their coach has figured out how to make his program "attractive" to out-of-zone players. That just seems to be how it goes these days.

Clewiston makes sense. Franklin County makes sense from a competitive standpoint, but from a geographic standpoint, they are over 150 miles from the nearest SSAA school. I guess that's okay if you don't mind long bus trips. Maybe you are right, and there are other Rural schools coming who just haven't been announced yet.

Tell that to Fort Meade. 2-7 regular season, and then win 4 straight to claim the championship. I'm sure the players, school, and community are proud of their accomplishment. And memories for a lifetime. Although I realize that may not be a popular stance, but I'd err on the side of the kids.

What has flown largely under the radar is this year's FHSAA's Rural Florida Invitational Tournament, in which any Rural team that did not qualify for the playoffs was "invited" to participate in their own tournament. Fort Meade beat Dixie County for the first RFIT championship. Interestingly, this season was the first year of a two-year trial. More info is in Josh's article here: https://floridahsfootball.com/2024/08/01/2024-storylines-to-follow-rural-classification-taking-on-new-playoff-format-in-test/ I would not be surprised at all if the FHSAA extends this format to all classifications in 2026 to create a more "inclusive" set of opportunities for all teams, "got a team -- you're in the playoffs, regardless of record". Maybe the FHSAA is responding to the very threat which you discussed in this thread - teams withdrawing from the FHSAA. Not to mention more games = more $$$. Then Florida can lay claim to 16 "state" champions.

Better, but still only gets you to 5-6 teams per district (under the current classification sizes). Still believe that the sweet spot is 6-8 teams per district, or 2 districts per region. Very common among states in the Southeast, with the notable exception of Florida.

If your goal is fair and equitable competition for all teams -- you're screwed by the current environment. If you believe in some kind of Darwinian "survival of the fittest" competition, the current system is right for you.

Under School Choice laws and Controlled Open Enrollment, essentially every transfer is considered a bona fide move by the state of Florida. So the FHSAA will never be able to impose limitations or restrictions based on transfer movement. The best they can hope for is to make adjustments based on results after the fact (e.g. Open/Championship proposal for 2026).