Ohio high school principals could vote in May 2027 on whether to split public and private school state tournaments for the first time in OHSAA history.
A petition circulating statewide needs 75 principal signatures by December to place the referendum on the ballot, WCPO reported Tuesday, Sept. 15. If the measure passes, separate postseason brackets would take effect in the 2028-29 school year.
The change would affect Mason and Kings. Both are public schools competing in the OHSAA's integrated tournament structure, where public and private programs share the same postseason path. Under the proposal, the Comets and Knights would face only other public schools in the postseason.
Who's behind the petition
Superintendents, principals and athletic directors from Northeast Ohio's Suburban League are leading the effort. The petition requires five signatures from each of the OHSAA's six athletic districts to reach the 75-signature threshold.
The issue came up at an OHSAA regional administrator meeting Tuesday, Sept. 15, at Princeton High School in Sharonville. It was the last of six regional sessions the OHSAA held to open the school year.
Previous votes failed
This is not the first push to separate tournaments. OHSAA members voted down similar proposals in 1978 (83.9 percent against) and 1993 (66.8 percent against), according to the Springfield News-Sun.
The lopsided results did not end the conversation. Between 1999 and 2010, non-public schools won 43 percent of state championships in selected team sports despite making up roughly 17 percent of OHSAA membership, the Springfield News-Sun reported. That disparity led to a competitive balance committee in January 2010.
In May 2014, member schools approved competitive balance rules that adjust how schools are placed into tournament divisions based on actual roster composition. The OHSAA implemented those rules in the 2017-18 school year.
The results shifted. In the first two years under competitive balance, public schools won 68 percent of state titles, up from 56 percent in the prior 18 years, according to an OHSAA summary.
The numbers
The OHSAA currently has 812 member high schools: 691 public and 121 non-public. Only four to five other states separate public and private tournaments, according to the OHSAA.
Ohio ranked third nationally in high school sports participation during the 2025-26 school year with nearly 350,000 student-athletes, trailing only Texas and California.
SAM Act also discussed
The Princeton meeting also addressed the Student Athlete Mobility Act, a new state law taking effect for the 2026-27 school year. The SAM Act (Ohio Revised Code 3313.5321) lets a public high school student join a team at a neighboring public school when their home school does not offer that sport, according to Mustang News. Both districts' superintendents must approve the transfer.
Only public school students are eligible.
Local ties
Mason City Schools' Board of Education voted 5-0 on April 21 to renew the district's OHSAA membership for 2026-27, according to board records. Kings Local School District's board discussed its own OHSAA renewal on June 22, per board minutes. Mason head football coach Brian Castner and his Comets are in the middle of the 2026 season, as are the Kings Knights.
Both districts' principals would cast a vote if the petition clears the 75-signature threshold by December. The OHSAA's 2026 referendum window ran May 1 through May 15; the 2027 schedule has not been announced.
