GHSA separates Class A playoffs

But exactly how such a playoff will be structured remains largely unclear, said Donnie Drew, Commerce principal, athletic director and member of the GHSA committee.

“I have more unanswered questions than I do answered ones,” Drew said. “It will still be awhile before the playoff procedures will be worked out.”

What was understood as part of the vote is that the regular season will not change. The playoffs, however, will be established with no more than 16 public schools and 16 private schools in each playoff.

Of course, it won’t be easy determining what teams advance, Drew said.

“This is not as simple as taking the two best public and two best private schools (per region) since some Class A regions do not have any private schools, others do not have any public schools, and some regions have both public and private schools,” he said.

Ralph Swearngin, who directs the GHSA, said his office will work on procedures and bring a detailed plan before the full committee on March 19.

“I expect to receive much more information from time to time prior to this meeting,” Drew said.

The GHSA’s vote — 36-12 with one abstention —was the first time the full committee had been presented with such an idea, though a subcommittee did explore the matter last fall, Drew said.

But the debate boiled over publicly at the end of last year when more than 30 public schools, most of them in south Georgia, agreed to explore forming their own association.

The coaches’ key criticism related to well-funded schools having a competitive advantage since they are not bound by geographic districts and are free to attract players to their programs.

The splinter group continued to meet right up until this week, promising to leave the GHSA if a change was not made, according to published reports on the rift.

The tension eased after the GHSA vote last week with some members of the group indicating their intention to stay put and drop any plans to leave the association.

Unrelated to the playoffs, Drew said Commerce is still planning to meet East Jackson and Banks County during next year’s football season. The nonregion games are expected to draw large crowds and high gate receipts for the teams.