Will SC high school football championships stay in Orangeburg? Here’s the latest
S.C. State University’s hosting of the 2023 high school football championships was deemed a success, and the games are likely to remain there another year.
That was the message Wednesday from S.C. High School League commissioner Jerome Singleton during the league’s executive committee meeting. All five state championships were held at Oliver C Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg over a three-day period Nov. 30 to Dec. 2.
It was the first time since 2009 that the championships took place at S.C. State. The school that year hosted the finals for the state’s two lowest classifications.
“The accommodations were great and they bent over backward for us,” Singleton said during Wednesday’s meeting. “They (S.C. State) are excited about it and see it as the possibility to increase visibility, and they would like to have us back. I see nothing unless I get feedback differently that would cause us not to want to go back. It was a great experience.”
The committee didn’t have any objections on the idea. One member asked about the possibility of playing at the University of South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium, which had hosted games up until 2018.
Singleton said there were some discussions of returning there but nothing ever came from it.
“We don’t have anyone beating down, trying to get it,” he added.
Singleton said the league paid S.C. State around $50,000 for the event, and total costs for the three days were around $64,000.
According to Singleton, attendance for the three days was just under 12,000, with the Class 4A contest between South Florence and Westside (just under 3,600) the highest among the five games. He said revenue from ticket sales approached $175,000.
“Value of what we paid and the services was one of the better decisions we made,” Singleton said. “They’d like to have us back.”
By zeroing in on S.C. State early as the expected location for the title games, Singleton said it gives the league and the school more time to prepare and plan for next year. The championships will be brought up again at the April meeting of the executive committee.
It’s time for realignment appeals
The committee also will meet next week to hear appeals from high schools regarding classification placement with the 2024-26 realignment.
Realignment happens in the state every two years and is done to level the competitive playing field among schools. This year’s realignment included a multiplier for the first time. The out-of-zone multiplier took each student who lives outside of a school’s assigned attendance zone and counted them as three for total enrollment purposes. The result inflated schools’ official enrollment figures and — in some cases — raised schools up one or multiple levels in classification for athletics.
SCHSL executive committee chairman Jason Warren said there will be 20 to 22 schools appealing their placement in meetings next week on Tuesday and Wednesday. If an appeal is denied by the executive committee, a school can take its case to the appellate panel on Thursday and Friday.
More from the SCHSL
Other topics discussed during Wednesday’s meeting included discussion from subcommittees on possible amendments or changes to the league’s constitution. The executive committee voted whether to recommend the changes. Whether recommended or not, all proposals will be brought before the state’s athletic directors at their annual meeting in March.
Some of the proposed changes included:
▪ Two amendments regarding multipliers. One had the multiplier affecting athletes only and not all students The other was similar, with it just affecting athletes and decreasing the multiplier from three to two. Both were not recommended.
▪ An amendment allowing for a one-time transfer rule between a student’s 10th- and 11th-grade years also wasn’t recommended.
▪ Contracts with fines should be established among region teams for games that are used to determine the playoffs. This is done to prevent teams from forfeiting contests outside of an extreme reason. This change was recommended by the executive committee.
▪ An amendment for non-member private school students to be allowed to compete in sports (that their school doesn’t offer) at public schools where they are zoned. It was recommended by the subcommittee but not the executive committee.
▪ The South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association won its appeal to adjust the closed sports season in the summer. There will now be a closed period from July 21-24 so the all-sports clinic can take place, followed by one last open period from July 25-30. Fall sports practice will start Aug. 2.
This story was originally published January 11, 2024 at 11:25 AM.
