Changes to SC High School League move forward in state Senate. Here is the latest
A bill that would change how the S.C. High School League is structured and governed took another step forward Thursday.
The S.C. Senate education committee gave House Bill 4163 a “favorable report,” meaning the measure could go to a vote on the Senate floor. The earliest it could do that would be the week of April 28.
The bill would have to go back to S.C. House — if it passes the S.C. Senate — because it was amended in a subcommittee. The legislation would still have to be signed by Gov. Henry McMaster before it goes into effect, which wouldn’t be until July 1, 2027.
Thursday’s movement comes a month after the S.C. House of Representatives voted, 112-0, to pass the bill.
In its previous form, House Bill 4163 would have abolished the SCHSL and created the state-run S.C. High School Athletic Association. Instead, the SCHSL is on track to live on but with different ways it must operate.
The bill continues to go forward even as the SCHSL has made attempts to make its own changes. League commissioner Jerome Singleton, who has come under fire in recent years, will be retiring from his post no later than July 1, 2027, “pending the finding of an acceptable replacement.”
A lot of the criticism toward the High School League has centered around what lawmakers say is an outdated structure for dealing with modern-day issues facing athletics, such as competitive balance, athlete eligibility and player transfers. How the league has enforced sanctions against member schools for rules violations has also been called inconsistent and sometimes unfair.
The league also is restructuring its executive committee, adding two members from the S.C. House of Representatives and two from the Senate.
Those changes aren’t enough, according to Greg Hembree, R-Horry, Senate education chair.
“I have not been one that is eager to pass legislation to regulate the High School League,” Hembree said in the meeting Thursday “... However, the conduct and the history has changed my mind. I don’t have any confidence they will get with the program. I struggled with pursuing this. My tendency is, if they are trying to fix their own house, but I have been through this rodeo over and over again.”
Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, fought against the bill going forward and said it was a bad idea that the state Legislature gets involved with the league.
“Every problem we hear about shouldn’t require government intervention. I am concerned that we are getting involved here with something we shouldn’t be involved in,” Massey said. “I am even more concerned that … we will own the problem going forward. As many complaints and concerns we hear from constituents now regarding high school athletics, those concerns will multiply because now we control it.”
Under the amended bill approved by the S.C. Senate education committee, there will be a 23-member executive committee. That is the same amount of people as SCHSL passed in March but 10 more than the amount that was passed by the S.C. House.
The executive committee is the league’s governing body, although coaches and athletic leadership at SCHSL member schools are involved in amendments and bringing about change.
The committee will have one principal, one superintendent and one athletic director from each of five classifications. They will serve staggered terms with odd-number classes going three years and even number two years.
There will be an appointee by superintendent of education. There will be a middle school representative that has to be a superintendent, principal or athletic director. There will be a private school and charter school representative that needs to be a superintendent, principal or athletic director. Those representatives will serve three-year terms.
No executive committee member can serve more than two consecutive three-year terms. The executive committee chairman will be voted on by membership and serve a two-year term.
“We took a direction that gets more people on there that are in the business in high school sports,” Hembree said. “It got more professional eyes on it than the House bill.”
Also in the bill, the league can be audited by the SC Legislative Audit Council and be subject to oversight in the same manner as state agencies. The commissioner’s contract can’t exceed three years.
In the bill, some of the league’s current rules and structure that are part of the budget proviso will remain, including equal treatment for private and charter school and teams; no name, image and likeness for high school athletes; a multiplier system for competitive balance; one-time transfer for middle and high school students; and the league’s appellate panel stays in place.
This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 11:56 AM.
