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----Geography
hinders ECU from hosting state titles
By Denny O'Brien
©2003 Bonesville.net
Location and travel
logistics factored into the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's
move to incorporate another Atlantic Coast Conference venue into the lineup of
state high school football championship sites, according to NCHSAA executive
director Charlie Adams.
The organization, which
administers the statewide interscholastic athletic program for member high
schools, announced Monday that Duke will join fellow ACC members North Carolina,
N.C. State, and Wake Forest in hosting the title games, leaving East Carolina as
the state's only NCAA Division I-A program not included in the state
championship mix.
Adams says that, by and
large, the news has been well-received, though he has gotten e-mail from Pirates
fans questioning why East Carolina continues to be excluded from the equation.
"It is 100 percent a
geography issue," Adams said. "You've got to play your championships somewhere
between Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill. That's the hub of
the state.
"It would make no more
sense for us to take a state championship to Greenville and make schools from
Murphy and Swain County have to travel through Winston, through Greensboro, and
through Chapel Hill and have to go two more hours. We would not take the
championship to Western Carolina or Appalachian. There you've got the Outer
Banks traveling right through Raleigh, right through Chapel Hill, Greensboro and
Winston."
The NCHSAA has a limited
area in which state championships can be played. Title games cannot be held
southwest of Charlotte, west of Winston-Salem, or east of Raleigh.
That basically limits the
NCHSAA to choose from sites in Fayetteville, Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill,
Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Charlotte. However, Adams says the already small
list of potential hosts seems to be shrinking.
"We even tried playing
some championships in Charlotte," he noted. "The people Down East fussed like
crazy about having to come through the Triangle to go to Charlotte. Because of
that, we've moved our Track and Field championships to Raleigh."
Adams said the NCHSAA
would consider breaking its policy if a school submitted a formal proposal to
host a state championship.
East Carolina has never
approached Adams about hosting a state championship game in football, but has a
long-standing relationship with the NCHSAA. For years, Williams Arena at Minges
Coliseum has been the host for the Eastern Regionals in basketball, which has
been a good fit for all parties, according to Adams.
"If you look at the map of
North Carolina, Greenville is a great regional hub, as is Hickory," Adams said.
"We certainly have made plans to try to use them more on a regional basis.
"When you come out of your
conference, you play in sectionals in your back yard. Then you go to a regional
hub. Greenville and Hickory are perfect. It was recently proposed that East
Carolina host regional playoff games in football, but the high school people
didn't want to lose another home game."
The decision to add Duke
was a quick turn of events. The NCHSAA was not seeking a fourth site for
football until a former Blue Devils player approached Adams and suggested Duke's
interest.
"I spoke at the Raleigh
Sports Club back in December and Judge Henry Barnette, approached me about using
Duke as a host," Adams said. "I was unaware that Duke would be interested, but I
called (Duke AD) Joe Alleva as a favor for Henry. Joe was definitely interested
so we decided to get together and work this out. It all happened really fast."
Under the new arrangement,
Duke will host the 1-A and 1-AA championships in 2003 and will rotate
classifications with the other sites until the current agreement ends in 2006.
— 30 —
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02/23/2007 01:52 AM
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