Private vs. Public - Could Ohio High School Sports Change Forever.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association, or better known as the OHSAA, could potentially separate postseason athletic events between Public and Private Ohio high schools. This means that a school such as Moeller, would only play private schools in the playoffs of any sport.

Moeller has a strong history of playing public schools. According to MaxPreps, Moeller Football is 25-15-1 vs public schools in the past 10 years, and Moeller Basketball is 120-10. According to Moeller Athletic Director Jonathan Hayes, "Moeller has done very well," when talking about playing public schools. "However, it is definitely changing. It is always changing. Look at Princeton this year, look at the Olentangy Schools." said Hayes. Moeller Football suffered a 31-24 loss in their week 1 matchup against Princeton at PayCor Stadium, as well as they lost the 2024 OHSAA State Championship to Olentangy Liberty, one of the biggest public schools in the state.

 For the separation of public vs. private to happen, 75 principals, including 5 from each district, must sign a petition formed by members of Northeast Ohio public school administrators. Then the proposal will show up on the next OHSAA referendum ballot, where if passed, public and private will be separated in the 2028-2029 school year.

 Why do people want this? Well, because many feel that it is necessary, and that public schools do not have the same enrollment opportunities as private, which has created a talent gap. Mr. Demarco "Flip" Johnson stated that, "With open enrollment occurring at many public schools recently, there really is no difference between public and private. If anything, private schools have disadvantages, because they have harsher transfer rules, as well as tuition to have to deal with."

 If the separation happened, there is another question to ask. Why would Moeller, and other Ohio Catholic Schools stay in the OHSAA? A viral X post came out on September 21st, rumoring that Catholic Schools would leave the OHSAA if the separation would happen, and there are other hypothetical conference alignments all over the internet of an Ohio Catholic school sports organization. If The OHSAA would make private schools not be able to compete against everyone for a championship, then would private schools just leave? If Moeller left the OHSAA, they could do almost whatever they want. They can recruit, make their own rules, and not have any OHSAA restrictions. They could play a national schedule and be very similar to schools like IMG Academy, Mater Dei, etc.. However, this is very hypothetical. And Hayes even stated, "Being in the OHSAA allows Moeller to compete at the Highest Level. “