Interesting list, both for those on it as well as those not on it.
Huge news in Southside RVA
- Thread starter BoKnowsSports
- Start date
Let’s don’t bash them, the Generals already did that on the field. Suffice it to say that they said stuff on social media, using language, that was highly inappropriate.
Calling them a power is subjective. On paper they had the most loaded team in the 804. We’ll never know for certain as they never played Highland Springs, Varina, Trinity, Benedictine..
I did not follow the team, but I do remember an embarrassing newspaper report about that game played down in Georgia a few years back where Life CA players & coaches alike seemed to be acting a fool.
I guess I’ll re-phrase it I’ll take the winning team over the power team then.
Because other Private Schools don't have deep enough pockets to threaten to sue the VHSL like Liberty did...the VHSL was forced to blink....in a nutshell....
I feel like there are other private schools with the resources or access to the resources that could threaten suit. Now that a precedent has been set their prospects of success would probably be even greater. Having said that, they had their reasons for establishing a private school and keeping a foot in the public school pool probably just does not interest them. The VHSL, the state version of the NCAA, is not an organization that many would probably clamor to join. So far, particularly in football and basketball, LCA dominance has not been as overwhelming as originally predicted by some at the state level.
Liberty Christian is the largest private school in the state and they were backed financially by Liberty University at the time. Sure other private schools might have the resources to threaten lawsuit but Liberty Christian actually filed lawsuit, not just threatened. Not sure many, if any, other private schools in VA have the resources for a drawn out court battle. Ironically, VHSL didn't have those resources to compete against LCA and LU so they settled and allowed them to join.
Good points. I think had the VHSL and the state considered the LCA/LU suit a game changer they MIGHT have found the resources. The VHSL has more assets than people realize and obviously the state has resources. I think the decision came down Liberty's interest being unique among private schools and as such a negotiated settlement had two big advantages (1)participation and possible control of settlement versus rolling the dice in court and (2) significantly less costly and public.
I was told it was one of their more obese coaches. Like, not the most obese coach they have but they guy yelling at the kids was fairly obese.
LCA isn't the largest private school in the state. Schools like Paul 6th, Bishop O'Connell, and others up in Northern Virginia have larger enrollments than LCA along with incredibly deep donor pockets. And no private school would have to sue to join the VHSL. That was taken care of when LCA won their lawsuit. Any private school can now join the VHSL after going through the admission process. The reason no other private school has done so is that they would lose the ability to reclass students (letting students repeat a grade) and also having to use the 1.5 multiplier to find their VHSL classification when it comes to athletics if they take students from outside their geographic zone. No private school wants to give all that up since most are regional and take students from all over the place. LCA's main reason for joining the VHSL was for athletic scheduling. The private schools were sick of taking beatings from LCA due to their allegations of unfair recruiting and offering free admission to LU after graduation to their athletes. So the private schools wouldn't schedule LCA anymore and the public schools wouldn't play them either. LCA was having to travel out of state to just fill out a schedule in many of their sports programs, especially football. So they sued, thus getting to now play in VHSL conferences and getting all the required games that come with that and getting to stay much closer to home.
I hear what Cut and Vol are saying, and I basically agree, but there is another, more accurate reason that LCA filed suit. It was because nobody was going to tell Jerry Falwell Jr what he could and couldn’t do.
Regardless of what assets that Cut thinks the VHSL might have, they pale in comparison to what Falwell controlled, and was willing to exhaust to get his way.
Did you know that no less than eight lawyers from New York walked into the League office one day and very plaintively, but cryptically explained that they were willing and more than capable of bankrupting the League. Or, the League could agree to do whatever was necessary to allow LCA to join the VHSL.
Now, do you think for one minute that LCA themselves would have gone so far as to fly eight lawyers from one of the top law firms in Manhattan to Charlottesville on a private jet, and have them employ such intimidating tactics? Jerry Falwell's ego, not the actual LCA school itself is what this was all about.
Falwell‘s ego finally caused his little empire to implode upon itself. I respect Liberty University, their mission, and what they stand for. Falwell Jr came very close to destroying what his father and the folks that he had surrounded himself with had worked their entire lives to achieve.
I agree! A lot of people in the Lynchburg area hate that LCA is part of VHSL. I too believe they should not be a VHSL member but that's just on principle. They have won 2 baseball state championships since joining VHSL but that's it. Other than that, they have 1 state runner-up in football and no other championship game appearances in any other sport during that time. They're not dominating public school competition like a lot of people predicted.
You are correct on all accounts besides the schools in Norther Va being larger. LCA's website and this website shows that LCA is the largest private school in Virginia. Please share if you have seen something different.
According to this site Paul VI has HS enrollment of nearly 1200. That's considerably bigger than LCA.
Bishop O'Connell has similar enrollment according to their website.
About Us - Bishop O'Connell High School
Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School is a faith-filled community of learning, rooted in a tradition of service and excellence. Founded in 1957, our school was built to serve the rapidly growing suburban Catholic population in the Washington, D.C. area. Today, our student body of approximately...
I agree with a lot of what you said about deep pockets and ego. I am not familiar with the incident you relayed but, do not doubt it may occurred just like you said. As far as the working hard goes I am sure there was hardworking involved, however, there was fortuitous timing that Senior passed away and his life insurance staved off bond default and likely bankruptcy. There is also the lucrative be it suspect business model of the online program that essentially allowed them to print money and fueled explosive growth. Bottom line for me and I suspect others in and around the area is I would have preferred they not be in VHSL but, their actual participation so far is mostly a nonevent. However, it is an opening and precedent should other privates wish to join in the future and, more concerning at least to me, allowing a potential opening for home schools through litigation or legislation.
Amen on the home school issue. I am very conservative in my beliefs, but truly hope that legislation never passes. You talk about something hard to monitor. Grade scandals, residency issues....... What a mess this would cause.
That link you provided is for Liberty University, not LCA. LCA is K-12 and has 2000 students. Paul 6th in NOVA has 1200 students just in their high school. O'Connell and Ireton in NOVA also have similar numbers. I think there are several other private schools in VA Beach and maybe Richmond that are also bigger than LCA
LCA has around 1900. These numbers for LCA and Paul VI and O'Connell are for Pk-12, not just high school.According to this site Paul VI has HS enrollment of nearly 1200. That's considerably bigger than LCA.
Bishop O'Connell has similar enrollment according to their website.
About Us - Bishop O'Connell High School
Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School is a faith-filled community of learning, rooted in a tradition of service and excellence. Founded in 1957, our school was built to serve the rapidly growing suburban Catholic population in the Washington, D.C. area. Today, our student body of approximately...www.bishopoconnell.org
LCA is on that list if you scroll down. I was talking about LCA as whole since we were talking about finances and resources in terms of a lawsuit. I didn't realize you were only referring to the high school part. In that case, we both are right LOL. LCA is the largest K-12 private school in Va but not the largest private high school.
Ahh! That makes sense. I couldn't tell you if LCA is the largest K-12 private school in the state. You very well may be correct about that. Since the discussion was in terms of athletics, I was simply focused on high school enrollment numbers. The VHSL or VISAA only deal with high school enrollment for classification, so LCAs K-8 enrollment is irrelevant. For resources though, having that many students (around 2K total) is certainly helpful. But resources/lawsuits etc are all moot at this point. No VISAA school will ever need to worry about mounting a lawsuit against the VHSL for membership. LCA took care of that. It's wide open now for any VISAA school to join the VHSL. But they won't. They would have to give up too much of what makes them a private school.
No. Trust me on this. Paul VI enrollment is 1200 just for the high school - grades 9-12. There are several Catholic High Schools in Northern VA in the Diocese of Arlington that have very similar high school enrollment numbers - well over 1000 kids in just the high school.
I hope you truly don’t believe that! Do you have any idea the money that is in Benedictine, collegiate ,Saint Christophers,or even Trinity?
The St. Christopher's and Collegiate families have deeper pockets for sure, but they also would have zero interest in wasting any of it on a lawsuit vs. the VHSL. The distinction is the combination of resources and priorities.
I wasn't trying to imply "ALL"...sorry if you took it that way. There's only a handful of Privates that can do that...
But as other's have pointed out, Liberty laid out the roadmap, the precedent has been set. I believe if any others wanted to make the move, the VHSL would help make the transition be smooth today.
LCA gonna win a state championship this year. Count on it. There 215 is a HAMMER. He might even drop to 190 for the region/state.
To answer your question and as per the case against Ocean Lakes from 2015, The VHSL prohibits a school or its representatives from encouraging a student to transfer from one school to another for sports or related activities. (nothing has to be offered for it to be considered illegal)
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