Winds of change: CCS leaving NCISAA, will be independent in 2021-22
By Jimmy Lewis jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter
JimmyLewisWT
When the 2021-22 athletic year begins for Community Christian School on Aug. 17, it will do so with the Cyclones in a full-fledged transition.
Entering its 22nd year of existence, CCS has departed the only athletic home it has ever known after notifying the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association of its intent to leave the organization.
Cyclones athletic director Bryan Walker said internal discussions surrounding the future of the CCS program began in the February-to-March timeframe. In May, CCS officials notified the NCISAA that it would not be returning.
Walker cited financial and competitive considerations for the Cyclones in making the move, noting that the annual cost for NCISAA membership approaches the $2,800 range for the 2021-22 season. When CCS initially joined the NCISAA ranks, those dues hovered around $500.
With schedules already set for 2021-22, the Cyclones will compete as an independent program this year and honor the existing agreements across all their sports. Beginning with the 2022-23 campaign, CCS plans to set up shop in a new athletic association, with Walker indicating preliminary discussions are underway to join the North Carolina Christian Athletic Association. The fledgling organization is different from the North Carolina Christian School Association, of which Wilson Christian is a full member — including athletics. A final decision on whether or not to join the NCCAA is expected before the end of the year. Should it decide to join the NCCAA, the Cyclones would continue to maintain their football program in independent status until that organization builds up its ranks to sponsor the sport. Remaining in the NCISAA, even for football only, would require the full annual membership fee, Walker said.
CCS does hold NCCSA membership for fine arts purposes, but not for its sports programs.
“We had had discussions internally just about what was best for our school,” Walker said in a telephone interview Friday morning. “One thing was, the rising cost to join the (NCISAA) keeps going up. It’s going to continue to go up a little bit. Just as a school, we decided to do something different as far as going independent. Obviously, you have limited places you can go being a private school. NCISAA being one and the North Carolina Christian School Association, where Wilson Christian is in.”
But through word-of-mouth resources, Walker said he learned of the NCCAA’s existence. Some of the members include Hookerton Mount Calvary Christian and Greenville Trinity Christian. Trinity Christian was a NCCSA member for athletics before taking its programs into the NCCAA in the 2010s.
Like CCS, Trinity Christian maintains NCCSA membership outside of athletics, as does Mount Calvary.
Walker indicated that Winterville Christ Covenant, which opposed Greenfield for the NCISAA 1-A girls soccer title this past spring, has also departed the NCISAA for the NCCAA ranks.
Wilson Christian athletic director Brian Trull, who also serves as the State Athletic Commissioner for the NCCSA, would not confirm or deny a loss of schools under the organization’s athletic banner for the coming year when reached by text message Friday morning.
However, Fayetteville Berean Baptist Academy, a former NCCSA school, is listed as a NCISAA 2-A provisional member for 2021-22.
“From time to time there is realignment as schools make decisions about their athletic programs,” Trull said. “Last year, some schools around the state had to make tough decisions in light of COVID restrictions and for other reasons. Some of those reasons may carry over to this year. Some of those decisions are still being finalized, and those changes will be reflected when MaxPreps is updated in the next few weeks.”
Dan Moore, the athletic director at Elizabeth City Victory Christian and Walker’s primary point of contact in discussions with the NCCAA, did not return a telephone message in time for this story.
“We’ve looked into it, and again, we haven’t made that ultimate decision to join them yet,” Walker reminded. “But it’s the most attractive option right now. We want to give our student-athletes an opportunity to compete for a state championship. We don’t want to be in the cold.”
COMPETITIVE CONCERNS
Consistent success at the top of the NCISAA 1-A ranks has been difficult to attain for CCS. The school realized its team high-water mark in 2008 when the Cyclones claimed the NCISAA 1-A girls soccer title under the direction of Rhine Sharp, and in 2016, Morgan Lane grabbed the 1-A girls cross-country championship as an individual.
But even with the ability to change conferences on an annual basis in the NCISAA, that wasn’t enough to keep the Cyclones on board for the long haul. CCS will continue to play many NCISAA schools in the nonconference schedule. To fill the void of no playoff appearances for 2021-22, Walker plans to schedule as many invitational tournaments as possible towards the end of each season.
“It’s really both competitive and financial,” Walker said of the CCS decision. “At our school, we do not give academic scholarships necessarily to athletes. Everybody pays to go to CCS. And then, even from a competitive standpoint, we want to make sure we’re with like-minded schools. We’ve been in a Christian school conference (Mid-Carolina Conference) the last two years since we left the CIC (Coastal Independents Conference). They were like-minded schools like us. The new association that we’re talking to, it’s just a better fit for us. We’re still going to play mainly the same schools that we have been playing. I still have the relationships with the schools. I still have those relationships with those other ADs. Nothing much is going to change. The only thing that changes is our postseason.”
Pending NCISAA realignment also factored into the decision-making process. After the 2021-22 season, the organization will realign from the 19-17-35-25 model currently in play from 4-A to 1-A, respectively. With 35 schools currently in 2-A, the Cyclones feared an abundance of programs from 2-A moving into 1-A to balance out the four classifications.
“Some of those bigger schools are going to drop down to become 1-A schools again,” Walker said. “We saw that coming. We weren’t upset with anyone or anything like that, we just wanted to do what was best for the student-athletes from a competitive standpoint mainly and then also, from the financial standpoint.”
But as conference realignment spikes on a major scale across NCAA Division I, Walker sees the phenomenon continuing closer to home at the private school level.
“It brings in some competition, anyway,” he said. “I think that’s always been the problem. You’ve always had the NCISAA and you’ve got the (NCCSA). For that association (NCCAA) to have 19, 20 schools already in the first three or four years of existence — it’s pretty impressive. And they’re doing something right. I just think there are schools that are, like us, that are looking other places to go right now. I don’t know what it is.”
For CCS, it all boils down to an accountability aspect. The lack of a defined admission policy in the NCISAA is something that gnawed at Walker even as he served in official capacities within the organization.
“There’s not an admission policy across the board for NCISAA schools,” Walker said. “If I submit my policy that we give academic scholarships to student-athletes, then the state association is OK with that. Basically, the NCISAA, whatever you submit your admission policy to be, all they’re trying to do is make sure you’re following your admission policy. I feel like that makes us on unlevel playing ground. You’ve got some private schools that fund, quote-unquote, ‘scholarships’ or things like that for athletes. I feel like it puts you on an unlevel playing field. And it’s not fair. We just want to be with a group of schools that we all share the common goal of fair play and we’re on the same level playing ground financially that this school over here doesn’t have 20 kids going to school for free because they’re a basketball player, baseball player or soccer player. We don’t do that at CCS. We don’t have full rides for soccer players or football players or a basketball player. I don’t think that’s what we’re looking to do, either. It puts us at a disadvantage when we compete with schools that do that in the NCISAA.”
By Jimmy Lewis jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter
JimmyLewisWTWhen the 2021-22 athletic year begins for Community Christian School on Aug. 17, it will do so with the Cyclones in a full-fledged transition.
Entering its 22nd year of existence, CCS has departed the only athletic home it has ever known after notifying the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association of its intent to leave the organization.
Cyclones athletic director Bryan Walker said internal discussions surrounding the future of the CCS program began in the February-to-March timeframe. In May, CCS officials notified the NCISAA that it would not be returning.
Walker cited financial and competitive considerations for the Cyclones in making the move, noting that the annual cost for NCISAA membership approaches the $2,800 range for the 2021-22 season. When CCS initially joined the NCISAA ranks, those dues hovered around $500.
With schedules already set for 2021-22, the Cyclones will compete as an independent program this year and honor the existing agreements across all their sports. Beginning with the 2022-23 campaign, CCS plans to set up shop in a new athletic association, with Walker indicating preliminary discussions are underway to join the North Carolina Christian Athletic Association. The fledgling organization is different from the North Carolina Christian School Association, of which Wilson Christian is a full member — including athletics. A final decision on whether or not to join the NCCAA is expected before the end of the year. Should it decide to join the NCCAA, the Cyclones would continue to maintain their football program in independent status until that organization builds up its ranks to sponsor the sport. Remaining in the NCISAA, even for football only, would require the full annual membership fee, Walker said.
CCS does hold NCCSA membership for fine arts purposes, but not for its sports programs.
“We had had discussions internally just about what was best for our school,” Walker said in a telephone interview Friday morning. “One thing was, the rising cost to join the (NCISAA) keeps going up. It’s going to continue to go up a little bit. Just as a school, we decided to do something different as far as going independent. Obviously, you have limited places you can go being a private school. NCISAA being one and the North Carolina Christian School Association, where Wilson Christian is in.”
But through word-of-mouth resources, Walker said he learned of the NCCAA’s existence. Some of the members include Hookerton Mount Calvary Christian and Greenville Trinity Christian. Trinity Christian was a NCCSA member for athletics before taking its programs into the NCCAA in the 2010s.
Like CCS, Trinity Christian maintains NCCSA membership outside of athletics, as does Mount Calvary.
Walker indicated that Winterville Christ Covenant, which opposed Greenfield for the NCISAA 1-A girls soccer title this past spring, has also departed the NCISAA for the NCCAA ranks.
Wilson Christian athletic director Brian Trull, who also serves as the State Athletic Commissioner for the NCCSA, would not confirm or deny a loss of schools under the organization’s athletic banner for the coming year when reached by text message Friday morning.
However, Fayetteville Berean Baptist Academy, a former NCCSA school, is listed as a NCISAA 2-A provisional member for 2021-22.
“From time to time there is realignment as schools make decisions about their athletic programs,” Trull said. “Last year, some schools around the state had to make tough decisions in light of COVID restrictions and for other reasons. Some of those reasons may carry over to this year. Some of those decisions are still being finalized, and those changes will be reflected when MaxPreps is updated in the next few weeks.”
Dan Moore, the athletic director at Elizabeth City Victory Christian and Walker’s primary point of contact in discussions with the NCCAA, did not return a telephone message in time for this story.
“We’ve looked into it, and again, we haven’t made that ultimate decision to join them yet,” Walker reminded. “But it’s the most attractive option right now. We want to give our student-athletes an opportunity to compete for a state championship. We don’t want to be in the cold.”
COMPETITIVE CONCERNS
Consistent success at the top of the NCISAA 1-A ranks has been difficult to attain for CCS. The school realized its team high-water mark in 2008 when the Cyclones claimed the NCISAA 1-A girls soccer title under the direction of Rhine Sharp, and in 2016, Morgan Lane grabbed the 1-A girls cross-country championship as an individual.
But even with the ability to change conferences on an annual basis in the NCISAA, that wasn’t enough to keep the Cyclones on board for the long haul. CCS will continue to play many NCISAA schools in the nonconference schedule. To fill the void of no playoff appearances for 2021-22, Walker plans to schedule as many invitational tournaments as possible towards the end of each season.
“It’s really both competitive and financial,” Walker said of the CCS decision. “At our school, we do not give academic scholarships necessarily to athletes. Everybody pays to go to CCS. And then, even from a competitive standpoint, we want to make sure we’re with like-minded schools. We’ve been in a Christian school conference (Mid-Carolina Conference) the last two years since we left the CIC (Coastal Independents Conference). They were like-minded schools like us. The new association that we’re talking to, it’s just a better fit for us. We’re still going to play mainly the same schools that we have been playing. I still have the relationships with the schools. I still have those relationships with those other ADs. Nothing much is going to change. The only thing that changes is our postseason.”
Pending NCISAA realignment also factored into the decision-making process. After the 2021-22 season, the organization will realign from the 19-17-35-25 model currently in play from 4-A to 1-A, respectively. With 35 schools currently in 2-A, the Cyclones feared an abundance of programs from 2-A moving into 1-A to balance out the four classifications.
“Some of those bigger schools are going to drop down to become 1-A schools again,” Walker said. “We saw that coming. We weren’t upset with anyone or anything like that, we just wanted to do what was best for the student-athletes from a competitive standpoint mainly and then also, from the financial standpoint.”
But as conference realignment spikes on a major scale across NCAA Division I, Walker sees the phenomenon continuing closer to home at the private school level.
“It brings in some competition, anyway,” he said. “I think that’s always been the problem. You’ve always had the NCISAA and you’ve got the (NCCSA). For that association (NCCAA) to have 19, 20 schools already in the first three or four years of existence — it’s pretty impressive. And they’re doing something right. I just think there are schools that are, like us, that are looking other places to go right now. I don’t know what it is.”
For CCS, it all boils down to an accountability aspect. The lack of a defined admission policy in the NCISAA is something that gnawed at Walker even as he served in official capacities within the organization.
“There’s not an admission policy across the board for NCISAA schools,” Walker said. “If I submit my policy that we give academic scholarships to student-athletes, then the state association is OK with that. Basically, the NCISAA, whatever you submit your admission policy to be, all they’re trying to do is make sure you’re following your admission policy. I feel like that makes us on unlevel playing ground. You’ve got some private schools that fund, quote-unquote, ‘scholarships’ or things like that for athletes. I feel like it puts you on an unlevel playing field. And it’s not fair. We just want to be with a group of schools that we all share the common goal of fair play and we’re on the same level playing ground financially that this school over here doesn’t have 20 kids going to school for free because they’re a basketball player, baseball player or soccer player. We don’t do that at CCS. We don’t have full rides for soccer players or football players or a basketball player. I don’t think that’s what we’re looking to do, either. It puts us at a disadvantage when we compete with schools that do that in the NCISAA.”
