PIAA rule change passes state house

(WBRE/WYOU)— A bill that could change the future of high school sports championships in Pennsylvania is now moving forward.

The state house passed legislation Wednesday that would allow the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) to create separate playoff and championship paths for public and private schools.

The bill would allow the PIAA to change its rules when it comes to state playoffs between public and private schools, and one local basketball coach 28/22 News spoke with says he’s all for it.

“I think the pendulum has swung too far in one direction, and I think with the Old Forge Sewickley Academy situation last season, it kind of magnified and opened more people’s eyes to it,” said Josh Aniska, the varsity boys’ basketball head coach at Riverside High School.

In March, Old Forge saw its first state championship appearance in 94 years but fell short to Sewickley Academy, a private school in Western Pennsylvania with players from around the globe. The loss got people talking, but was the matchup fair?

“Obviously, it’s been this way for quite a long time, and I will say, I like that Pennsylvania has true state champions, while again, you see some of the issues that you come across with Old Forge meeting a team like Sewickley in the final. They’re fighting an uphill battle there,” said Larry Reagan, the varsity boys’ basketball head coach at Scranton Prep.

Steady rain expected across Pennsylvania

Both coaches agree that if the bill passes and the PIAA decides to separate state playoffs, the winners of those games should then face off for a true state championship.

“I think that satisfies both sides of this argument,” Aniska said.

He says his support for the rule change, though, does not come from a place of fear.