This is such a stupid question, not that you asked it but that it is even a question. First of all let me establish that Mililani and Campbell are both BIG DOG football programs. Campbell has the largest student body in the OIA and is consistently in the top 6 of the 14 D1 OIA schools, they eliminated Kahuku from the playoffs 4 years ago and might even be in the top 4 OIA teams this coming year. Miliani had multiple finals appearances and won it all 2 years ago. If Iolani can be competitive with these two OIA power houses then Iolani belongs in the open division because Rod York even admitted that his MILL team is an open div team, it was a stupid rule by the HHSAA to allow the #5 and #6 OIA team (MILL/CAMP) to drop down into the (tier 2) D1 state tourney. MILL/CAMP seasons should have ended after not qualifying for the open division because they are open division caliber football programs.

So these simple facts establishes that Iolani is a true (open division) football program. Iolani is crying because they cant handle the ILH D1 conference. They are a rich private school that can recruit just like how STL/PUN recruit, those are the cards that Iolani have been dealt so deal with it.

The simple truth is this…Kahuku is the king of the OIA and the OIA admins want so badly to get Kahuku out of the picture. So they create the open division for Kahuku to compete in and then try to keep as much of the rest of OIA D1 teams in the tier 2 tourney to compete for a title…while trying as hard as possible for these schools in the tier 2 division not to feel bad so they kept the name “D1 State Championship” when infact it should be D2 state title, and the current D2 should be “D3 state title”. This answers your statement about why the OIA is willing to negotiate with the HHSAA.

Whats happening is the OIA and HHSAA is trying to manufacture post season matchups based on who is the weak teams at the moment, even if it means that we can drop Mililani into the lower tiers so they can have a shot at a title, which Mililani successfully did but Rod York is a purest and he basically told the HHSAA…..”This D1 title isnt a real title, we wanted the open div title”.

EXACTLY! The more STL wins the better their brand becomes – the more donations, funding and enrollment increases. Wasnt it just a few years ago that STL was in talks of shutting down because of low numbers (enrollment and financials)? The alumni stepped in and took control, hired Glen Medeiros as President, Brought the recruiting master Cal Lee back and now June Jones is on staff. Football is the lifeline of that STL program. I can respect the system that STL and the entire ILH conference offer to talented athletes and helping them reach elite national levels but stay in your own lane. Dont use the OIA as jumping boards for their players and their coaching careers.

The ILH and especially STL will do nothing unless it benefit their bottom line. This 3 tier system for football is only happening because it gives the ILH more berths into the tourney. 3 of the 4 D1 schools are now in the tourney.

I also think that you get what I’ve been trying to say. 3 tiers is beneficial at the state playoff level because more parity means more competitive games. I never really thought that the goal of the new system was to buy into the AYSO mentality. Realistically teams like Baldwin and Hilo never had a shot at a D1 title in the old system. More games with competitive match ups should be welcomed because its better for the kids playing who now have something to realistically play for. That’s why an ILH-OIA regular season isn’t as ridiculous to me as it may seem for others. Who realistically thinks that Kahuku vs. Castle is a competitive matchup? I’d venture to say that Kahuku’s only real rival in its division is Waianae and maybe Campbell. If Kahuku is going to go to the mainland to play powerhouses like Bishop Gorman, then why not play the ILH? If you think you’re the best, play the best, even if you think its unfair. You already play them in the playoffs anyways… why not in the regular season?

Im not really concerned about them not wanting our fam to be a part of their ohana. Im just focused on my child. My daughters athletic prowess is our “in” to better education, opportunities, networking and exposure to colleges. We do this so that a college will say ” I want your daughter to come and play for us and we will pay for her education”. I dont care if that college wants us to be a part of their ohana, just as long as they take care my daughter, and give her a chance to earn a degree.

You are probably right about keeping the OIA and ILH separated until the OIA can get their stuff together. There are schools in the OIA that have #ElitisMentality issues that have created an uneven playing field there. Let them meet up in the States.

In my opinion, the 3 tiers were created to have equal match-ups and more competitive games. I feel like it worked. The two best teams, I feel, made it to the championship for every tier. I really enjoyed watching equally talented teams play each other. I dont enjoy 75%of the OIA regular season games because they are just blowouts. With the new format, they would place teams in appropriate tiers where they can compete. I like that idea.

There has been an increase of St. Louis Stickers on vehicles and Sweater sightings since the Championship game. Just an observation.

But you just confirmed the accusations I been making in previous articles about the ILH alumni doing all the recruting for their schools. They approached you about your childs basketball abilities. The basketball coach didnt recruit you, the alumni recruited you. They didnt ask you to apply at the ILH school because your child is smart in math or gifted in science. They dont want you to become a part of their private school ohana because they really like your personality, they only want your childs basketball skills so that they can all feel good at games knowing that the team is stacked with talent. #ElitistMentality

Nothing wrong with this ILH alumni recruiting for their ILH schools. I dont care. More power to the ILH schools and the local familys. What I have adamantly opposed is the idea that the ILH schools who think that the playing field is level in football and want to unite season games with the OIA.

The playing field is not level. Keep the ILH in their own 4 team league against other private schools that have the same resources. The fact that Kahuku won 8 state titles with their limited resources doesnt mean that things need to change. What needs to change is the other OIA schools need to get better.

This AYSO mentality of “EVERYONE GETS A TROPHY” so lets create 3 tiers is ridiculous! Why stop at football? Lets do 3 tiers in all sports. The ILH dominate all the other sports so thats why nothings going to be changed. Kahuku dominating football the past 15 years is concern for Cal Lee and all the ILH alumni because when they are not winning their egos are hurt and their recruiting sales pitch to local familys isnt as strong.

It’s insulting that many naive people think all these ILH schools are just going to throw out money to win some high school sport games. They do not understand the operating costs with running a school. There is only so much money to go around.

Most families, even those with kids who can play sports make HUGE sacrifices for their kids. Then they will hear or read about ignorant comments about recruiting, how their kids belongs to a certain community since they live there, and ILH conspiracies even though each leagues have an equal vote.