The Oahu Interscholastic Association will be participating in the new state football format this fall, according to a release sent to the league’s member schools by executive director Ray Fujino on Tuesday night.
In the short release, the league announced its support of the tournament for this year and this year only. The league will discuss the merits of the concept and make recommendations after the season.
Last week, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser learned that the OIA was considering not participating in the state football tournament when it obtained a letter dated Sept. 6 and signed by OIA president Wade Araki to Hawaii High School Athletic Association executive director Chris Chun. In the letter, the OIA spelled out nine concerns. Chun, whose organization oversees all of Hawaii’s high school state tournaments, responded with a Sept. 9 letter addressing those concerns.
The OIA member schools’ principals and athletic directors met on Tuesday to discuss the issue and, according to sources and backed up by Fujino’s statement in the release, voted to participate in the states after all.
On Aug. 22, the HHSAA executive board, which is comprised of members of all five Hawaii leagues (OIA, Interscholastic League of Honolulu, Maui Interscholastic League, Big Island Interscholastic Federation and Kauai Interscholastic Federation), voted to change the state football tournament from two divisions to three. An Open division was added as the top tier, with Division I and II remaining intact.
Araki, in his letter to Chun, wondered why the Open division would be considered a “true” state championship, since only the OIA and the ILH would be participating. Possible noncompliance with Title IX was also an OIA concern, since the new format brings the total amount of teams participating in state football — primarily a boys sport — up to 20 from 12. Another concern was an apparent departure from the state qualification formula, which gives berths to leagues proportionate to the amount of teams within a league. The OIA, with 22 teams to the ILH’s seven, thought the formula was not being used, since two teams from the ILH will make the Open division compared to four from the OIA.
Apparently, Chun’s responses were good enough for the OIA to decide to take part in the football format pilot program.
Sources with OIA and HHSAA ties have previously told the Star-Advertiser that there are three factions within the OIA: those against the new format, those for it and those in the middle.
Those sources have also said that those who are against it believe the ILH has an unfair advantage in all sports by offering financial packages at upscale private schools with enticing facilities to student-athletes. That concern, however, was not addressed in Araki’s letter.
Awesome. . .
More kids get their season extended, that’s all that matters. Oh, except Kam. . .
Punahou,St.Louis
Kahuku,waianae. Open
Kapolei,Farrington
Mililani ,Leileihua
Kailua, cambpell. D1
Iolani,kapaa,baldwin,
Pearl city
Waipahu d2.
Waialua
Kaimuki
As I’ve stated several times in other threads:
One year deal. It was always going to be just that.
The off-season will be interesting.
It should be
D1
D2
D3
Just expand the current format and add 10 teams to make a 16 team state tournement.
Kahuku, STL, Punahou, Waianae, Farrington, Mililani, Kapolei, MIL, BIIF, ILH3, Kailua, Leilehua, BIIF 2, Moanalua, Campbell, Kapaa
That way the outer islands is allowed to play for the real deal, non division 2, JV Pop warner title, and at least challenge for the Open division. I can see a Kapaa and or Baldwin beating a Kailua, Campbell or Moanalua. If they can’t make it past the first round, they go back to the drawing board and get better in the off season.
Drama….lol
Now the best OIA school gets to play the #2 ILH team to get to the Finals.
Well deserved for the #2 ILH team. Long time coming & this needed to happen.
Manley September 20, 2016 at 10:30 pm
Punahou,St.Louis
Kahuku,waianae. Open
Kapolei,Farrington
Mililani ,Leileihua
Kailua, cambpell. D1
Iolani,kapaa,baldwin,
Pearl city
Waipahu d2.
Waialua
Kaimuki
Kamehameha will bump Iolani in your prediction.
The only body preventing a level playing field is the OIA.
Drop the transfer rules and let OIA teams officially recruit.
We know that Kahuku recruits and so does Mililani so why not make it legal?
OR have a state tournament without the OIA since they are the only federation complaining?
Kids follow opportunities with top level coaching, too often schools have inferior coaching and want kids to just eat it, that is why so many choose private schools. Maybe limit 5 transfers per school?
@ anywaaays, where are you? I am sitting here waiting….
too much talk just play the games and settle it on the field the OIA will be very embarrased with the outcome.
I’m all for fairness, but this is not fair for all! In the OIA the top 8 teams make either open or D1 division, top 4 open, bottom 4 D1, as where the ILH top 3 fight for open, and the bottom gets a free ride. Why is there not a playoff between the bottom 2 for the D1 spot?? There’s a problem here. Why do they have to declare whether they competing for open or D1?? So why even waste the time playing Iolani during the regular season if the outcome has no effect on their season!!
I don’t give a rats azz about the ILH, just don’t see how this if fair for everybody???
AUWE September 21, 2016 at 9:17 pm
I’m all for fairness, but this is not fair for all! In the OIA the top 8 teams make either open or D1 division, top 4 open, bottom 4 D1, as where the ILH top 3 fight for open, and the bottom gets a free ride. Why is there not a playoff between the bottom 2 for the D1 spot?? There’s a problem here. Why do they have to declare whether they competing for open or D1?? So why even waste the time playing Iolani during the regular season if the outcome has no effect on their season!!
I don’t give a rats azz about the ILH, just don’t see how this if fair for everybody???
So your argument of it being unfair revolves around Iolani or the whole ILH? I think opening another division is just ridiculous, adding the 2nd seed ILH to the tournament is we deserved. The 2nd seed ILH team was the biggest descrepancy for years. In the past I couldn’t see how every year the OIA would seed 4 & the ILH would seed 1. The #2 ILH team would be ranked higher than the OIA #3 & #4 state births every year. I think the format is a little sketchy but having the focus being the #2 ILH gets in is on point.
@808savage
The problem I see is why not let iolani and kam play for the D1 slot, instead of being an automatic berth for Iolani??
That’s what I don’t understand!! Does that seem fair to you?? All I’m saying is if you gonna make it fair make it fair for everybody.. Y should some kids matter more then others?? Cuz as it stands if kam ends up ranking higher then iolani they still gonna be home watching…
Either that or just have a D1 tournament with the top 2 teams from every league in the state!!
@ Auwe
I agree. Iolani should earn a spot. Not given one.
Kamehameha should play Iolani. Can it be considered that Iolani is now the ILH’s D2 team?
Iolani has been given a chance to play for D1 championship. If there is an ILH school to challenge this, it should be Kamehameha. Warriors have been silent. There has been no discussion of if the Warriors want to even participate. There is no doubt that Punahou and Saint Louis are playing in the open. There is no way Kamehameha can compete with those two Elite teams.
Kamehameha vs Iolani
RESPECT IS EARNED…. NOT GIVEN
What they should work on is breaking the two team league and consume them to 1 league.
ILH – You cant have a 4 team league and get 2 spots (reality says 3 of 4 75%)
You also cant have 1 member play superior competition all year long and claim your not in that division (Iolani as D2 plays D1 all year, now as D1 plays Open all year) States come and you get to play weaker teams, thats weird.
You have to be blind to think that ILH partly due to their recruiting has superior talent and typically 3 of the top 10 teams in the state each year but their is league is just to small. Time for a new league that encompasses the betterment of all our student athletes throughout out the state.
Farrington will not make the Open Devision if the lose to Kapolei cause they already lost to Mililani. Here we go again with the same scenario as before! who’s going to match up against Farrington in the playoff?
Andrew Hopoi September 22, 2016 at 11:13 am
Farrington will not make the Open Devision if the lose to Kapolei cause they already lost to Mililani. Here we go again with the same scenario as before! who’s going to match up against Farrington in the playoff?
Farrington is not a post season threat.