DECEMBER 7, 2015, 12:01 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015, 12:46 AM
BY GREGORY SCHUTTA
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
EDISON – It was billed as a referendum on the state of public versus non-public schools in New Jersey high school sports.
And in little more than 90 minutes Monday, the membership of the state athletics governing body spoke, changing the athletic landscape as we know it – at least for the time being.
In a landmark vote, the members of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association approved historic proposals separating public and non-public schools in football and splitting non-public wrestlers into their own districts and region.
“I think a lot of people are realizing how huge the disparity has grown,” said Denis Nelson, athletic director at River Dell. “If there were an ability for level competition, we wouldn’t be having these problems.”
In one of the most highly attended NJSIAA membership meetings in recent history, officials from 345 of the association’s 433 member schools cast votes and approved the separation proposals by nearly identical margins.
The football proposal, which passed 215-128 with two abstentions, would remove all non-public schools from their current conference for football only and force them to create a statewide conference of their own, with full schedules.
It’s the third time in the past decade that some type of football separation proposal has reached the membership of the NJSIAA – but the first time one was approved.
