Vote a "show of faith" in Urhahn's leadership

The proposal to split Missouri public and private schools into separate playoff systems failed by a lopsided margin on Thursday.

MSHSAA members voted 321-92 against the split and new MSHSAA executive director Kerwin Urhahn is receiving credit for the outcome.

In today's Post Dispatch, Tom Wheatley called the vote a "show of faith" in Urhahn's leadership. Wheatley described the MSHSAA leader as "quietly but forcefully" opposing the measure.

His most creative move was a 31-person task force that met twice before ballots went out. The group held blunt discussions and offered possible solutions to ease public-private tensions.

"The vote did come back pretty resoundingly not to separate,'' Urhahn said by phone from his Columbia office."But I don't want that to come back as 'everything's all right with the world.' "

I believe this vote is good news. In basketball, for example, there are already five separate classes in place with a 35-percent "multiplier" for private school enrollment. Why dilute the championship events even further by splitting public and private schools?

As one high school athlete tells the Springfield News-Leader, "If you win a state championship without the private schools it seems tainted.

"Tainted -- that's the word that comes to mind the most. ... It's like winning the NFC championship and not the Super Bowl."

Other coverage: Kansas City Star, Joplin Globe, Lake Sun Leader.