This year, Saint Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights won the state boys Class A championship. It was their third in a row, and the 6th year in a row a private school won the Class A title. It ended with calls that all private schools move to Class AA to play the larger schools. St. Thomas is planning to make the move, following such schools as Holy Angels, Cretin-Derham Hall, Benilde St. Margaret’s and this year’s Class AA runner up Hill Murray.
The insinuation among advocates of moving private schools to Class AA, which is where bigger schools play, is that the private schools have inherent advantages that essentially make them equal to the large schools. The crux of the argument is that private schools can tap into a greater student body since players can come from anywhere to attend their schools, as they are not confined to a district.
The argument, of course, is bogus. Minnesota has open enrollment, and players can attend any public school they want (like, say, Edina, who won the Class AA championship, or Hermantown, who lost to STA), and they can do it for free. Sure, some economically disadvantaged students get some of the cost of tuition shaved off, but students can attend public schools for free. The only advantage that private schools truly have is reputation. Kids want to go to schools that they have seen win before. The same goes for high school as it does for colleges. Athletes want to win.
St. Thomas Acadamy, like the other private schools that have made the leap before hand, are welcome to make the jump to Class AA because they enjoy the stiffer competition at the higher level. If they have a reputation of being better institutions, it shouldn’t be punished by schools who can’t match them.
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