Prep football programs in Las Vegas could seek independent status from NIAA -Las Vegas Sun News

Las Vegas public school football programs are considering a plan to walk away from the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association to compete in leagues exclusively for institutions in the Clark County School District, sources tell the Sun.

The proposed separation would leave Bishop Gorman, Faith Lutheran and charter schools as the remaining Las Vegas programs in the NIAA. Class 3A schools in rural communities — regardless if they are part of CCSD — such as Moapa Valley in Overton would also stay. 

Coaches across the Clark County School District are unified in supporting the plan, sources say. The move is believed to be only for football.

The next steps are fluid, but eventually would require individual schools to send a letter to the NIAA informing the association of their desire to go independent. 

Independent members still pay dues, but don’t participate in NIAA-sanctioned postseason tournaments.

When asked about the potential move for CCSD schools, a spokesperson for Superintendent Jhone Ebert gave the following statement to the Sun: “As she has indicated throughout her time at CCSD, Superintendent Ebert takes input from all members of the community. If high school leaders have concerns about students or campuses, the Superintendent will listen and conduct thorough research before considering any action.”

Cimarron-Memorial Principal Colin McNaught floated the concept during a NIAA Board of Control meeting this week. 

The discussion came after the board shelved a proposal for a 10-team Open Division for the Las Vegas area’s top programs. That plan would have limited teams to one out-of-state game, a restriction that would have particularly affected Bishop Gorman, the state’s dominant football program. 

Gorman plays a who’s who of national competition annually in the preseason with hopes of enhancing its national ranking.

The look and feel of the new leagues is still being determined. One plan calls for three leagues of 10 teams, meaning resource-limited programs like Chaparral, Eldorado and Valley would compete in their own division, with one team emerging as CCSD champion.

The season would be 10 weeks, including playoffs — about two weeks shorter than the current structure of 10 weeks in the regular season followed by playoffs.

The NIAA’s budget will be impacted because it would lose gate revenue from playoff games. The state championship games at Allegiant Stadium bring in more than 10,000 fans, for example, with tickets $16 for adults and $8 for students.

The state tournament structure remains unclear because Northern Nevada schools don’t want to play Gorman. It’s even more uncertain for charter school programs, because CCSD coaches are unified in not scheduling them, sources say.

CCSD’s patience with the NIAA was tested in November when the playoff brackets were changed three times over multiple days because of errors in calculating the standings.