Staff report

COLUMBUS

The Ohio High School Athletic Association will continue to study the competitive balance issue among its member schools, the commissioner of the state’s prep sports ruling body said on Thursday.

Dr. Daniel Ross, in a statement, said the OHSAA will survey high school administrators around the state this fall to “gather feedback.”

Spurred by a push from school administrators in Wayne County and acting on the advice of a Competitive Balance Committee, the OHSAA had its membership vote in May on a referendum that would have altered the landscape of high school athletics in the state.

The measure, if passed, would have divided schools for tournament play in team sports based on actual enrollment, socio-economic factors, open-enrollment policies and past on-field and on-court performance.

The referendum was narrowly defeated, 332-303.

Ross said on Thursday that following the survey, the Competitive Balance Committee — which includes Canfield athletic director Greg Cooper — will meet to study the survey results and determine if a new proposal should be considered.

The OHSAA board of directors must approve all referendum items.

“It remains the goal of the OHSAA to keep public and non-public schools together in the same tournaments,” Ross said. “The Competitive Balance Committee’s goal is to do that, but also to create a more balanced method for how schools are placed into divisions.”

The OHSAA also noted that attendance for this year’s boys basketball state tournament fell by 16 percent from the 2010 event. Attendance for the 12 games was 109,805, down from 130,820 the year prior.