On January 9, 1946, football coaches from the state's AA public high schools (the highest classification at the time) met in Alexandria to discuss the formation of a conference similar to Mississippi's "Big Eight."
- The conference members would abandon the state playoffs in favor of crowning their own conference champion.
- F. H. Prendergast, the coach of Fair Park in Shreveport, gave these reasons for the move.
We feel the public would get a better class of football, win or lose, and it would put an end to post-season games which sometimes run into December after teams already have played a rugged schedule.
- Each member would play a minimum of five or six league games, with the "state champion" (actually the conference champion) determined on a percentage basis. The new conference would also crown champions in basketball, track, and other sports.
- Prendergast added, somewhat disingenuously: We definitely want to remain within the state association.
Hap Glaudi of the New Orleans Item revealed the public schools' real motivation.
The new organization, while it claims allegiance to the present State Assn., would prohibit its members from engaging a Catholic Prep school in "state championship athletic playoffs." ... The Conference, however, would permit members to participate in athletic contests against Catholic schools in city and inter-city competition.
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That the revelation of the Public Prep plan, which had its beginning in Baton Rouge, started the storm winds to blowing is putting it mildly. Some see in the plan a definite threat to the continued relationship of Louisiana Public and Catholic athletic teams, a certain split of the State Assn., and the eventual forming of State Public and Catholic Leagues.
N. Charles Wicker, Prep writer for the Times Picayune, also weighed in on the proposal.
It would, in our opinion, be a setback for prep school athletics if the organization becomes a reality, and the Catholic schools take the stand that they do not wish to play the public schools but would rather go out of town and play teams.
Here in New Orleans most of the biggest gates come from the Catholic vs public and Catholic vs Catholic schools.
The storm blew over, however.
- At its annual meeting January 26, the LHSAA voted down the proposal for a "Big 14" Conference 51-16.
- Nearly all the Class A and B schools nixed the idea. However, the only AA schools that did not vote for the proposal were Catholic High of Baton Rouge, Holy Cross, Jesuit, St. Aloysius, and one New Orleans public school, Nicholls.
- The other three local AA public schools, Fortier, Peters, and Easton, voted "yes with reservations."
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