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Competitive Equity Factor
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Competitive Equity Factor
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The newly created Competitive Equity Factor elevated private schools that dominated certain sports to new classifications.
Pulaski Academy (Class 5A to 6A), Little Rock Christian (5A to 6A), Shiloh Christian (4A to 5A) and Harding Academy (3A to 4A) were elevated for football for the next four years due to being deemed ‘dominant’ according to the definition of the Competitive Equity Factor. Pulaski Academy has won 10 state championships in football, Little Rock Christian won a state championship and played in two championship games between 2018 and 2020, Shiloh Christian won a state championship and played in two other championship games between 2019 and 2021, and Harding Academy won consecutive state titles in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
The Competitive Equity Factor was approved on the first day of the annual workshop by the Board of Directors of the Arkansas Activities Association in June, 2021, effective beginning the 2022 season.
The Competitive Equity Factor utilizes a formula for determining if a non-public, or private, school has been overly successful or ‘dominant’ in its sport in its assigned classification over a four-year span and elevates that school only for that particular sport up an additional classification for the next two-year reclassification cycle.
Non-public, or private, schools are already elevated one classification based on enrollment. The Competitive Equity Factor can elevate a school an additional classification for earning 10 competitive balance points over the four-year span, which includes:
4 — winning a state championship 3 — playing in a state championship game 2 — winning a playoff game 1 — compiling a winning conference record
Points are not cumulative for a season and the most a team can earn in a season is four points.
Teams can also drop in classification for earning two points or less over the four-year span, which was the case for Little Rock Catholic (Class 7A to 6A).
Other states which have similar rules in place concerning success factors and competitive balance between public and private schools include Alabama, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The Arkansas Activities Association is the governing body of high school athletics and activities in the state.
WINS (as head coach only, at Arkansas schools only) (through 2021 season) 1 Frank McClellan 346 - 60 - 3 0.850 final season 2005 2 Mike Malham 301 - 137 - 4 0.686 2018
3 Tom Tice 4 Bernie Cox 5 Frank Vines 6 Jerry Clay 7 Jarrell Williams 8 Don Campbell 9 Barry Lunney 10T David Carpenter 10T George Burke 12 Jon Watson 13 Van Paschal 14 David Alpe
15 Clinton Gore 16 Clay Totty 17 Bo Hembree 18 Marion Glover 19 Doug Scheel 20 Danny Abshier 21 Kevin Kelley 22 Dave Williams 23 Bobby Bolding 24 Grafton Moore 289 - 160 - 6 0.642 271 - 123 - 8 0.684 270 - 98 - 4 0.731 269 - 127 - 2 0.678 261 - 131 - 5 0.664 256 - 97 - 5 0.722 248 - 90 - 1 0.733 242 - 92 - 1 0.724 242 - 143 - 5 0.627 237 - 92 - 1 0.720 234 - 123 - 0 0.655 233 - 164 - 5 0.586
229 - 125 - 3 0.646 228 - 64 - 1 0.780 227 - 56 - 1 0.801 221 - 133 - 5 0.623 220 - 118 - 3 0.650 218 - 120 - 2 0.644 216 - 29 - 1 0.880 214 - 168 - 3 0.560 209 - 75 - 3 0.733 209 - 99 - 1 0.678 2015 2009 2006 2015 2000 2006 2014 ACTIVE 2000 2009 ACTIVE 2001
2012 ACTIVE ACTIVE 2009 2006 ACTIVE 2021 2013 2021 2000
25 Mike Adams 208 - 156 - 1 0.571 2020
STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS, All-Time (through 2021 season) 10 Wilson Matthews (Little Rock 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957) 9 Kevin Kelley (Pulaski Academy 2003, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020) 8 Rick Jones (Greenwood 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018) 8 Barry Lunney (FS Southside 1991, 1992, 1997, 2002; Bentonville 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014) 8 Frank McClellan (Barton 1978, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1997) 7 Allen Dunaway (Pine Bluff 1926, 1926, 1928, 1932, 1935, 1937, 1939) 7 Bernie Cox (LR Central 1975, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1986, 2003, 2004) 6 C.W. Keopple (LR Hall 1964, 1966, 1969, 1977, 1978, 1982) 6 David Carpenter (Junction City 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014) 5 Buck James (Camden Fairview 2012; Bryant 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) 5 Sam Goodwin (LR Parkview 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978)
