NCHC Eligibility Appeals
National Christian HomeSchool Championship Overview
The National Christian HomeSchool (NCHC) Tournaments have continued to grow since 2000. Year to year the NCHC will host between 3-8 District HomeSchool Basketball Tournaments, 3-5 Regional HomeSchool Basketball Tournaments, and a 350+ team National HomeSchool Basketball Tournament. The NCHC also host the Largest HomeSchool Volleyball Tournament for going on nearly a decade. All in all the NCHC Leadership works to support HomeSchool Sports Nationals for 7 sports—Basketball, Volleyball, Fall Soccer, Spring Soccer, Golf, Cross Country, and Track & Field. As well as numerous Christian & HomeSchool Volleyball Regional & Basketball Tip-Off Tournaments.
The organizational structure of the National Tournaments is as follows:
Executive Committee – This committee oversees all of the initial eligibility decisions, structural and financial decisions of NCHC run events (Basketball Nationals, etc.), such as locations, dates, fees structure, programs “good standing” status, special events (All-American Game), and the selection process for other committees.
Regional Committee – The functions of this committee are to interact with local programs concerning eligibility and to suggest eligibility changes. The Regional Committee is also in put in place to rule on appeals to decisions made by other committees (Executive &/or EAB.) The Regional Committee typically consist of 6-12 members, when need arises this committee can be expanded to as many as 30 leaders. No boys or girls program will have more than 1 position. The members of this committee includes (but is not limited to) directors that are involved with running the NCHC Post Season Events.
Eligibility Advisory Board (EAB) – This board changes every year. The members of the committee are made up of the leaders, registered coaches, and athletic directors that attend the National Tournament. The EAB has 400+ members.
The EAB has two primary functions:
- To vote on hardship eligibility appeals.*
- To offer advice, opinions, and vote on eligibility changes for upcoming season.*An eligibility appeal is when a player or team is denied a hardship exemption and wishes to file an appeal. All appeals are in writing and voting is done through e-mail.
More info on the NCHC EAB–
Who makes up the EAB? The EAB is made up of coaches & leaders of the teams registered to attend NCHC Post Season Events. In Basketball this results in hundreds of voting members, some of whom vote, others who don’t, all have an equal opportunity to have a voice.
Reason for the EAB–
The reason the EAB exists is that we at the NCHC believe that the teams attending our events should have a say in the eligibility standards. Over the years, some clear precedent has been set; this precedent allows the Executive Committee to approve or deny almost all hardship exemptions without taking it to the EAB. With that said, we always have unique situations and bring these to the EAB for a vote. Also, if a hardship is denied (based on past precedent), the program has the ability to appeal the denial to the EAB.
The Executive Committee’s role in eligibility is to be the gatekeeper for NCHC Events and to uphold the eligibility guidelines that the EAB has set. Over the years, the EAB has adjusted, added, and even removed specific eligibility guidelines and ruled on hundreds of EAB hardship situations & appeals.
The bottom line is the programs that attend NCHC events clearly believe that Eligibility is the #1 threat in HomeSchool Sports. We agree; we have seen firsthand how destructive ineligible teams can be. We stand with our programs and believe that nothing can ruin a parent, player, coach, or fan experience more than to have ineligible teams at our NCHC HomeSchool Events, so we strive to be consistent and fair.
With that said, the Executive Committee fully understands that the landscape of HomeSchool Athletics is constantly changing, and there are always unique situations. Amid this ever-changing landscape within HomeSchool Sports, we feel it is our job, collectively, to protect the reputation of HomeSchool Athletics. We feel it is essential that HomeSchool Coaches, Directors, & Administrators are encouraged to take an active role/voice in influencing the rules and policies they have agreed to abide by.
Ultimately, we at the NCHC believe everyone’s opinion is essential to our post-season events; we want to make sure our rules and policies reflect the vast majority of the teams/programs that attend our events. This is why the leaders and coaches participating in the EAB are so crucial, as their votes will help us both now & in the coming years to ensure that HomeSchool Sports’ integrity is kept intact.
The EAB is made up of leaders, coaches, and administrators who represent teams from across the nation that has or will attend NCHC Post Season Events.
EAB Members are thanked for the time they take to vote. Our goal at the NCHC is to work hand in hand with you to address the ever-changing HomeSchool Sports Movement.
The NCHC ONLY handles eligibility exemptions or questions in writing, it does NOT handle the questions on the phone. Coaches, Athletic Directors, Parents, & Players if you have questions about an eligibility situation in your program and you have told the player has been granted an exemption ask to see it in writing. We are issuing this clarification statement because the last couple of years we have had 3 situations where coaches have told players that it was approved by Tim or Rob but we had not even heard of the situations. As players, coaches and parents it is your responsibility to make sure your team meets the eligibility requirements. Again all eligibility issues must be dealt with in writing, no exceptions.