Bishop Gorman football can play for national titles after NIAA decision

There will be no 10-team Open Division in Nevada high school football, and the controversial HRM system will return.

The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Board of Control voted by a 7-5 mark Tuesday at its winter board meetings in Reno to rescind its decision on football realignment from a meeting in November.

The vote will result in the HRM system being used to determine which Southern Nevada teams make the Class 5A and 4A Southern Region playoffs, and the top four 5A teams that would go into the Open Division.

The biggest winner Tuesday was Bishop Gorman. If the 10-team Open Division had stayed in place, it would have significantly reduced the Gaels’ presence on the national stage and eliminated any chance of a national championship.

Tuesday’s vote came after threat of legal action from the Archdiocese of Las Vegas, claiming that the NIAA board appears to “have violated multiple state and federal laws in relation to the action(s) taken before, during and after the meeting of the NIAA Board of Control on Nov. 19, 2025,” according to one letter from the archdiocese legal counsel sent to the NIAA.

“The reason we’re talking about rescission is because of the fact that perhaps there was a violation of the NIAA regulations with respect to the vote that took place in November of 2025,” NIAA legal counsel Paul Anderson said at the meeting.

‘Prepared to file a lawsuit’

In a summary of both letters the archdiocese sent to the NIAA, Anderson said: “Bishop Gorman took the position that what was done by the board in November of this past year violated the board’s own regulation. … If the alignment that was voted on in November of 2025 proceeds forward, we’re prepared to file a lawsuit with respect to these issues.”

The letters, as part of the archdiocese’s investigation into the situation, claim that the NIAA “board blatantly violated Nevada law when it collusively predetermined and voted at a specially called meeting to impose an unlawful midcycle realignment — designed to prevent Bishop Gorman High School (“BGHS”) from national competition, in circumvention of mandatory Nevada Administrative Code requirements and in violation of Nevada’s Open Meeting Law.”

“Decisions such as realignment should be guided by transparency, due process and equality, not by the disproportionate influence of a few Clark County principals or shifting considerations untethered in the realignment committee’s recommendations,” archdiocese general counsel Judith Kohl, who sent the initial letters to the NIAA, said at public comment at the meeting.

‘Created credibility issues’

The board voted in November to get rid of the HRM system and approve the creation of a 10-team Open Division for the top classification of Southern Nevada teams. Before a vote took place to decide on the realignment proposal, the board had to vote to rescind the actions taken from the January 2025 meeting that implemented the HRM system.

That would have meant the 10 teams in the Open Division — Bishop Gorman, Liberty, Arbor View, Foothill, Shadow Ridge, Las Vegas High, Desert Oasis, Desert Pines, Green Valley and Faith Lutheran — would play nine league games with the opportunity to play only one nonleague game.

That affected the Gaels, who have won four national championships, much more than the other nine schools. But Gorman said it would play in the 10-team Open Division and not as an independent.

During the November meeting, Clark County School District principals on the board said the HRM system “created credibility issues” after the NIAA had to make revisions to the final rankings and playoff brackets because of an issue with MaxPreps’ rankings and an unreported forfeited game.

According to NIAA bylaws, a realignment proposal “requires such a written request to be submitted to the realignment committee, which must make recommendations for actions to the Board (of Control).”

“The question has been brought up as to the legality of (the November vote) and other stipulations for regulation application by the board, and whether they had the authority to do that or if it was in violation of its own regulations,” NIAA executive director Tim Jackson said at the meeting.

The realignment proposal initially approved in November came from CCSD principals, not the realignment committee. There was no realignment committee meeting before the special November meeting.

Leaving the NIAA?

CCSD principals voiced their displeasure at the decision in a unified letter, signed by 28 schools, to the NIAA during public comment Tuesday. The letter claims that the proposal was a solution to create a football structure that was “easy to understand and fair to all involved.”

“Moving to rescind this decision now would undermine the progress made towards a transparent system and reintroduce the very confusion and lack of an even playing field that the November action successfully resolved,” the letter read. “Furthermore, we are deeply disappointed that the NIAA Board of Control appears to be responding to legal bullying tactics. … Allowing the board’s governance sets a concerning precedent that compromises the association’s integrity.”

Colin McNaught, Cimarron-Memorial principal and Board of Control member, hinted that schools could consider playing as an independent or leaving the NIAA as a result of Tuesday’s decision.

“Please be advised that if the previous actions are rescinded, we as principals, representing our students and families, would all be forced to explore all of our options, including a necessary and thorough review of our continued involvement in football with the NIAA,” the letter from the principals read.

The Board of Control would have to approve a school’s decision to become an independent. Jackson said schools that are not approved independent status and do not “fulfill their obligations as a league member face sanctioning and fines” for not participating in the league where they are placed.

“There are (three) options here: Stay in something that we agreed is not good for kids. Declare independent status for your football program, if you do not participate in (the system), the rest of your sports are (not impacted), but your football program becomes (an) independent, but you decide who you play or don’t play. Or, withdraw your entire school from the NIAA,” McNaught said at the meeting.

The HRM uses Harbin Points, NIAA rubric points and MaxPreps’ state rankings to come up with an HRM score. The top four teams in the 5A standings would make the Open Division state tournament and the next eight teams will play in the 5A Southern Region playoffs.

The top eight teams in the 4A standings would make the 4A Southern Region playoffs. There are no Northern teams in the Open Division.

This will allow 5A and 4A Southern teams to play up to five nonleague games.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.