NCHSAA and FloSports Agree to Live Stream Three NCHSAA State Championships in Spring 2017

CHAPEL HILL – The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) and FloSports have reached an agreement to allow FloSports to live stream the NCHSAA State Championships for baseball, softball and track and field in 2017. The championships will be webcast through FloSports online platforms at FloSoftball.com, FloLive.tv (Baseball) and FloTrack.org.

Championship Webcast Schedule

• May 19, 2017: Track & Field Championships (2A & 4A) - Irwin Belk Track, NC AT&T State University, Greensboro, NC
• May 20, 2017: Track & Field Championships (1A & 3A) - Irwin Belk Track, NC AT&T State University, Greensboro, NC
• June 2-3, 2017: Baseball Championships - Raleigh, NC and Zebulon, NC
• June 2-3, 2017: Softball Championships - Raleigh, NC and Greensboro, NC 

NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker said, “We are excited to be able to showcase our Championships live through our new partner FloSports for those who are not able to attend. The athletes of the NCHSAA deserve to be in the spotlight, particularly during the pinnacle of their seasons - the NCHSAA State Championships.”

“The NCHSAA State Championships are huge events that showcase North Carolina’s best high school student athletes,” FloSports SVP of Global Rights Acquisition and Subscription Phil Wendler said. “The partnership with NCHSAA gives us the unique opportunity to nationally spotlight these young athletes and provide fans, including athletes’ family and their community, with live and extensive coverage of each competition.”

To access the live stream of the 2017 North Carolina High School State Championships, users must sign up to become FloPRO subscribers. The FloPRO subscription grants users access to live stream the the NCHSAA Softball Championships on FloSoftball.com, the NCHSAA Baseball Championships on FloLive.tv, and the NCHSAA Track and Field Championships on FloTrack.org. FloSports content is available on all screens, with the launch of the FloSports’ Roku and Apple TV 4 apps.

For more information, visit www.FloSports.tv.

About FloSports

FloSports, the innovator in live digital sports and original content, partners with event rights holders and governing bodies to unlock a world of sports coverage that true fans have been waiting for. Through live streaming of premier events, original video programming, and weekly studio shows, FloSports is growing the sports, the athletes, the events and the fans. Current verticals under the FloSports header are Basketball, MMA, Wrestling, Track, Gymnastics and more.

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NCHSAA Holds Spring Meeting, Updates Transfer Rules

CHAPEL HILL – The NCHSAA Board of Directors met recently for their annual spring summit. The following is a summary of what they announced.

REVISED TRANSFER RULE

1. A student’s first transfer after initial entry into the 9th grade is not subject to the NCHSAA transfer rule, provided both LEA’s agree to the transfer. For any transfer thereafter, the student must sit out for 2 consecutive semesters (at least 50% of the current semester plus the following semester) or 365 days, whichever is less.
2. The NCHSAA Transfer Committee will be composed of the NCHSAA Executive Committee and at least one (1) non-district affiliated member.
3. Students who want to participate in cheerleading are not subject to the transfer policy, however, all current eligibility requirements would remain applicable.

REVISED RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT LANGUAGE FOR STUDENTS WHEN NO CUSTODY ORDER HAS BEEN ENTERED

To make the residency rule cleaner and easier to apply the board approved language for the handbook stating, “Residency shall be deemed to be with the parent with whom the student begins the school year (i.e. 1st semester).

MEDIA POLICY 

Effective June 30, 2017, the NCHSAA will no longer have a contract with Spectrum Cable (formerly Time Warner) for coverage of NCHSAA Events. The Board approved significant changes to the NCHSAA’s current policies on televising live events as well as streaming live events by entities outside of schools (i.e. media companies). The Board gave the NCHSAA Staff time over the next few weeks to fully craft this policy, including the fee structure and applications that will oversee and govern this policy.

Update: NCHSAA has partnered with Flo Sports to stream state Championships for baseball, softball and track and field in 2017.

ANNUAL COACHES EDUCATION REQUIREMENT COMPLETION WINDOW

The Board of Directors modified the requirement passed at the Winter 2016 Board Meeting creating a window for coaches to complete their annual coaching education requirements such as the NFHS “Concussion in Sports” Course. Coaches now must complete annually required courses after June 1, 2017 and prior to the first date of practice.

VOLLEYBALL WEEKLY TOURNAMENT LIMITATION

To help with oversight of the weekly limitations in volleyball and the many tournament competitions that make up the season, the Board of Directors approved new language for the handbook intended to simplify the regulation. You can see the new language by clicking here.

NEW PLAYOFFS, BRACKETING, QUALIFICATION AND SEEDING PROCEDURE

With the new alignment beginning next year (2017-18 School Year), the Board approved new playoff procedures to fit the new alignment’s 20-30-30-20 model. The Board took the Ad Hoc committee’s original proposal, modifying it slightly with the feedback from many member schools to include more teams at each classification. The full system as passed yesterday can be found here.

1. Bracket Size for baseball, basketball, football, soccer, softball and volleyball will be as listed below
• 1A – 48 teams
• 2A – 64 teams
• 3A – 64 teams
• 4A – 48 teams
2. MaxPreps rankings will be used for seeding within the tiers of the qualification system. The use of MaxPreps rankings in seeding will be re-evaluated after one-year.
3. Playoff system for wrestling, tennis and lacrosse will go back to pre-determined brackets.

SKILL DEVELOPMENT CHANGES

The Board heard the feedback from many schools concerned about the skill development rules currently in place. They amended the current rules as follows

1. In-season dead periods are now only three weeks (previously six weeks in length).
2. A new dead period has been added, the last ten (10) student days of the school year. Effective for the 2017-18 Academic Year.
3. The Board eliminated the May dead period for all women’s sports, effective May 5, 2017
4. The Board eliminated the May dead period for football (both Options A & B), effective May 5, 2017.
• As a note, all other men’s sports remain in the established May dead period (Handbook Rule 2.2.15.d.1.v)

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Former Thomasville, Elon Standout Named Receivers Coach at ECU

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Keith Gaither has been named wide receivers coach at East Carolina according to an announcement from second-year head football coach Scottie Montgomery on Tuesday.

Gaither's acceptance of the position on the Pirates' staff follows a brief tenure as Temple's receivers coach and two-season stay at Army West Point. He brings 20 years of overall coaching experience to ECU, including six at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level and 12 in the state of North Carolina.

"Keith's background of success at all levels not only speaks highly of his coaching ability, but also his aptitude to understand, implement and value various offensive philosophies," Montgomery said. "His recruiting ties, especially across North Carolina, run deep and will impact our program significantly."

Before his Jan. 23, 2017 appointment to join the Owls' program, Gaither directed the Black Knights' receiving corps during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. His pass catchers stood fourth nationally in yards per reception with a 17.9 average last fall during Army's successful 8-5 campaign, which included a 21-17 win over Navy and a 38-31 overtime victory against North Texas in the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl.

In his first year at West Point, Gaither coached Edgar Poe and DeAndre Bell to notable performances. Poe produced a trio of 100-yard receiving games and caught six touchdown passes, which was the most by a Black Knight since 2007, while Bell turned in career highs in receptions and yards as a senior.

Gaither was wide receivers coach at Ball State from 2011 to 2014 and helped guide the Cardinals to back-to-back bowl appearances following the 2012 (Beef 'O' Brady's) and 2013 (GoDaddy.com) seasons.

While on Pete Lembo's staff in Muncie, Gaither was responsible for a combined three All-Mid-American Conference first-team selections in 2012 and 2013, along with second-team and third-team All-MAC picks in 2014. One of his top pupils was Willie Snead, who set BSU single-season receiving records in yardage (1,516), catches (106) and touchdowns (15) in 2013.

Gaither also impacted his players off the field as Briggs Orsbon earned Capital One Academic All-America honors in 2011, while Connor Ryan was a Capitol One Academic All-District choice a year later. Orsbon completed his career as only the second receiver in Ball State history to record over 200 career catches.

During his two-year stint at Elon in 2009 and 2010, Gaither helped Terrell Hudgins establish 19 NCAA, Southern Conference and Phoenix records and to a runner-up finish in the voting for the 2009 Walter Payton Award, which formally recognizes the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Player-of-the-Year. Additionally, Gaither mentored All-America pass catcher and Baltimore Ravens draft pick Aaron Mellette while at Elon.

Gaither began his coaching career in 1997 as defensive backs coach at Greensboro (N.C.) College before moving to Tusculum (Tenn.) College for the 1998 and 1999 campaigns. Following a five-year run as an assistant at alma mater Thomasville (N.C.) High School, Gaither returned to the college ranks as Winston-Salem State's recruiting coordinator and defensive backs coach from 2005 to 2008.

A four-year starter and two-time all-region performer as a member of the Phoenix secondary, Gaither earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from Elon in 1997.

Gaither is married (Holly) and has four children - Jonesha, Akeem, Madison and Hazel.

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2017 NC HS FB Scrimmage/Jamboree List

Welcome to our annual list of upcoming North Carolina High School Football Jamborees and Scrimmages.

Our goal every year with this list is to help boost exposure, interest, and attendance at these fun events.

Coaches and fans, if you want us to add your Jamboree/Scrimmage or know of one taking place, please add it by using the link below, contact us via e-mail at scrimmages@carolinagridiron.com, or reach out to either Brian Barnes (t: @NCGridironNews) or Justin Jones (t: @NCGridiron) on Twitter.

We are constantly adding to this list, especially as we get closer to scrimmage week. So be sure to check back often.

Add your scrimmage or jamboree here.

Wednesday, August 9




Thursday, August 10




Friday, August 11




Saturday, August 12

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