LAFAYETTE – It may go down in history as the day that changed the Louisiana High School Athletic Association forever. Or it could have been just a small blip on the radar. Only time will tell.

On Monday afternoon, the state’s Select schools — private or magnet schools which are able to “select” their student population — voted to form their own organization, The Louisiana Select Association (LSA).

The schools’ representatives voted 66-1 to ratify a constitution and create its own 10-member executive committee. Catholic High athletic director J.P. Kelly was chosen the first CEO of the organization.

St. Charles Catholic football coach Frank Monica, who attended Monday’s meeting in Lafayette, said this was a move that was long needed.

“We had been meeting as a group, but we had no hierarchy,” Monica said. “Who represented us? Who do you go to? So we needed to get that down. Now we need to be able to discuss championships.”

Once one entity that oversaw high school sports in the state, the LHSAA has been rife with dissatisfaction for decades, mostly over what some coaches and principals see as an “unlevel playing field.” Public schools can only take the students (and athletes) that live in their attendance zone. Private schools, however, are able to select which students (and athletes) it enrolls. In order to stay open, those schools must actively recruit students to attend their schools. The problem comes when those students happen to be athletes as well.

In 2012, the LHSAA finally voted to split its championships in an attempt to level the football field. While they could play each other throughout the season, public schools would play public schools for football championships; private schools would play private schools. Later that split increased to other sports.

Now, instead of five championship games played over two days in the Mercedes Superdome, there were nine games played. Some teams were forced to play theirs as early as 10 a.m.; others at midnight or later. Then, the revenue sharing was not equal among all participants.

Monica said that was how the seeds for Monday’s meeting were planted.

“The movement just grew from there,” he said. “There was a series of meetings. There were a couple of small pocket meeting here and there where people could voice their opinions. One of the meetings was to discuss the possible playoff picture. Well, nobody knew who to talk to, who represents who. That’s what (Monday’s) meeting was about. Setting a structure.”

The LSA now will be able to move forward with setting up its own championships, away from the LHSAA’s public school championships.

“One thing we decided on is they will be held on one site, probably a college site,” Monica said.

While most people may see this move as a further schism between the public and the private schools, Monica said he doesn’t see it that way.

“I think this is the first step in bringing the thing back together,” he said. “We’ll have to see how it goes in January.”