Que Tucker, commissioner of the N.C. High School Athletic Association, visited Fayetteville Monday and made some comments regarding legislation passed by the N.C. General Assembly that is now awaiting the governor’s signature.
If the bill becomes law, it will be the strongest action yet taken by the legislature to strip power from the association and hand it to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction and the state superintendent.
Speaking at the NCHSAA’s Region 4 meeting, Tucker reiterated that the association has been in compliance with an agreement it signed in 2022 following initial action by the state legislature.
During debate about the most recent bill, some legislators accused the association of not cooperating and failing to provide them with requested information.
Tucker said those accusations are a lie.
“We sent a full box of documents to the Department of Public Instruction to be given to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee,” Tucker said. “We haven’t heard anything from them. So you wonder what happened to all those documents. I have some ideas, but they’ll stay mine.”
After claiming the NCHSAA has been uncooperative, the Republican-led House and Senate added provisions taking power away from the association to a bill about insurance. The House passed it in a late-night session that extended into the early hours of Friday morning. Later that day, the Senate passed the bill unanimously.
Tucker warned the principals and athletic directors at Monday’s meeting that if the bill becomes law, which is almost guaranteed, things are going to be different for high school athletics in the state.
One major point of contention for the legislature has been repeated complaints that the NCHSAA is stockpiling too much money and taking it away from the schools.
During her presentation, Tucker displayed graphics showing that from 2010 to 2023, long before the feud with the legislature began four years ago, NCHSAA has returned nearly $23 million to member schools. That includes $6.2 million in a year when many schools had no or extremely limited numbers of fans buying tickets because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tucker noted that was one of the reasons the association, under former Executive Director Charlie Adams, created the endowment in 1991 to help schools get through lean times like they endured during the pandemic.
She said some of the language in the bill now before the governor would prevent NCHSAA from awarding grants and scholarships.
“We won’t be able to use those monies,” she said.
Until the bill becomes law or doesn’t, Tucker said, she and the rest of the NCHSAA staff will continue doing their jobs and working to help the state’s student-athletes.
But she and her staff face an uncertain future if the bill becomes law.
“Today, our boss is the 436 member schools, with the board of directors carrying out those wishes,” Tucker said. “When this bill is signed, there’s a new sheriff in town, the Department of Public Instruction. We don’t know what that’s going to look like. How are we going to factor in? How are we going to remain relevant?”
For the time being, Tucker said she relies on her faith.
“I work hard”’ she said. “I treat people right. For me, it’s about continuing to do that.”
Follow Earl Vaughan Jr. on Twitter: @EarlVaughanJr.
