SCHSL? NCISAA? Finding a sports home among top priorities for new Legion Collegiate AD

Legion Collegiate won the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) 2A baseball and softball state titles in June 2021.

However, a month prior to that, the school decided to leave the SCHSL to join the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA) on a trial basis, citing several reasons for its departure.

Then-Legion Collegiate head football coach Strait Herron said, “Parents, their biggest concern right now is the two-year provisional (membership) period, and not being able to play for a state championship (in that two-year span). … That’s going to be the only drawback to this. But in two years, that’s going to change.”

Later, Legion Collegiate and the NCISAA agreed for the school to leave the league in the spring of 2023, just before the end of the probation period. The reason? Legion Collegiate is a free, public charter school; every other NCISAA member is tuition-based.

The school also can’t join the South Carolina Independent Schools Association (SCISA) because that group’s bylaws prohibit the acceptance of charter schools.

What is new athletic director Mike Drummond, hired earlier this month, to do?

Having served as the school’s business manager since 2020, he is aware of the landscape, taking over following Legion’s first full season as an independent.

And he wants to find a solution.

“That way, we can play for something,” Drummond said. “Championships, all-region or all-conference (selections) for our student-athletes give our kids more visibility. ... I think we’re doing a good job, but I want to take them to that next level where they’re competing for something state-wide. If we can find the right league, that would be a big bonus for Legion.”

Drummond replaces Rich Posipanko, who serves as vice president of operations for the Charlotte Independence and plans to remain at Legion Collegiate as a part-time consultant.

Posipanko said that the school has searched as far away as Raleigh and Orangeburg for possible leagues for the Lancers to join but haven’t found a spot that fully suits the teams. Posipanko said coaches at the school are happy to stay independent in the meantime.

As with anything, there are pros and cons to being an independent school in athletics.

“We’re all about development, and we don’t have any start or stop dates as far as training time,” Posipanko said. “So we can spend a lot of time with our student-athletes. We don’t have any restrictions on the number of competitive contests we can play. ... And if your goal is to develop student-athletes ... those two things are vital in doing that.”

“The biggest disadvantage. ... I feel bad that our student-athletes can’t get recognized on a regional or state level. That’s what bothers me more than anything.”

Drummond is no stranger to the public charter school scene.

Before joining Legion, he served as the athletic director at York Prep from 2018-2020 during the school’s two-year period as a conditional SCHSL member. Drummond also served as South Pointe’s athletic director from 2006-2017.

It is unlikely Drummond will find a solution anytime soon. For now, his main focus lies on enriching the current status of Legion Collegiate’s athletic programs and preparing the teams for their upcoming seasons.

“The biggest priority is getting on coaches, getting on athletes on workouts, conditioning, trying to keep them in shape,” Drummond said. “That’s been a big priority, and coaches have done a good job getting with and communicating with the kids and the parents and making sure they set up times for them to come in and work out.”

Drummond said construction of the school’s soccer and lacrosse fields will resume around next week following delays due to inclement weather. He hopes to have those facilities finished by the start of those seasons.