Executives from the California Interscholastic Federation answered questions about transfers, NIL, championship locations and equity, and more during an online media availability session on Wednesday morning.
CIF executive director Ron Nocetti and associate executive director Brian Seymour fielded questions by media members from around the state. Here’s a few of the topics that were discussed.
Latest transfer news
Nocetti emphasized that the entire state operates under the same transfer guidelines, but said that each section interprets those rules differently.
He mentioned the CIF’s federated councils, made up of representatives from across the various sections, has discussed making changes to the sit out period. One idea was to allow students to play during the whole regular season but not letting them play in the postseason.
Nocetti said that these are all hypothetical at the moment. He also stressed that 93 percent of transfers are first-time transfers.
“When we’re talking about these ideas, we really need to look and see how they impact all of our students,”Nocetti said. “We’re building rules not just because we want to keep the small percentage of people who might be skirting, or might be on the fringe of what’s allowed and not allowed.”
The Southern Section has an online transfer portal where the public can keep track of the status of student-athletes who are attempting to move from one school to another.
The CIF representative told media that there are no current plans to create a site or database such as that on a statewide level.
“I really think that has to be up to the membership in those regional areas to discuss that,” Seymour said.
State championship talk
In 2023, the CIF hosted all of its state championship football games in Southern California, with Saddleback, El Camino and Pasadena City Colleges the locations for every matchup.
In years past, the highest divisions would play in Southern California, while lower divisions would play at the home site of the NorCal school playing in the game.
The CIF did not rule out the possibility of returning some championship games to the northern part of the state.
“They’re going to be in Southern California this year in 2024 and that’ll be the second year of us doing this,” Seymour said. “Then we’ll reevaluate with our member schools and determine whether or not we can go to a different location throughout the state.”
The Open championship, played between the top teams in SoCal and NorCal, has been uncompetitive in recent years.
Serra was shut out a combined 90-0 in back-to-back Open title games against Trinity League giants St. John Bosco-Bellflower and Mater Dei-Santa Ana over the past two seasons.
A change to the top game is not imminent though.
“We have our competitive equity committee, and we really haven’t had too much of an outcry, one way or another,” Seymour said.
What’s the plan for NIL
California allows students to sign Name, Image and Likeness endorsement deals with companies. However, the CIF does have regulations.
“The key is that you’re not doing it while you’re in a school uniform,” Nocetti said. “You’re not representing your school in any way.”
He added that the CIF also has rules preventing NIL collectives, which are third-party organizations that recruit students to schools by promising compensation, from forming.
“We’re learning a lot from what’s happening in the college space, and trying to get out front to make sure those same things don’t happen in the high school space,” Nocetti said.
Flag football state playoffs?
Girls flag football has burst onto the NorCal scene since becoming a sanctioned CIF sport in 2023. That popularity is consistent across the state, with over 10,000 girls playing the sport last season.
The CIF said that regional playoffs are probably still several years away, but that it can be fast-tracked if the sections show enough interest.
“I would say that probably two or three years is the earliest that you could see that happening,” Seymour said.
