Through no fault of The Democrat, a sentence was dropped from my column last week. After I mentioned Jordan Farmer, Matthew Hall, and Mary Kate Byrne and their success in the Natchez City Junior Golf Tournament, I also mentioned that John Dicks, a seventh-grader at Cathedral, had won the 12-14 age group in that tourney, so maybe the school can continue to build on its links success.

My column on July 13 included the statement, &uot;The NCAA now, I believe, demands an official’s undivided attention.&uot; That was in error, as many current NCAA football officials continue to officiate high school football as well. I should have said the NFL requires its football officials to work exclusively for the NFL except that a number of current NFL officials now also work as Football Officials Supervisors in the college ranks.

To change directions, a story ran last week in one of the Jackson area papers about a couple of kids who were allowed to transfer to a large Class 5A public school without losing a year of eligibility. Both boys had attended a Class 2A parochial school which, like Cathedral, participated with public schools in the MHSAA.

I have been able to talk to no one at the MHSAA offices, so I do not profess to know what is actually behind this ruling. It was mentioned in the article that tuition at the smaller school for non-Catholic students is $7,200 annually but unsaid was how much, if any, tuition aid those students were receiving. It was said the principal at the smaller school gave both boys his blessing, but I would like to have been a fly on the wall when their coaches heard they were leaving.

Any boy or girl who, with their parents’ involvement, think they can bet a better academic or athletic background at another school should, if they are otherwise qualified, be allowed to transfer. However to allow athletes to transfer without losing a year of eligibility would only lead to a game of musical chairs.

It appears the MPSA operates with a very loose transfer policy, and there seems to be no restriction on transferring between public and private schools. There should be common-sense regulations on those transfers as well.

There are obviously hardship cases which make exceptions necessary. I remember a 1950 classmate at Natchez High who had moved to Natchez when his father was transferred there by International Paper. As the kid had played football at his old high school in Louisiana, he was forced to sit out a year at Natchez High before playing only his senior year.

I don’t know what was different, but several years later a boy made All-Big Eight at three schools in three years running, and one of those schools was Natchez High.

Southeastern Conference Media Days are going on in Birmingham this week and will be followed this weekend by the SEC Football Officials Clinic. After seeing a major turnover in the officials’ ranks a couple of years ago, I hope present Commissioner Slive will continue to let the Officials’ Supervisor to supervise and the officials officiate.

And that’s official.

Al Graning is a former SEC official and former Natchez resident. Reach him at

AlanWard39157@aol.com.