BATON ROUGE – Once principals from nearly all member schools in the Louisiana High School Athletic Association finally gathered to vote Tuesday, their message was a resounding endorsement of the existing state playoff structure whose approval last summer raised considerable objection.

Turns out the principals’ problem was, as many said going into Tuesday’s meeting, about the procedure used to adopt the playoff system – not its structure.

Not only did the principals (and some athletics directors designated to vote for their principals) approve the current structure – put on hold by a Baton Rouge district court’s Aug. 21 temporary injunction – by a majority, but the approval exceeded the two-thirds milestone required if the structure was a constitutional matter.

It gained support from about 68 percent of the 385 schools represented in a specially-called meeting at the Marriot hotel in Baton Rouge.

LHSAA executive director Eddie Bonine was relieved that after a handful of false starts on convening a meeting of principals this summer, Tuesday’s turnout was more than sufficient – as was the tally.

“I want to thank the over 380 school representatives that showed up here today, which is probably one of the biggest attendances for a vote during my tenure. That was very impressive. And then to garner a 68 percent vote, not only did we get a simple majority to pass but also received a two-thirds vote as well. The membership has spoken, and we will continue to move forward with what we have in place.”

That’s in anticipation that attorneys from the LHSAA and the nine member schools – six in Rapides Parish — that successfully sought the temporary injunction in August can agree to ask the judge to halt the delay. The nine schools had objected to how the new system was installed, by vote of the 15-member LHSAA executive committee (comprised of principals), rather than by a full vote of the LHSAA membership. That finally happened Tuesday.

“The temporary injunction is still in place,” said Bonine, “but at this point (LHSAA) counsel will work with the other side’s counsel to submit paperwork and see if that particular ruling can be relieved.”

Tuesday’s vote provides a much more balanced structure for playoff competition among two categories of state high schools – Select and Non-Select, launched in 2013. Select is generally comprised of private schools and schools with specific admissions criteria that stretch beyond traditional geographic zones.

While teams compete in traditional districts during the regular season, they are also divided into four Select and four Non-Select categories for playoff selection. A power ratings system ranks teams in each division, and provides seedings for each playoff bracket in football, boys and girls basketball, baseball and softball. The year-old system was generally credited with providing a more competitive bracket last year, especially among larger schools, than in the recent past.

The result does not quell discussions suggesting a return to the longstanding system used for decades with all LHSAA schools united, not split. That conversation, considering 32 percent of principals voted “no” to Tuesday’s proposal, will continue.

Ironically, Tuesday, the Georgia high school athletic association voted to split its private schools into separate playoffs from public schools.