Timothy Liam Epstein, Chair of SmithAmundsen's Sports Law Practice Group, will publish his latest law review article with the University of Texas (UT-Austin). "Prep Plus: Evaluating the Motivations for and Effects of Enrollment Multipliers and other Measures in High School Sports" will appear in the Spring issue of the Texas Review of Entertainment and Sports Law.

The competitive balance between public and private high school sports teams is a focus of debate for many athletic associations in the United States. The question that often arises is: “Is it fair for private schools, with their ability to enroll student-athletes outside of their geographic boundaries, to take home more than their proportionate share of state championships?” This article examines state high school athletic associations’ pursuit of creating a level playing field by implementing controversial enrollment multipliers for playoff classification. Through a multi-state case study, this article examines the use of multipliers and similar measures and the controversy generated by the same, as multipliers may not be a solution to allegations of “unfair competition,” and, further, may not pass legal muster. This article provides analysis from a legal standpoint for the benefit of sports administrators, coaches, athletes, and sports law practitioners on a widely-used, yet controversial attempt to achieve competitive balance in high school sports.