CPA football opts for independent schedule, won't be in TSSAA playoffs for next 2 years | Exclusive
Christ Presbyterian Academy will pull itself out of the Tennessee high school football playoffs for the 2027 and 2028 high school football seasons.
The Nashville private school announced in a Sept. 22 news release that the football team will compete as an independent program the next two seasons, which follows the upcoming TSSAA reclassification beginning with the 2027-28 school year.
The school will be allowed to schedule its own 10-game schedule, but will not play in a region, thus making them ineligible for the playoffs. The school will be permitted to participate in a postseason bowl game, if it chooses.
The decision to play an independent schedule comes after the TSSAA placed CPA in Division II-AAA, the state’s highest classification for its private schools, due to a success factor put in place to guarantee that there would be 12 schools in the division. CPA was the only school forced to move up from Division II-AA. The TSSAA later chose to remove the success factor rule that moved CPA because DII-AAA was the only classification the rule affected.
CPA’s news release stated that it expects to be placed in Division II-AAA the next two years under the current TSSAA classification rules.
The news release stated that the decision to play a non-region schedule is due to “three foundational priorities: competitive integrity, mission accountability and student safety.”
“Our highest priority is the educational mission of CPA,” head of school Nate Morrow said in the release. “Rather than following the gravitational pull of the current state of high school football, we are doubling down on our commitment to education-based, relationship-driven football that, above all, facilitates the authentic maturation of boys into men. We believe this path allows us to protect that purpose while continuing to compete at a high level. That is our responsibility to the students and families entrusted to us.”
CPA’s decision comes at a time where there have been significant TSSAA changes, in part due to pressure of potential lawsuits. Tennessee high school athletes are permitted to receive money through name, image and likeness. A one-time free transfer rule was adopted prior to the 2026-27 school year. And the TSSAA’s residency rule was also removed.
The past few years also have seen the age of the super team era where some of the state’s elite programs have multiple Power Four recruits. For example, both Chattanooga Baylor and Brentwood Academy entered the 2026 high school football season ranked nationally in various polls. Both programs have multiple Power Four recruits who transferred to their schools.
“I believe deeply in what high school football can do in the life of a young man,” Ingle Martin, CPA’s athletic director and football coach, said in the release. “Our job is to give boys the chance to be challenged, grow through the game, and belong to something bigger than themselves.
“High school football is at an inflection point. We believe this is the moment to protect what makes the high school game special and keep the focus where it belongs –– on the development of the young men playing it.”
CPA, which is 0-5 this season in DII-AAA after going 4-9 with a semifinal appearance in 2025 in its first year in the classification, has played in 12 TSSAA state championship games since 2000, with seven state titles, the most recent in 2024 in Division II-AA.
TSSAA bylaws approved in March by the Board of Control sets Division II-AAA at a minimum of 12 schools. The TSSAA will set DII-AAA classification by first asking all DII schools to identify if they plan to compete in DII-AAA. If 12 or more choose the largest DII classification, then they will be placed in DII-AAA.
If fewer than 12 choose the largest class, the remainder of the classification will be filled by enrollment size of DII schools that did not declare to be in that class until 12 teams are set. The TSSAA will then set DII-A and DII-AA by splitting the remainder of schools in half.
The CPA release said the TSSAA confirmed the procedure for the next classification in a letter dated Sept. 2 to all private schools. CPA currently has the 11th largest enrollment (517 students) among Division II football-playing schools, according to the TSSAA’s enrollment numbers being used for reclassification.
CPA plans to officially send its decision to the TSSAA prior to the high school association’s Sept. 29 deadline. If the TSSAA changes its classification rule, which would change its DII placement, the school said it would reserve the right to reconsider its independent program decision.
Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on the X platform @Kreager.
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