Editorial: Dispelling The Southern Columbia Vo-Tech Myth

Tagged under: District 10, District 4, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs

Matt Herring | December 1, 2025

“The ultimate ignorance is the rejection of something you know nothing about

yet refuse to investigate.”

– Wayne W. Dyer

The Southern Columbia football program will compete in its record 23rd Pennsylvania State Final this week in pursuit of a record 15th PA State Championship.  The’ve had consecutive State Title runs of seven from 2017-2023 and five in a row before that from 2002-2006.  Most recently, they added football State Title hardware to their trophy case with their 14th such achievement in 2023.

These accomplishments should be lauded by fans and media alike, yet, the Southern Columbia football program is reviled with cries to move up in classification, accusations of recruiting and endless misguided remarks about the mythical “Vo-Tech Loophole”.  The latter, shouted from the mountaintops by some ignorant fans and under-researched media as an unfair advantage for the 14-time State Champs, will be explained fully in this article so as to better inform future regurgitators of erroneous claims against the illustrious Tigers program.

The Columbia Montour Vo-Tech school (CMVT) is located in Bloomsburg, PA and accepts students from numerous local public educational entities including, Berwick Area, Bloomsburg Area, Central Columbia Area, Danville Area, Millville Area and Southern Columbia Area School Districts.  The Vo-Tech offers career-technical instruction in 17 vocational programs such as Automotive Repair, Agricultural Plant Systems, Carpentry/Construction, HVAC and Welding Technology, just to name a few.  For reference, the Southern Columbia High School is 16 miles and a roughly 25-30 minute drive from CMVT.

While students at CMVT attend the institution as an extension of their home school educational programs from the six participating school districts, their participation in athletics is exclusive from their home school athletic departments so long as CMVT offers a sport also sponsored by their home school.  In layman’s terms, if football is offered at both CMVT and the students’ home school, the student MUST participate in football at CMVT and is not eligible to participate in football at their home school.  For male students, CMVT offers athletic participation in football, baseball, wrestling, cross country, basketball, bowling and track.  No male student who attends CMVT may participate in these sports at their home schools, rather, they must participate in these sports exclusively at CMVT.

The topic of Southern Columbia using the Vo-Tech as a holding pen for athletes has been a misguided and often-argued reason for the Tigers’ consistent success over the past 40+ years.  Some fans and media alike have perpetuated that myth without actual knowledge of how CMVT interacts with their six participating school districts while also following PIAA rules for such co-ops.

The mythical Southern Columbia “Vo-Tech Loophole” has been perpetuated by both rival fans and media and tends to heat up this time of year when the Tigers make their seemingly annual trip to the PA State Football Title game.  For example, just this past Sunday, the myth was boastfully declared as truth on X by both a fan and a media member, and additional false claims can be easily found on social media by simply searching numerous online PA football fan sites.

If these bold and inaccurate claims go unchecked the myth continues.  For whatever reason, perhaps plain ignorance or jealousy, some fans and media remain convinced there has to be some nefarious rationale for the Tigers’ success unrelated to their unmistakable commitment to excellence for a program that has been built into a dynasty by Coach Jim Roth and the Southern Columbia players and coaches over the past four decades.  Given the opportunity to enjoy the same home-grown and hard-earned success in their own programs, perhaps those same fans and media would assess the situation much differently.

Most naysayers will lazily continue their disdain and unsubstantiated and uneducated claims against Southern Columbia while denying it the deserved accolades as one of the most distinguished football programs in the country.  Those naysayers, most from outside the Catawissa/Elysburg area, have never ventured anywhere near Southern Columbia to witness for themselves the small school surrounded by cows and cornfields that so many claim athletes from all over the region flock to join their ranks.

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