CPA Football to Go Independent, Skip TSSAA Playoffs in 2027-28

Christ Presbyterian Academy will play a self-made 10-game schedule for two seasons after being placed in Division II-AAA, making it ineligible for the Tennessee playoffs.

Christ Presbyterian Academy, a Nashville private school, announced Sept. 22 that its football team will compete as an independent program in the 2027 and 2028 seasons. The move follows the upcoming TSSAA reclassification that begins with the 2027-28 school year. As an independent, CPA can build its own 10-game schedule but will not belong to a region, which rules the Lions out of TSSAA playoff contention. The school may still take part in a postseason bowl game if it wishes.

The decision stems from the TSSAA placing CPA in Division II-AAA, the largest classification for Tennessee private schools, through a success factor designed to keep the division at 12 schools. CPA was the only school moved up from Division II-AA. The governing body has since scrapped that success factor, but CPA said in its release that it still expects to land in Division II-AAA for the next two years under current classification rules.

Head of school Nate Morrow said the school's priority is its educational mission, adding that the path lets CPA keep competing at a high level while protecting what it calls education-based, relationship-driven football. Athletic director and football coach Ingle Martin said high school football is at an inflection point and that the program wants to keep the focus on player development. The school cited competitive integrity, mission accountability and student safety as its three reasons for the move.

CPA is 0-5 this season in Division II-AA competition after a 4-9 campaign in 2025 that included a semifinal appearance in its first year in the higher class. The program has played in 12 TSSAA state championship games since 2000 and won seven titles, most recently in Division II-AA in 2024.

CPA said it will formally notify the TSSAA before the association's Sept. 29 deadline and would reserve the right to reconsider if classification rules change.