As of Friday, March 28, Crane said he knew of no applications to build on or improve the property and had heard nothing about a ground breaking.

"I would be highly surprised," he said. "No authorizations or permits have been issued in any way, shape or form."

USC officials will have to persuade BOT members that not only do they have plans and contracts for the required athletic facilities, but that they can complete the construction by August or September. If they can't, they'll have to convince them the back-up facilities will be available on the dates scheduled for games.

Jones said he believes that applying for associate membership will allow them to get up and running without disrupting region schedules and a chance to prove their reliability.

"We're already playing games," he said.

UHSAA member schools are not allowed to play non-member teams, even in preseason games or out-of-state tournaments. Most other states also have this restriction.

Jones told BOT members he plans on 1,200 students this fall, and USC currently has 220 students enrolled, attending classes and many of those are participating in extracurricular activities.

"We want to create an educational atmosphere like no other in the world," Jones said.

There is a board of directors that votes on issues related to the operation of the school, but Jones admits he is shouldering most of the financial burden.

"It's been a struggle," Jones said. "But we've managed ... I really have a solid vision."

As for asking schools to play a team that isn't a full member of the association, Jones said he doesn't think that will be a problem.

"I don't think we'll have any problem getting games," Jones said.

Wilson hopes officials look past the fact that USC is unlike any other school the UHSAA has dealt with and try to see what it could offer the state's students.

"Hopefully we'll be a little more visionary and not just reactionary," said Wilson. "We're caught in new, uncharted territory for a lot of people, and there is always fear of the unknown ... I do think we'll all learn from this experience."

Excell said the UHSAA has allowed associate membership for some schools to compete in activities and festivals, but athletics is another matter because each school must host games.

"If they can prove where they're going to play, then we'll probably approve them," Excell said. "We're just not seeing anything tangible."

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E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com