The Illinois High School Association is proud to offer one of the largest and most extensive sportsmanship programs in the country with The Do What’s Right! sportsmanship program encompasses a multitude of different initiatives and opportunities for member schools and their students. Those efforts include Sportsmanship Banners for schools who display exemplary sportsmanship at IHSA state final team events, a bi-annual Student Leadership Conference, educational materials like the IHSA Sportsmanship Expectations, and the Sport A Winning Attitude awards, which officials, coaches and administrators use to recognize acts of sportsmanship at all levels that often go overlooked.
Do What’s Right! is also proud to present the nation’s first and only sportsmanship mascot, Add A. Tude. Add A. Tude joined the IHSA in 1997 and has been a fixture at IHSA state final events since that time, in addition to making appearances at member schools upon request. Add A. Tude represents the vigor and friendliness of the proper behavior that is the backbone of good sportsmanship.
The Do What’s Right! program receives guidance and oversight from an 16 person Do What's Right Sportsmanship Advisory Committee, made up of member school principals, athletic directors, one activity director, and one official, and a Student Advisory Committee driven by 21 student leaders, one from each of the state's districts. Members of these committees are often on-site at IHSA state finals to help judge the sportsmanship for the awards programs above.
The "Do What's Right!" Sportsmanship Program builds upon the IHSA's current efforts to promote and recognize sportsmanship within our teams, schools and communities.
Click here for some recommended practices at interscholastic contests for school personnel, coaches, players, and spectators.