Welcome to IHSA.org 3.0

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Today the Illinois High School Association presents a redesigned version of the IHSA Web site. Opened to the public in January, 1996, IHSA.org is the association's primary mode of communication with its member schools and licensed officials, as well as media, parents, students, and fans. Last school year IHSA.org received more than 36 million page views from about two million unique visitors. This is the first major redesign of the site since 1997.

An important item to note is that the page naming system is completely different. If you have a bookmark to an important page, you will want to find that page in the new site and update your information. School webmasters are advised that links to individual pages and forms on the IHSA Web site will no longer work and need to be updated accordingly.

Please take some time to visit all the sections available on the toolbar and the pulldown menus. Some of the most important changes and additions are listed below:

State Series Information: In each sport and activity, items relating to this year's state series competition are gathered on a single page called "State Series Information & Results". The link to this page is at the top of the left column of each sport and activity menu. From this page, you can access sites, assignments, qualifiers, brackets, and results in every class. (Sample: girls golf)
Records Information: Likewise, in each sport and activity, records information is gathered on a page called "Records & History". The link to this page is also in the left column of each sport and activity menu. From there, the "Records Menu" link displays the complete assortment of available records. (Sample: girls volleyball)
Archived State Series Results: Items relating to state series competition, such as lists of qualifiers, final results, and box scores, that were posted on the old Web site (since 1996) are gathered on a single page called "Archived State Series Results". The link to this page is on the "Records & History" page. (Sample: boys basketball)
Front-Page ScoreZone™: The ScoreZone™ scoreboard feature that has been a part of sport and activity menu pages for many years is now part of the front page as well, where it will feature games currently in progress across the state.
Twitter Feed: The best way to keep up with the latest IHSA announcements, postings, and other items of interest is to subscribe to the IHSA Twitter feed. The latest tweets are displayed on the front page. You'll want to add the feed to your mobile device, of course.
Interactive Events Calendar: An interactive events calendar has been incorporated into the Web site. The calendar on the front page covers every aspect of IHSA business, while the calendars on the individual menu pages show only those items that pertain to that sport or activity.
Graphical Brackets: New graphical brackets have been developed for team sports as well as wrestling, tennis, and badminton.
Porter's Corner: The new Porter's Corner feature is named after H. V. Porter, the former IHSA executive who coined the term "March Madness." In his tenure with the IHSA, Porter penned many poems and essays pertaining to interscholastic competition. We'll try to match his perspicacity and wit, and we'll invite guest writers to do the same.
Search Feature: A search box has been added to the site's menu bar. The results returned cover all the pages on the IHSA.org site.

As with any transition of this magnitude, there are bound to be a few loose ends we missed. If you notice a problem or inconsistency, please let us know. We'll try to deal with problems quickly after they are identified.

The redesign affects only the public portion of the IHSA Web site. The Schools and Officials Centers are unchanged -- that's next on the list.

Credits: The new IHSA Web site was implemented by Jeff McWherter and Amelia Marschall of Gravity Works Design. For other examples of their work, see the Web sites of the state associations of Michigan and South Dakota.