January 10, 2005
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors at its regular January meeting Monday (Jan. 10) approved a plan that eliminates the fees that schools must pay to enter IHSA state tournament series, starting with the 2005-06 school term. In most sports and activities, schools currently pay a $50 fee to enter and be eligible for the IHSA state series. The loss of revenue from the elimination of entry fees will be balanced by an increase in ticket prices at certain IHSA state series events, also starting next school term.
“I am pleased to announce that the Association will not charge entry fees beginning with the 2005-06 school term,” said IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman. “We believe this is a very positive development, since many of our schools find themselves in difficult financial times. While the amount of money saved by each school will vary, we are hopeful they will use the savings to promote their interscholastic programs and participation in those programs.”
With the elimination of entry fees, member schools will no longer pay any fees to participate in IHSA activities. The Association stopped charging membership dues in 1999.
The Board also heard a report prepared by Assistant Executive Director Susie Knoblauch on the deliberations of the advisory committees for Competitive Cheerleading and Journalism. Both of these activities will begin IHSA state series competition in the 2005-06 school term. The venues for these events and the terms and conditions of competition will be announced at a later date.
1. The Board approved a bid from the Peoria Civic Center to host the Chess Team State Tournament from 2006 through 2009. The Civic Center has hosted the event in its Exhibition Hall since 2001. The dates are of the future tournaments are February 10-11, 2006, February 9-10, 2007, February 8-9, 2008, and February 13-14, 2009.
2. The Board approved a plan to institute reserved seating at the Boys Individual Wrestling State Tournament, held at the Assembly Hall in Champaign. The cost of lower-bowl (Section A) tickets will increase from $8 to $10; the cost of upper-bowl tickets (Sections B & C) will remain $8.
3. The Board rescinded the action it took at the December Board Meeting which assessed Cissna Park High School for damages after it breached its contract to play in a holiday tournament at Williamsville High School. Cissna Park ended up securing another team to take its place at Williamsville. The Board left intact the $100 penalty for breach of contract, and the school continues on probation for a period of one calendar year.
1. Sustained the Executive Director's ruling that Clinton and a student are ineligible at Bethany (Okaw Valley) High School, until March 20, 2005, for non-compliance with transfer By-law 3.043. The family had moved from Bethany to the Warrensburg (W.-Latham) school district at the start of the school year and returned to Bethany at the start of the winter sports season.
2. Modified the Executive Director's ruling and declared a student eligible immediately at Bethany (Okaw Valley) High School. The student had been ruled ineligible in basketball this school term for non-compliance with transfer By-law 3.042. The student had participated in a basketball tryout at Decatur (MacArthur) two days before the family's move from Decatur to Bethany.
3. Sustained the Executive Director's ruling that two students are ineligible at Highland Park High School, starting with the second semester of the 2004-05 school term, for non-compliance with participation By-law 3.051. The students will have completed eight semesters of potential eligibility at the end of the first semester.
1. Sustained the suspension of licensed sports official Darren Coffel. In order for the Board to reconsider the terms of the suspension, Coffel must first submit, by February 10, 2005, a personal development plan that must be approved by the Board. Then at the Board meeting on April 26, he must show evidence of the successful execution of the plan.
Discussion Items
At each meeting of the Board of Directors, there are certain agenda items that the Board discusses, but upon which it takes no action. Following is a report of those on the January, 2005, agenda:
Public-Private Task Force: The Board heard a report on the status of the subcommittees of the Public-Private Task Force. The group will meet as a whole on January 18. In response to a report from the Classification Subcommittee, the Board affirmed its position that it would not entertain proposals to hold separate state tournament series for public and private (or boundaried and non-boundaried) schools.
Suspended Schools: The Board heard a report on the status of several schools which were suspended from IHSA tournament competition in December because they failed to send a representative to mandatory Principals' Rule Meetings the past two years, and also failed to attend a make-up meeting in the IHSA Office.
NFHS Conferences: Marty Hickman and Dave Gannaway attended the NFHS/National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Conference on December 10-13 in New Orleans. NFHS executive staff and the strategic planning leadership team, which Hickman chairs, met to plan for the upcoming NFHS strategic planning process, which will be held January 28-30.
Hickman and Gannaway also attended the NFHS Winter Meeting in Hilton Head, South Carolina, on January 6-9. A variety of topics were addressed including investment strategies for non-profit associations, wrestling weight management, CSIET (Council on Standards for International Educational Travel), legislative relations, NCAA First Team program, retirement plans and more.
NFHS Rules Meetings: Staff members Sue Hinrichsen, Susie Knoblauch and Dave Gannaway were participating in NFHS rules committee meetings today.
Staff Appointments: Staff members Sue Hinrichsen and Anthony Holman are both serving as members of the Illinois Junior Golf Association Board of Directors.