October 5, 2005
The Illinois High School Association announced today that it has reached a settlement with the thirty-seven (37) member schools who had filed suit against the IHSA in an attempt to prevent the implementation of the 1.65 multiplier for non-boundaried schools with enrollments greater than 450. The settlement, which was reached in Cook County Circuit Court, provides that the multiplier will continue through the fall season. The multiplier issue will then be resolved through the Association’s Legislative process. Schools will have until October 24, 2005, to submit proposals for consideration by the IHSA Legislative Commission. As of today, the IHSA has received three multiplier-related proposals. All three proposals have an effective date of February 1, 2006.
"We are pleased to have finally reached a settlement, and we look forward to moving ahead with our fall state series competitions," said IHSA Executive Director Dr. Marty Hickman. "Allowing this issue to come to a vote of our membership will enable our schools to clearly indicate how important of an issue this is to them. I have no doubt that the membership will resolve this issue one way or the other."
As a part of the agreement, member schools affected by the multiplier for the current school term may qualify for waivers in girls’ volleyball, boys’ soccer, boys’ and girls’ cross country and football. Member schools that don’t qualify for an automatic waiver may apply to the executive director for a waiver on a sport-by-sport basis. As outlined in the settlement, the decision of the Executive Director is final.
Girls’ Volleyball/Boys’ Soccer: Any school with a record of .500 or less, as of today, shall be granted an automatic waiver.
Cross Country: Any school whose average placement in all its meets through today is at the middle or lower 50% shall be granted an automatic waiver.
Football: All qualifying schools with a season ending record of 5-4 or under shall be granted an automatic waiver unless that school’s football team has advanced to the state semifinal game in either of the past two seasons (2003 and 2004).