IHSA Announcements

January 21, 1997

Board Acts On Advisory Committee Recommendations

BLOOMINGTON — Recommendations from seven Advisory Committees were acted upon by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors at its regular January meeting Tuesday (Jan. 21) at the IHSA Office. Following is a recap of Board action regarding each of the committee proposals:

Football

  1. Did not approve a proposal to expand the number of competing teams from 192 to 384. Under the concept, the last regular season came would be played on Thursday of Week No. 16, the first playoff game on Tuesday of Week No. 17, to be following with second round games to be played on Saturday of Week No. 17.
  2. Did not approve a change in the manner of determining playoff enrollments. Under the proposal, all public schools would be classified in the football playoffs on their actual enrollment, while private schools would be classified on their actual enrollment or the average enrollment of their opponents, whichever is greater. Proponents of the concept offered it as a solution to scheduling problems which have been generated by the advent of the playoffs in 1974.
  3. Approved a recommendation that the clock would run continuously when either team is 40 points ahead at anytime in the second half of a game. This will apply for both regular season and football playoff games.

Boys/Girls Cross Country

  1. Did not approve a recommendation to increase the number of medallions awarded to the trophy winning teams in each of the four races in the state final meet.
  2. Tabled a recommendation to add a fourth place team trophy and medallions in each of the four races at the state final meet.

Boys/Girls Golf

  1. Tabled a recommendation to add a fourth place team trophy and medallions in each of the state final tournaments.
  2. Approved a recommendation to eliminate mandatory rules meetings in boys and girls golf, effective with the 1997 (next school year) season.

Boys/Girls Tennis

  1. Approved a change in the girls series to allow for three championship rounds and three consolation rounds to be played on Thursday of the state final tournament.
  2. Approved a change to allow the fifth and sixth place matches in both the boys and girls state final tournaments to use regular scoring.
  3. Approved restrictions in both series that prohibit a coach from using electronic communication/coaching devices during a match.
  4. Did not approve a recommendation to alter the structure of the state series from 30 sectionals and qualifiers from the Chicago Public League to 32 sectionals with Chicago Public League schools not having their own series to determine state final qualifiers but instead sending players into the sectionals.
  5. Did not approve a plan to revise advancement to the state final tournament which would bring the first, second and third place finishers in singles and doubles from each sectional; would bring all members of the sectional winning team, and would provide for at large entries to complete the draw. Fourth place finishers in the sectional, which now qualify for the state final, would be put into the at large pool.
  6. Approved changes in girls tennis to allow the sectional winning team to adjust its lineup, to provide for a team champion tie-breaking mechanism and to allow for four points to be awarded a doubles victory in the first round of play at the sectional and state final.
  7. Approved a recommendation to allow for substitution in the state final singles bracket with an alternate from the correlated sectional.

Boys/Girls Volleyball

  1. Approved a recommendation to allow seeding by fax if all schools in the process mutually agree to it.
  2. Did not approve a recommendation to increase by two (2) the number of team passes for the state final tournament.

Sportsmanship/Ethics

  1. Approved sponsorship of a Sportsmanship Summit in September of 1997 with the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA).
  2. Approved creation of a poster promoting good sportsmanship be developed for placement in schools next fall.
  3. Approved a plan to develop and distribute sportsmanship related press releases prior to each season (fall, winter, spring).

Other Action

The Board took the following action regarding the general business of the Association: Approved no increase is membership dues fees for the 1997-98 (next) school year, with the fee remaining $25 per school.

Eligibility Decisions

Sustained the Executive Director's ruling that a student will complete his eighth semester of attendance at the end of the current (fall) semester and become ineligible.

Discussion Items

At each meeting of the Board of Directors, there are certain agenda items which the Board discusses but upon which it takes no action. Following is a report of those on the January, 1997, agenda:
  1. March Madness Litigation: The Board heard a report of the status of litigation regarding the March Madness trademark.
  2. Entry System: The Board heard a report of the new scanning system to be used in processing entry blanks and fees beginning in March for the 1997-98 (next) school year.
  3. Basketball Classification Survey: Results of tabulation of the questionnaire were given to the Board. They also will be given to the Basketball Advisory Committee for review at its annual meeting upcoming April 8.
  4. Strategic Planning: The Board heard a report of the development of action teams to pursue strategic plan strategies regarding recruiting and training officials, facility needs and out-of-season participation.