IHSA Announcements

April 22, 1997

Peoria Boys Basketball Contract Extended Two Years

BLOOMINGTON — Peoria's Civic Center will continue to host the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class A and Class AA Boys State Final Basketball Tournaments and the popular March Madness Experience through school year 1999-2000.

The IHSA Board of Directors Tuesday voted to extend its agreement with the Peoria Civic Center, the City of Peoria and the March Madness Experience™ Playing in Peoria Steering Committee for two years. In approving extension of the Peoria agreement, the Board also authorized the IHSA staff to seek proposals to host those two events, and the other major IHSA state finals, beginning with the 2000-2001 school year.

"This is a logical step in the process of securing sites for our major events," said IHSA Executive Director Dave Fry. "It also sends a message to the people of Peoria and surrounding communities that we appreciate very much what they and their business community have done for our students, their schools and fans from their communities."

When Peoria's proposal to host boys basketball was accepted by the Board of Directors on May 2, 1995, it was for three years beginning with the 1996 state finals. The original proposal was submitted by City Councilman Steve Kouri and Greg Edwards, president of the Greater Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. They also submitted the request to extend the agreement beyond next year's dates, and serve as members of the March Madness Experience™ Playing in Peoria Steering Committee.

With the extension of the agreement to hold boys basketball in Peoria, IHSA's major event site agreements expire at the same time. IHSA sought proposals from facilities and communities throughout the state for its major events for the first time in January, 1995. The time length of the successful proposals in the other state series were five-year packages. Peoria's successful boys basketball proposal was for three years.

"If we have as much interest in hosting our major events in the year 2000 as we did the first time we did it, our fans, our students and their schools will be winners again," Executive Director Fry said. "Take boys basketball as the example. The successful proposal in 1995 created for us the nation's premiere high school sporting event. We have the best high school basketball played in America in the Carver Arena, the wonderful March Madness Experience™ in the Exhibit Hall, our Class A and Class AA Scholastic Bowl in the Theater on Saturday of Class AA basketball weekend. All of these venues are under the same Peoria Civic Center roof. Then we have been able to house all of our teams under one roof just one block away from the Civic Center, and a significant number of our fans in other downtown facilities, also within walking distance. Finally, the strength of the successful Peoria proposal allowed us to reduce ticket prices in 1996 for nearly all of our fans and to keep the March Madness Experience™ free to fans with a ticket to the tournament.

"This year we were able to add the very successful Grade School Field Trip Day at the March Madness Experience™ on Wednesday between the Class A and Class AA tournaments," Fry continued. "More than 3,500 fifth through eighth grade boys and girls came to the Peoria Civic Center with their chaperones and enjoyed a delightful educational event. And with more than 1,400 volunteers we operated the March Madness Experience™ both weekends.

"The future of boys basketball in Peoria? If past performance is anything, our best years of Playing in Peoria lie ahead of us," Fry observed.

A specific timetable for the process of submitting future proposals for the major IHSA events will be determined later, Fry said, "but it will be set in time to seek proposals for sites in the 2000-2001 school year and beyond."

Advisory Committee Recommendations

Recommendations of six Advisory Committees were acted upon by the Board Tuesday.

"Our advisory committees meet on an annual basis, usually soon after the completion of the state series in that sport or activity," noted IHSA Executive Director Dave Fry. "Each advisory committee assesses the terms and conditions for its state tournament series, and all other facets of the sport or activity which may apply to the site of its state final event, and which may apply during the regular season."

Following is a recap of the Board action Tuesday:

Boys/Girls Basketball

  1. Approved the Wilson Jet Evolution "wide-seam" basketball for use in the boys state series beginning next (1997-98) school year. Approved the Wilson Jet 285 Evolution "narrow-seam" basketball for use in the girls state series beginning next (1997-98) school year. Approved switching from the "narrow-seam" basketball to the "wide-seam" basketball for girls effective for the state series in school year 2000-2001.
  2. Approved change in the Happening skill events uniform rule to require that a shooter in the three-point shooting contest and/or a dunker in the slam dunk contest must wear the student's school uniform, light or dark, when competing in the skill events.
  3. Approved adding a step in the seeding procedures to give the higher seed, if teams are tied for a seed, to the team winning the game between teams tied for the seed.
  4. Did not approve a recommendation to expand the coaches box from six feet to 12 feet.
  5. Approved a recommendation to provide reserved seating in the lower bowl of Redbird Arena for the girls Class A and Class AA State Final Tournaments beginning with the 1998 (next school year's) tournament.
  6. Did not approve a recommendation to seek National Federation Basketball Rules adoption of the 35-second shot clock.
  7. Heard a report of lengthy discussion by the Advisory Committee regarding a return to the former regional to sectional format from the current regional/sectional complex format in the Class AA boys and girls state series. The Advisory Committee did not make a recommendation regarding the discussion to the Board.
  8. Heard a report of discussion regarding two different proposals for a four-class series in boys basketball. The Advisory Committee did not make a recommendation regarding this discussion to the Board.

Boys Wrestling

  1. Approved adoption of the 215-pound weight class in state series competition beginning with the 1997-98 (next) school year. The addition would bring the total number of weight classes in IHSA wrestling to 14. (Next year's weight classes will be 103, 112, 119, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 152, 160, 171, 189, 215, 275.)
  2. Approved an increase in the Dual Team rosters to 21 from 20, allowing for the 215-pound weight class.
  3. Approved adoption of a two-pound weight allowance at the beginning of the state series. Wrestlers certified in a given weight will be able to add up to two pounds above certified weight during the state series.
  4. Approved increasing the length of the third and fourth place matches in the individual regionals and sectionals to six (6) minutes in length. Previously these matches, which determine advancement to the sectional and state final, were five (5) minutes in length.
  5. Approved publishing the seeding criteria in the Terms and Conditions. Previously, it appeared in the Manager's Manual, and was not available to all coaches.
  6. Tabled until the June, 1997, meeting a recommendation to change dates of the state individual and dual team series which would provide for the dual team state final to be conducted prior to the individual state final. The recommendation would have the series conducted in the following manner, according to the IHSA Standardized Calendar:

Girls Bowling

  1. Approved restructuring of the state series by adding two (2) sectionals, with the top two (2) teams in each sectional advancing to the state final along with four (4) teams from the Chicago Public League. The change will eliminate at large team qualifiers. There will be 10 sectionals next year.
  2. Approved ticket pricing for the state series as follows: Sectionals admission at $4.00 and State Final admission at $5.00 per day. (There are two sessions of competition each day of the state final.)
  3. Approved a change in the first round competition order to be assigned by draw, and then the order for the remaining rounds to be assigned by scores. In the first round, schools that have more than one qualifying individual and are in the individual competition only shall be assigned to the same lane. In rounds following the first, team members from the same school will be the exception and will be assigned to the same lane.
  4. Approved a recommendation to increase the number of medallions awarded at the individual state final from seven to the top 12 individuals.
  5. Heard a report of discussion about adding the Girls Bowling State Final Tournament to the lineup of IHSA events included in the SportsChannel Chicago package.

Boys/Girls Swimming and Diving

  1. Did not approve a recommendation which would permit the next-fastest (non-qualifying) sectional times in each swimming event to fill any open lane(s) at the state final meet. (For example, if the number of qualifiers in an event is 22 and four heats are set for that event and there are 24 lanes available, the next two fastest sectional competitors would be advanced to the state final in the event.)
  2. Approved changes in qualifying times as follows: girls 200 individual medley to 2:14.69, girls 200 freestyle relay to 1:42.89, girls 100 backstroke to 1:01.09 and boys 200 freestyle relay to 1:30.59.
  3. Did not approve a recommendation to increase in the number of at large divers from 32 to 38, bringing the total number of qualifying divers to 54.
  4. Did not approve a recommendation to provide medals to places 7th through 12th at the sectionals.
  5. Approved a recommendation for the IHSA Office to assign officials to the sectionals.
  6. Heard a report of lengthy discussion of the ramifications of combining the boys and girls seasons.
  7. Heard a report of discussion regarding the potential for two-class competition in the state series. (Currently, both the boys and girls series are single-class. In order for a single-class sport to explore the potential to expand the number of classes, there must be 300 school participating. In the 1996-97 state series there were 261 schools entered in the girls series and 250 schools entered in the boys series.)

Boys/Girls Gymnastics

  1. Approved a recommendation in the girls series that the seed number rather than the highest seeded team will determine first choice for hosting the regional.

Officials

  1. Approved a recommendation in the training process that requires each licensed official to attend a Certified Clinic in the sport where licensed at least once every three years. If the official fails to meet the requirement, the official's license shall be immediately suspended. Plans for establishing a Certified Trainer program and for certifying clinics for officials will be announced by the IHSA Officials Department as they become completed. Training opportunities for officials will be through IHSA sponsored training clinics, through certified local officials association clinics and through certified clinics conducted by officials who have achieved Certified Clinician status. Any official who has achieved Certified status in the sport is eligible to attend a series of clinics sponsored by IHSA to become a Certified Clinician. Details for each sport will be provided to officials as they are completed.
  2. Approved a recommendation to change the current promotional system in the IHSA Officials Department, procedures of which will include:
    1. allow for an open book test when applying for Recognized status
    2. establish specific testing dates, sites and supervisors, as determined by the IHSA Officials Department
    3. establish a minimum number of varsity contests per sport that must be officiated to be promoted
    4. achieve a score of at least 85 per cent on the Part II rules examination in the respective sport
  3. Aproved a recommendation to require schools to submit ratings of officials who work their contests and to develop penalties for failure to do so.
  4. Approved a recommendation to allow head coaches and their staff to voluntarily take and have graded at the start of each season the Part I Rules Examination in the sport.

Other Action

The Board took the following action regarding the general business of the Association:
  1. Approved a three-year contract with Triad Graphics to create and produce the official state final souvenir apparel and other merchandise items. The Board also authorized the IHSA staff to seek proposals from legitimate vendors when this contract with Triad Graphics expires at the end of the 1999-2000 school year.
  2. Granted The Center for Educational Travel (CET) approval as a foreign exchange program for eligibility purposes.
  3. Adopted interpretations and illustrations of the new residence, transfer and strike participation by-laws. In the annual referendum last fall, the membership approved significant changes in the residence and transfer rules that reflected the work of the Public/Private School Task Force. Membership also voted to move the provisions of the existing Strike Policy from policy to by-laws. (The membership will receive a mailing with details of these interpretation and illustrations in an upcoming al-school mailing. They also will appear in next year's Official Casebook.
  4. Adopted an Equal Opportunity Policy Statement. (It will appear in next year's Official Handbook Policy Section.)
  5. Adopted a Sexual Harassment Policy Statement (It will appear in next year's Official Handbook Policy Section.)
  6. Approved revision of the IHSA Conflict of Interest Statement

Eligibility Decisions

  1. Sustained the Executive Director's ruling that a student be ineligible at Peoria (Richwoods) for the 1996-97 school year for noncompliance with residence by-law 3.033.
  2. Sustained the Executive Director's ruling that a student has completed eight semesters of high school attendance and is ineligible at McHenry (Johnsburg).
  3. Sustained the Executive Director's ruling that a student is ineligible at Park Ridge (Maine East) for noncompliance with scholastic standing by-law 3.022.

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 April, 1997, agenda: