A Message From the Executive Director …

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At the recent Iowa High School Athletic Director’s Association state convention, the Athletic Union, as well as the Iowa High School Athletic Association, shared a joint session in which we updated the 200 or so Athletic Directors present about new rules, regulations and policies that will be in place for the upcoming year.   It also offers a chance to discuss any other so-called “hot-button” issues which may be present.  This is a good chance to provide readers of this column with an overall preview of what is ahead.  At the end, I’ll close with comments regarding the never-ending debate over public-nonpublic school competition.

This year’s agenda discussed the move of the first basketball playing date to the Friday before Thanksgiving in 2008, the positive response to the new sportsmanship award recognition at the basketball tournament and how that same procedure will be used at the state volleyball tournament going forward.  We are also discussing the potential of modifying the first three days of the state tournament to two tripleheader sessions, rather than four-game day and two-game night sessions.  This would allow more games to be played outside the school day.

The upcoming restructuring of the softball tournament series was reviewed.  The agenda also discussed a new online entry procedure for regional track meets, the fact all regional meets in 2008 and going forward will be on 8-lane tracks, and potential changes in 2009 associated with track indoor and outdoor starting dates, and the impact of the academic eligibility penalties on those starting dates.

In golf, we will require adult scorekeepers at district and regional meets in 2009, but after discussion with our host sites, we understand all will have adult scorekeepers this year as well.  Classes will play both rounds of the state tournament on the same course this year to help with practice round issues associated with playing on two different courses.  Finally, we will break state medalist ties in any class, as well as in the state co-ed, by a playoff. 

Official Tournament Balls Through Jan 1, 2013

· Basketball – Spalding TF1000 ZK Pro

· Softball – Dudley SB12LND Yellow with Red Seams

· Soccer – Spalding TF5000 (same as IA HS boys soccer)

· Volleyball – Spalding TF5000 (new for 2008), 3-color ball is legal, one color must be white

· Tennis – Wilson T1071

The new soccer overtime procedure with PKs rather than a five-second live action shootout was reviewed.  The up-to-date input on fall vs. spring soccer was reviewed.  Thus far, over 100 pieces of input have been received.  All of it quite passionate.  About 60 percent of the input favors retaining the season in its current season, while 40 percent favors a fall season.   The Board will review this input in July.

Along with the legalization of 3-colored volleyballs (shown above) the major change coming in volleyball is a recommendation schools use only adults or licensed high school students as line judges.  This will likely become mandatory in 2009.

Two pieces of legislation were reviewed.  It appears neither bill survived the funnels during the 2008 legislative session.  One called for transfer rules to be identical for both open enrollment and so-called “general” or non-open enrollment transfers.  The Athletic Union hoped this change would lead to changes in the length of ineligibility for transfer students from one semester to one year to combat an increasing number of transfers made for athletic reasons.  The other was quite unexpected.  It called for the formation of a committee to study the feasibility of allowing 7^th and 8^th grade students to compete in “selected” varsity sports.  Again, while these both appear to be dead during the current session, they are worth keeping an eye on going forward.

The new pre-registration checks on officials were discussed.  We reviewed the requirement of making officials recommendations within 90 days of the end of a state tournament.  Statistic reporting was also discussed.  As you may remember, input is currently being sought regarding a potential mandate of statistic reporting.  While the Board of Directors has yet to consider the input, about 95 percent of the responses have supported mandatory reporting of statistics by coaches.  Details of this procedure, including a reporting schedule, have yet to be worked out.

A good deal of time was spent reviewing the strategic plan, including discussion of a new procedure for appointment of advisory committee members starting this summer.  You will see notice of this posted on our web site in mid-April, and this notice will be sent to schools around the same time.  Essentially, the new process will allow any coach/athletic director to apply for positions on committees, rather than have selections done internally by the management staff.  The Board will make appointments based on these applications.  In addition, new spots will be added on all committees to ensure a broader range of input into our programs.

PUBLIC – NON-PUBLIC ISSUES

With every success experienced by a non-public school, calls come to treat those schools differently than public schools when it comes to classification, rules, etc.  Today, transfer rules for public and non-public schools and their students are identical.  Today, public and non-public schools are classified identically based on size.

The possibility of a separate set of transfer rules for public and non-public schools and their students is unrealistic.  I certainly hope no one expects transfer rules – rules promulgated by the Department of Education and approved by the Iowa Legislature’s Rules Review Committee – will ever be discriminatory based on the nature (public or nonpublic) of the educational experience.  The Athletic Union would not support such a discriminatory position.  Remember that a student begins grade 9 eligible at any school, public or non-public, regardless of where they live, regardless of the circumstances, which place them in that school.  Transfer rules only apply to changes in school of attendance made after the start of grade 9.

The vast majority of the discussion calls for non-public schools to be placed in a class above that normally assigned for public schools with similar enrollments.  Or, that discussion calls for a “multiplier” which is a weighted factor added to each non-public school student.

The rationale for moving non-public schools up in class is two-fold.  First, many non-publics are in metropolitan areas and compete against larger schools and in larger conferences during the regular season.  Second, those schools who want non-publics in a higher class are often more interested in the non-publics participating in A DIFFERENT CLASS than their school for competitive reasons.

There are dozens of public schools that play up a class during the regular season.  I think back to a school like Rock Valley, which had a great run in volleyball and basketball a few years back as a 1A school.  Their conference included 3A and 2A schools.  In general, you can look at most any state tournament field and see 1A and 2A schools who challenge themselves against larger schools during the year.  There is no doubt that you can improve your own team strength by playing up during the regular season.  This is not a public-non-public issue.

As for multipliers, I do not believe it is in anyone’s interests to tell public school students their “value” is less than the “value” of a non-public school student.  That is just what multipliers do.  Don’t forget that while several states have multipliers (and some of those are in the process of rescinding those multipliers) those multiplier states do not have Open Enrollment.  Public schools in Iowa have the same wide borders as non-public schools, with the ability to draw students from outside the established boundaries of a district.

A general philosophy I hold… we do not bring ourselves up by bringing others down, or by distancing ourselves from those who achieve at levels which we aspire to attain.  Or, in other words, the way to enhance my team is not to get rid of those in my path ahead.  As you can tell from this column, management approaches our membership as each school being the equal of its peers.

We wish you a good spring, with weather more cooperative for golf, tennis, soccer, track and field and ultimately softball, than we’ve seen the last few months.