The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors met at its regularly scheduled meeting at the IHSA office in Bloomington on Wednesday, October 11, 2017, where the Board voted to elect its officers for the 2017-18 school year.

Erie High School Principal Tim McConnell  was voted as the Board President, becoming the 37th individual in the Association’s history (dating back to 1903 when Aurora’s C.P. Biggs was named the first President) to serve in that role. McConnell has served on the Board as the representative from Division 4 since 2012, and was re-elected to his seat for a three-year term earlier this month. McConnell served as the Board’s Vice-President in 2016-17, and was interim President for the meetings in August and September, filling in for East Peoria’s Chuck Nagel, who was the President in 2016-17, but retired over the summer.

“I feel humbled that the that the principals in Division 4 nominated and elected me to my third and final term on the Board,” said McConnell. “I feel a great sense of responsibility to the Association and its membership in my service to the Board, and now as the President. I was fortunate to have served under three previous Presidents (Anna-Jonesboro’s Jim Woodward, Wauconda’s Dan Klett & Nagel) who were great mentors and friends. It’s an honor and privilege to have a small part in leading the IHSA and promoting its mission.”

Andrew High School Principal Robert Nolting was voted by his fellow Board members to the Vice-President position after serving as the Secretary last year, while Rockridge High School Principal Katy Hasson was tabbed to succeed Nolting as Secretary.

 

ACTION ITEMS

1. The Board approved a recommendation to appoint the following individual to fill a vacancy on the Legislative Commission:
District 4: Jeff Wardle, Principal, Buffalo Grove

2. The Board approved a recommendation to create an ad hoc committee to review IHSA Policy 17 (classifications, multiplier, waiver policy & success adjustment formula).

3. The Board approved a recommendation to modify the definition of a custodial parent definition in the IHSA Handbook. The definition now reads:

“Custodial Parent – A parent (mother or father) who has been assigned custody or joint custody by a court of proper jurisdiction or, where applicable, who has been designated as the parent with the majority of parenting time in a court approved parenting plan (“Parenting Plan”) unless the address of the parent who does not have the majority of parenting time is listed in the Parenting Plan as the child’s residential address for school enrollment purposes only, in which case the latter shall be considered the address of the custodial parent for purposes of these by-laws.”

4. The Board approved a recommendation to make Champro Sports the official lacrosse ball of the IHSA Boys Lacrosse State Series and IHSA Girls Lacrosse State Series for the 2018, 2019 and 2020 seasons. The Champro lacrosse balls will be used in all IHSA Boys Lacrosse postseason contests and all IHSA Girls Lacrosse postseason contests, including the inaugural State Finals this spring.

Craig Anderson, IHSA Executive Director:

“We appreciate all the companies who showed interest in becoming the Official Ball of IHSA Lacrosse. We felt like we couldn’t go wrong with the selection, but Champro had several factors that set it apart, starting first and foremost with the feedback from our coaches who told us that Champro makes a quality ball that will hold up throughout the season. In addition, Champro offered a great price point for our member schools to purchase balls if they choose to do so, while having them be a local company (Wheeling) will only help customer service and their efforts to help grow the game here.”

5. The Board approved a request to amend the host facility payment for the IHSA Football State Finals at Huskie Stadium.

6. The Board approved a change to IHSA Board Policy 37, increasing the maximum Baseball Pitch Limit in State Series games to 115 pitches.

Craig Anderson, IHSA Executive Director:
“When the Board established the IHSA’s pitch count guidelines last December, we anticipated that the committee would have some potential tweaks after the first season. The committee felt that adding ten pitches to the total (105 in regular-season) in the postseason, when arms are stretched and players are acclimatized, would be a reasonable accommodation. The Sports Medicine Advisory Committee was ultimately in agreement, which was an important factor in the Board’s decision to approve this change.”

7. The Board conducted its annual election of officers, with the following results:
President: Tim McConnell, Erie High School
Vice-President: Robert Nolting, Andrew High School
Secretary: Katy Hasson, Rockridge High School

 

ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
Minutes from all Advisory Committees can be viewed by clicking here.

1. The Board approved the consent items from the Advisory Committees in the following sports & activities: Girls Badminton, Baseball, Softball, Track & Field, Water Polo, Bass Fishing, Athletic Administrators, Athletes with Disabilities and News Media.

Consent items are recommendations that received approval from the sport/activity advisory committee, the Athletic Administrators Advisory Committee and the IHSA staff. Consent items can be viewed by clicking here.

Non-consent items are recommendations from sport or activity committees that did not receive a majority vote from the Athletic Advisory Committee or IHSA staff.

One Non-consent item was approved:

Baseball/Softball
1. The number of officials assigned to work the IHSA Baseball & Softball State Finals will increase from six officials to 12 officials per weekend.

Some consent items of note include:

Track & Field
1. State final qualifying standards for the 2018 season approved.

Bass Fishing
1. Sectional dates moved from Friday to Thursday.

 

APPEALS & ELIGIBILITY RULINGS
1. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Mundelein (Carmel). The student was ruled ineligible for non-compliance with IHSA By-law 3.030 and 3.040.

 

DISCUSSION ITEMS
At each meeting of the Board of Directors, there are certain items the Board discusses, but upon which no action is taken. The following is a report of those items from the October 11, 2017, agenda:

1. The Board heard a report from the Executive Director on the NFHS Section IV Meeting which was held September 21-22 in East Lansing, Michigan.

2. The Board heard a report from the Executive Director on the by-law proposals that have been submitted for the upcoming legislative process.

3. The Board heard a report from the Executive Director on the IHSA New Administrators Workshop held at the IHSA office on October 4, 2017.

3. The Board heard a report from the Executive Director on the upcoming IADA Division Meetings. The IHSA will have a staff member at each meeting, which are scheduled on the following dates:
Division 1 – Oct. 19- 10:00 a.m. – De La Salle High School
Division 2 – Oct. 26- 9:00 a.m. – Forest View Educational Center
Division 3 – Oct. 26- 1:00 p.m. – Homewood-Flossmoor High School
Division 4 – Oct. 24- 9:00 a.m. – Sterling High School
Division 5 – Oct. 25- 9:00 a.m. – BSN Sports, Rantoul
Division 6 – Oct. 17- 10:00 a.m. – Pekin High School
Division 7 – Oct. 24- 9:00 a.m. – Governor’s Run Golf Course, Carlyle

4. The Board heard a report from the Executive Director on the IHSA’s role in the recent IASA Conference in Springfield, as well as the IHSA’s plans at the upcoming IPA Conference in Springfield.

5. The Board heard a report from the Executive Director on a recent meeting with CPS Athletic Administration officials.

6. The staff and Board welcomed new IHSA Coordinator of Special Programs Raye McDonald, as well as new Board members Diana Brown (De LaSalle), Amy McMahan (PORTA), and Kurt Tenopir (Fremd).

Matt Troha  -IHSA Assistant Executive Director