News

The task force assembled to review the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association’s conference realignment process conducted its second meeting at the association’s executive office today.

The purpose of the committee, which assembled for the first time on Aug. 8,  is to evaluate the current protocol for conference realignment and determine if the current process can be improved to better serve the needs of the membership, which consists of 511 high schools throughout the state.

“The membership has asked us for a solution, and we have a wide, diverse group of people who are really engaged in coming up with solutions,” said Jeff Sitz, athletic director at Wisconsin Lutheran High School and member of the task force. “I think the Association is going to get better because we have listened to the membership and are responding to a situation that has been a thorn in the side of some.”

The WIAA executive office receives persistent requests for relief through conference realignment. At the Annual Meeting last April, Executive Director Dave Anderson announced a one-year moratorium on conference realignment requests where there is not 100 percent agreement from the schools and conferences impacted by the change. 

Among the tasks of the committee is to prioritize the challenges and concerns with the existing process and philosophy, and then determine areas of the process that can be improved. The group continued to explore ideas that could resolve the concerns identified.

“I’m optimistic that we can come up with a process that is going to work for people and one the membership can agree to,” said Scott Winch, superintendent at Stratford and member of the Board of Control. “We’ll keep working forward to the next meeting and trying to get to more of the details. We have been focusing on the big picture of a process, and now I think we start sliding into some of the more detail-oriented pieces of that process,” 

The membership’s guidelines and philosophy for conference realignment were originally developed in the 1970s. As the membership has evolved since then, so has the focus on conference affiliation. The purpose of reviewing the realignment process is to identify new tools and a transparent process that can serve the Board and membership. The WIAA’s constitution identifies the Board of Control as the ultimate authority in conference alignment matters.

“What I really like about the process that is being set up is there is a distinct time table, and there shouldn’t be any confusion to when something is due and what information needs to be provided. It is very clear and clearly articulated,” Sitz said. “This is going to be a much more focused and detailed process than in the past, and I don’t think anybody will be able to get up and say I didn’t know.”

The task force will reconvene in early December to continue their work.

The membership of the WIAA oversees interscholastic athletic programs for 511 senior high schools and 43 junior high/middle level schools in its membership. It sponsors 27 State championships for boys and girls in 2018-19.

# WIAA #