Competitive Balance

Competitive Balance Overview

The WIAA membership has established a procedure to address competitive balance in the WIAA tournament series. The Classification Committee has been created to lead this process. The 18 members, consisting of school administrators and athletic directors are appointed by WIAA staff and approved by the Board of Control. They serve a three-year term, and tenure may not encompass more than two full three-year terms. The Classification Committee will elect Co-Chairs to serve for two years, staggered terms, in that leadership role. This committee will meet six times per year to review applications and to make decisions regarding those applications. The committee’s decision regarding applications is final. In addition, the committee will revise and make recommendations to the classification process which will be advanced to the Board of Control for approval.

A classification committee, comprised of members serving three-year terms, will hear appeals made by schools and will consider the following factors when placing programs in a higher or lower division upon a school's appeal:

Prior year out-of-building student percentage on rosters or historical movement of student-athletes
Socioeconomics of the school's population
Demographics of the school's population
Competitive history and balance
Geography
School's enrollment trend
Student participation rate in WIAA-sponsored activities
Admission policies of the school concerning student enrollment