The Board of Control approved three conference realignment plans and issued a one-year moratorium on conference realignment requests at its April meeting today.
The Board moved to implement a football-only realignment consideration for southwest Wisconsin that was amended at its January meeting and given initial approval in March. The plan impacts seven conferences and 48 schools, and will be in effect beginning in 2019. Full Details
The Board also gave its final approval of a plan that moves Alma/Pepin into the Dairyland Conference for all sports beginning in the fall of 2019, as well as a proposal that moves St. Croix Falls from the Lakeland Conference to the Heart O'North Conference for only football beginning in the fall of 2019.
In other action related to conference realignment, the Board approved an executive staff recommendation to place a one-year moratorium on conference realignment with the exception of requests that receive the complete support of all schools impacted by the plan. During the suspension of requests, the membership and executive staff will collaborate on a different and viable process to address school placement in conferences.
The Board ratified an agreement with The Appleton Baseball Club, Inc., that extends the use of Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium for the State Spring Baseball Tournament through 2028.
Fox Cities Stadium, built in 1995, seats 5,900 and is owned by the Fox Cities Sports Authority, a non-profit organization in the Fox Cities area. The stadium serves as home of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, which was the Class A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and later became an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009. The State Spring Baseball Tournament has called Fox Cities Stadium its home since 1998.
The Board also approved new and renewed cooperative programs for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 winter sport seasons except in the sports of hockey and gymnastics, which were granted for one year only. Approval was also granted to the general fund financial statements and payments, and staff recommendations for appointments to the Officials Advisory Committee.
Executive staff reports included discussions on Wednesday’s Annual Meeting, the 2018 Scholar Athlete ceremony, the NFHS Legal and National Sports Medicine Summits, and a review of the winter Tournament series. The Board also received liaison updates from Mike Thompson of the Department of Public Instruction, John Ashley of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards and Jeremy Schlitz of the Wisconsin Athletic Directors Association.
The membership of the WIAA oversees interscholastic athletic programs for 512 senior high schools and 43 junior high/middle level schools in its membership. It sponsors 27 championship tournament series in 2017-18. For more information, visit the WIAA website at www.wiaawi.org or contact the WIAA office at (715) 344-8580.
via WIAA Press Release