Board advances amendments, approves spring guidelines and discusses emergency fees

The WIAA’s Board of Control reviewed and advanced two amendments to the WIAA Constitution and one to the bylaws that will be voted on by the membership at the annual meeting rescheduled for May 26, 2021.

Two of the amendments advanced Friday address football deadlines for declaring co-op team configuration and eight-player or 11-player sponsorship status. The first would require all football co-op requests to adhere to an Oct. 15 deadline and adds a Board of Control interpretation to review football realignment applications on a two-year cycle in even years. The second amendment requires schools to determine sponsorship in either eight-player or 11-player football-only by an Oct. 15 deadline on the same two-year cycle in even years.

The amendment impacting the bylaws would create a penalty for spectators ejected from an interscholastic athletic competition for flagrant harassment or unsporting conduct. Ejected spectators would be required to miss the next competition. Host school administration would be required to record and submit an ejection report to the WIAA.

Additional action items approved by the board are the 2021 spring sports participation COVID-19 guidelines shared with member schools and posted online Friday, the 2021-22 fall cooperative teams and maintaining the membership’s three-year probationary status for new member schools to participate in the WIAA’s tournament series.

The board set the date and time of its next meeting to be held April 16 at 9 a.m., with the May meeting to be held on May 25 at 2 p.m. The Board also authorized moving the date of the annual meeting to May 26 in hope of conducting an inperson meeting. A virtual attendance option will also be made available with voting on amendments to be held prior to the meeting.

Following a review of the association’s financial information, the board discussed its disaster authority and will consider an emergency assessment of membership-wide fees to sustain operations until unrestricted admission to WIAA tournament series events resume. After temporarily suspending membership dues and fees in 2015, the board permanently eliminated member dues and fees in 2017, with the stipulation of granting the board “disaster authority” to levy fees in the event of a membership emergency.

After further consideration and discussion, the board anticipates further review prior to voting on a fee. The assessment would accompany each school’s annual membership renewal form emailed in June and due no later than Aug. 1, 2021.

As a private, voluntary organization, the WIAA receives no state or federal funding. Its viability to provide service to members is reliant on tournament gate receipts, which typically accounts for 87% of revenue to fund operations. Over the past five years, the WIAA has returned nearly $13.1 million to members with its shared revenue formula. In addition, members have saved approximately $2.54 million since the elimination of dues and fees in 2015.

The WIAA lost a significant source of funding with the cancellation of the girls and boys basketball tournaments in 2020 and severely restricted attendance at all WIAA tournament series events in 2020-21. The WIAA has sustained operations and has continued to conduct culminating events for 18 months by utilizing its operational reserve and receiving the two installments of PPP funding. Current projections reveal operating reserves to be depleted by August or September of this year.