skip navigation

WIAA Board of Control sends letter to all schools regarding proposed Multiplier, identifying significant concerns

04/07/2014, 11:45am CDT
By Travis Wilson

The WIAA Board of Control has sent a letter to all schools that not only encourages them to be involved in the vote on the proposed private school multiplier at the upcoming Annual Meeting on April 16th, but also includes significant information on what passage of the amendment would mean for the membership.

To see the full copy of the Board of Control's letter, please see below.

It is clear in the tone and content of the letter that the Board of Control has serious concerns about the multiplier proposal, the timing that it was presented, and the short- and long-term impact it would have on the association.

"In 2000, the WIAA extended a membership option to nonpublic schools to join the WIAA after the former private-school organization ceased operations," the letter reads. "Five years of research and planning by a committee of public and non-public school administrators developed the concept of unified membership."

The Board of Control's letter includes a number of bullet point items with not only information, but important questions that those in favor of the multiplier must consider.

Among those are items dealing with litigation in virtually all other states with a multiplier, how Illinois' 1.65 multiplier (which is the model identified as the source of the petition) has been significantly adjusted due to its shortcomings, and information that implementation of the multiplier would begin in the fall of 2014.

Questions asked in the communications to all schools include:

- How will the impact of the multiplier be measured?
- Will it be measured in regional, sectional and state championships won?
- What proportion of those championships won by both public and private schools under the multiplier will be the goal?
- Will a "Success Multiplier" need to be added in the future for public schools that experience "too much success"?

The letter goes on to reinforce the association's states belief's that the purpose of the WIAA is to "...promote uniformity of standards in interscholastic athletic competition..." as indicated in the group's Constitution.

Finally, the Board of Control letter expresses concerns that the petition to create a multiplier was not a concept discussed by the membership as a whole.

"Appropriate forums for those discussions have been provided via the Area Meetings each fall and Annual Meetings in the spring with little or no concerns brought forward in front of the membership body," the letter states.

Signed by Board of Control President Dean Sanders of Lake Mills, the letter closes by saying, "Please make an informed decision to a topic that may be a landmark decision made by the Association."

An item mentioned in the Board of Control letter that has been brought up by numerous parties, is the likelihood of litigation and/or legislative action if the amendment passes. If the Legislature does get involved, there is a palpable fear by many in the high school athletics community that the government could get involved in other areas of high school athletics, including the transfer rule and even the oversight of the WIAA itself.

Currently, the WIAA operates as an independent, non-profit entity outside the jurisdiction of the state government. Most high school associations operate in that capacity. However, there has been a bill introduced in our neighbor to the south that would change their structure.

Backed by the Illinois Broadcasters Association and the Illinois Press Association, a bill has been introduced in the Illinois House that would initiate hearings into the Illinois High School Association, including evaluation of whether the state should take over the duties of the IHSA.

Many feel this proposal is a result of the IHSA and press associations' past disputes, including a 2008 court case involving access to high school sporting events by newspaper photographers. There is also a sentiment that the IHSA's multiplier and Success Factor have played a part in the Illinois legislature's interest in the matter.

Would a similar measure be proposed in Wisconsin if the multiplier passes here? It perhaps would be more surprising if it did not happen, than if it did.

It is becomingly increasingly clear that the vote on the private school multiplier at the April 16th Annual Meeting will be the most impactful in the organization's history since the private schools joined in 2000.

Recent Articles

Tag(s): News  News Archive  BBB News  GBB News  News  News  News  News  Boys Track News  Girls Track News  News  News  WIAA  Competitive Equity