Illinois adds multiplier and success advancement component

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors met at its regularly scheduled meeting at the IHSA office in Bloomington on Wednesday, February 19, 2014, where the Board approved a recommendation to amend Board Policy 17, specifically related to the non-boundaried school multiplier waiver. The changes, which take effect in the 2014-15 school year, establish a point system to determine whether a school receives a multiplier waiver, while also adding a Success Advancement step that will move schools who reach certain thresholds up in classification.

“This recommendation was brought forward with unanimous support from the committee,” said IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman. “Frankly, I’m not sure the Board would have even considered it if that were not the case. The committee’s makeup was a microcosm of our membership; represented by schools large and small, private and public, city and rural. For such a diverse group to agree on this proposal was a powerful statement to our Board and we appreciate their efforts.”

The recommendation was a result of 15-person ad hoc committee that was charged with reviewing the merits of a “success factor.” The committee, which included representation from 10 public high schools and five non-boundaried high schools, was comprised of member high school principals, athletic directors and coaches. The Board approved the formation of the committee at its meeting in June, 2013 and the group met three times over the course of the current school year.

“I feel like we are moving in the right direction with these new rules,” said Gordon Tech Principal Jim Quaid, an IHSA Board member who served on the committee. “The original IHSA multiplier painted all non-boundaried schools with the same broad brush. The prior changes to the waiver and this success advancement policy are positive steps toward looking at each school’s programs individually. We believe that this formula is an accurate assessment of the overall strength of a program.”

In the new formula, a non-boundaried school will accrue one point for a Regional title and two points for a Sectional title, although a school that wins both a Regional and a Sectional in the same year will earn only two points. Schools who earn four points or more in a four-year span or qualify for the state finals once in that time-frame will not be eligible for a waiver. As a part of Monday’s changes, the time-frame for determining waivers was shortened from six years to four years. There were no changes in the application of the waiver system in football, where winning a first round playoff game will continue to be the threshold for determining waiver eligibility.

“The public-private debate is a hot issue around the country, but I think a proactive approach in Illinois has helped us avoid many of the issues engulfing other states,” said Hickman. “Clearly there was some give and take in this process between by the committee. The multiplier waiver period was shortened, while those non-boundaried schools who have experienced success beyond the norm will play up a classification.”

The new Success Advancement step will move schools up a classification if they achieve the following:

In football over four years:
1. Participated in two state championship games.
2. Starting with the 2015 season, schools would be moved up two classes from their enrollment classification if, over a four year period, the school participated in three championship games.
3. Starting with the 2016 season, schools would be moved up three classes from their enrollment classification if, over a four year period, the school participated in four championship games.
4. Schools that move up more than one class due to the implementation of the above criteria will move down one class per year until they reach their appropriate classification for their enrollment should they stop meeting the advancement criteria outlined above.

In Bracketed Team Sports/Activities (baseball, basketball, scholastic bowl, soccer, softball, volleyball, water polo, wrestling) over four years:
1. Participated twice in the final four of a particular sport/activity.

In Non-Bracketed Sports over four years:
1. Won two trophies at the state finals in a particular sport/activity.

“Illinois is the largest state in the country that is still playing state championships with all of its member schools under one umbrella,” said committee member and University High School of Chicago Athletic Director Dave Ribbens, “I believe that is important to the tradition of the state and I applaud the IHSA and member schools for being able to keep that together.”

The Varsity Board: Do you think Illinois is attacking the public versus public debate properly?

ISHA release, read the full report