Complaining about the Illinois High School Association’s systems and policies is a popular pastime for high school sports fans.
But it is important to remember that the IHSA itself doesn’t make rules. The rules are determined by all the high schools in the state. High schools propose rules, the schools vote on them and then the IHSA sets things up and enforces the bylaws/rules.
Once a year schools submit bylaw proposals. On Tuesday, the IHSA released 23 bylaw proposals spanning 40 pages.
Bylaw proposals submitted by the member schools are discussed at town hall meetings around the state in November. On Nov. 24, the IHSA’s legislative committee will use the information from those town halls to select which proposals wind up being voted on by all of the high schools in the state in December.
So, this is just the first step in the process of changing IHSA rules. Here’s a look at a few of the most interesting bylaw proposals that were revealed.
A version of proposal eight, from St. Francis in Wheaton, has already happened in Indiana. It would allow a one-time “free transfer” without changing residence. This would apply to public to public, public to private and private to public school transfers. Everything. The bylaw change would grant full eligibility to students after sitting out for 30 days. However, a second transfer would trigger sitting out one year in most cases.
Proposal 15, submitted by Geneseo, would establish a tiered multiplier for non-boundaried schools based on the population within a 30-mile radius of a school. The multiplier starts at 1.5 to schools with a population fewer than 200,000 and rises to 2.0 for schools with a population of more than 1 million.
United and Moline, two schools in the Quad Cities, submitted a proposal that many basketball fans have been requesting for several years. It allows higher seeded teams to host regional games. If the higher seed can’t host the opponent will host. And if neither team can host the game would be played at the closest regional site to the higher seeded team.
Regionals are currently hosted at predetermined sites. They can be located far away from both teams participating. A version of this proposal was in place a few decades ago.
There are two proposals to add teams to the football playoffs and change the structure of the football season.
Proposal 10, submitted by the Southland, DuPage Valley and Sangamo conferences, moves the first football games one week earlier and adds 16 teams to each the playoffs in each class. That would increase the playoffs from 256 to 384 teams.
The proposed playoff format would give first-round byes to the top 16 teams in every class.
The second football proposal, submitted by Roxana and 20 other high schools from all around the state, also adds 16 schools per class to the playoffs. It brings back a version of the district scheduling system that was passed and then rescinded after public outcry back in 2019.
This time it is referred to as a “flexed regional” that determines some of the regular season schedule and leaves up to four games to be scheduled by the schools.
Here’s a short summary of each of the 23 bylaw proposals.
Proposal 1 (from Collinsville): Increases IHSA board from 11 to 15 members. Has a bunch of other election stuff. Says one at-large member must be “a racial minority or a member of an underrepresented gender from an underrepresented school/Equity Position at the time of election.”
Proposal 2 (from Niles Notre Dame): Adds language to the Constitution that guides the rights of IHSA to revise, amend or supplement any ruling based on information received following a ruling including information gathered through litigation.
Proposal 3 (from Niles ND, Leo): Adds language to the IHSA constitution that increases the number of legislative commission members.
Proposal 4 (many high schools in Central IL and a couple in Chicago): Expands the opportunity for private schools to form cooperative teams with enrollments up to 900 in single class sports. In multiple class sports the team may compete in the regular season only.
Proposal 5 (Mid-Suburban League): Cooperative teams formed by two or more schools with a combined enrollment exceeding 3,500 students are not eligible to compete as a team for IHSA State Series team trophies/plaques.
Proposal 6 (Chicago Sullivan): Eliminates the current cooperative team by-law and allows cooperative teams to be formed for schools of any size when certain criteria is in place.
Proposal 7 (Lake View): Add language to affirm students meet the residence by-law when their residence is in the district even if they are no longer within the attendance boundary of that school provided continued enrollment is allowed by the district.
Proposal 8 (St. Francis): Changes transfer policy to allow a one-time free transfer without changing residence. This update pertains to public to public, public to private, private to public, and private to private first-time transfers.
Proposal 9 (Lake View): Permits transfer eligibility when a student transfers attendance from one high school to another in conjunction with a change in residence to reside with the other parent if the parent has lived there six months.
Proposal 10 (Niles ND): This one is complicated. Submitted by the president of the IHSA board. Adds “prospective student-athlete” to the recruiting bylaw. Adds “guardians” wherever parents are mentioned. Appears to be some wording changes recommended by the IHSA’s lawyers.
Proposal 11 (Lake Forest): Permits students to participate in two non-school competitions during a sport season and an additional nonschool competition that is sanctioned by the National Governing Body of that sport or its junior or official Illinois affiliate.
Proposal 12 (Glenbard South/Naperville North): Establishes guidance for each school organize 20 academically athletes to participate in one IHSA-approved football combine or showcase per school year.
Proposal 13 (DeKalb): Establishes a July 4th summer no contact week.
Proposal 14 (Sangamo Conference): Modifies the enrollment multiplier from 1.65 to 2.5
Proposal 15 (Geneseo): This is very interesting. Establishes a tiered multiplier for non-boundaried schools based on the population within a 30-mile radius of the school’s address. Would go from 1.5 with a population under 200k to 2.0 with a population more than 1 million.
Proposal 16 (Riverside-Brookfield): Adds language to prevent state series contests to be played on Federal Holidays. (Veterans Day and Memorial Day).
Proposal 17 (United/Moline): This is one a lot of people have wanted for a long time. Allows higher seeds to host regionals. If higher seeded team cannot host, the opponent will host. If neither team can host, would be played at the closest regional site to the higher seeded team.
Proposal 18 (many schools from all over): Moves the start of the fall sports season from Monday of Week 6 to Wednesday of Week 5.
Proposal 19 (Southland/Sangamo/DVC and more): Moves the first football games one week earlier. Adds 16 teams to each class for playoffs with byes to the 16 top teams in 7A/8A, byes to the 8 top teams in the rest.
Proposal 20 (Roxana, more): Adds football playoff teams and brings back the district scheduling system, calls it a flexed regional system. Friday Night Drive’s Steve Soucie wrote about it in depth.
Proposal 21 (Deerfield/Vernon Hills): Modifies the boys volleyball season limitation to begin and end one week earlier.
Proposal 22 (New Trier): Modifies the girls spring softball season practice and games to begin one week earlier.
Proposal 23 (Schaumburg): Moves the start of the girls wrestling season up two weeks.
Read the full list of IHSA bylaw proposals here.