At the District 3 Area Meeting held Wednesday at Mauston High School, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association unveiled a proposal that would significantly change how teams are placed in divisions for postseason play.
While not the only topic on the agenda, the Competitive Balance Ad Hoc Committee’s Report and recommendation certainly generated the most interest and most discussion.
The meeting was one of seven that will be conducted around the state over the course of the next two weeks, as the WIAA staff travels to visit with athletic directors and school personnel to get a gauge on what the membership is feeling and discuss items that the association faces and could be on the horizon.
The discussion around competitive balance is nothing new, and has been a topic for debate going back to when the WIAA absorbed the former Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association (WISAA) schools back in 2000. The situation boiled over in 2014 when a group of schools forced an amendment on the WIAA Annual Meeting agenda that would have applied a 1.65 enrollment multiplier on all private schools.
In a contentious meeting that year, the membership voted to delay the Multiplier and instead send it for further study. An ad hoc committee was formed at that time to research the issues and make a recommendation. That committee recommended a Success Factor that is virtually identical to large parts of the new Tournament Performance Factor that would apply to all schools based on past history of state tournament success.
Story Link: https://www.wissports.net/news_article/show/1239372