Page 15 - 2015 IHSAA Annual Report

SECTION FOUR A LETTER FROM THE COMMISSIONER

To the Membership of the Indiana High School Athletic Association:

I greet you with enthusiasm and gratitude in the provision of our annual
report of the Corporation. The 2014-15 school year once again provided
us with thrilling events and a continued reminder of our mission to serve
the young people of our state. The opportunity to contour an educa-
tion-based athletic landscape for Hoosier youngsters is both rewarding
and challenging. During the past year, over 1.3 million fans supported
our 410 member-schools in IHSAA tournament series events. The
Association extends its sincere thanks to our patrons for this generous
encouragement of our student-athletes.

We also offer our most heartfelt appreciation to our corporate partners
and sponsors. Devoid of the sustenance from these community and busi-
ness leaders, the Association would be strained to continue to provide
both the quality and variety of services and programs to our membership.

In addition to the accomplishment of 21 tournament series events during
the recently completed program year, the Association again staged one
of the largest student leadership conferences in the nation where over
1,000 students and over 100 adult leaders engaged in the discussion and
examination of critical issues facing interscholastic athletics. In July, the
IHSAA furthered its offering of an official’s summit where the discipline
of officiating is studied and evaluated; all in an effort to provide a better
sporting experience for all stakeholders. Again this year, the Association
was honored to award 13 one-time scholarships in the name of our fifth
Commissioner, C. Eugene Cato during the Brady Sports Achievement
Awards night at the Indiana Roof Ballroom. These grants, along with the
42 mental attitude awards bestowed by the organization, returned nearly
$75,000.00 to deserving high school seniors in our state. Finally, 2014-15
marked the second year of the Unified Sports® Track and Field tourna-
ment series. The number of schools that chose to participate in this year’s
series nearly quadrupled from the inaugural year and a climate of inclu-
Bobby Cox is in his fourth sion continues to envelop in our state.
year as Commissioner of the
IHSAA. The IHSAA endures to grow and meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Our students and their adult mentors are faced with strong trials that
emanate from all angles of society. We are honored to have the oppor-
tunity to serve and stand in support as our schools and communities
embrace the tides of change. The American author and Boston Univer-
sity professor Isaac Asimov once wrote, “It is change, continuing change,
inevitable change that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible
decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the
world as it is, but the world as it will be.”

On behalf of our Board of Directors and the IHSAA staff, we thank
you for your support of our Association and invite you to join us as we
enfold change.

Bobby Cox
Commissioner

INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION ANNUAL REPORT 2015 13