Page 15 - 2022-23 Annual Report

THE 2022 - 2023 YEAR IN REVIEW THE 2022 - 2023 YEAR IN REVIEW

The Association is confident that the In this spirit of providing learning
executive staff appointments will further opportunities for Indiana student-
embolden the IHSAA’s emphasis on athletes, the Association approaches
education and that those elected to the its student-athlete transfer policies:
board in 2022-23 will do the same. The aim is for all Hoosier students to
be afforded the opportunity to learn in
A special election was held in October to fill the second classroom if they desire.
vacated seats on the board. Jeff Hamstra,
Chesterton AD, District 1, Class AAAA; Kyle However, member school by-laws are
Duncan, Brownsburg Assistant AD, Southern implemented to help protect education-
District Minority; and Joe Herrmann, based learning opportunities for
Evansville Mater Dei AD, Private Schools, every student-athlete affected by a
were elected as new board members. transfer—including the last player on
the bench as much as the star athlete.
During annual voting in December,
the vacated District 1, Class AA seat The IHSAA never wants to deny a student-
was filled by Paul Voigt, Churubusco athlete participation and tries to find
Superintendent. Upon election, Voigt a pathway for every student-athlete to
immediately began serving in his role. participate in education-based athletics.
In the unfortunate times when a transfer is
No matter what one’s role is as a member not granted eligibility, it is only in the best The retention of contest officials is a key priority of the IHSAA. The Association made the important
of the executive staff or a member of interest of the learning opportunities of decision to standardize ticket prices at sub-State Tournament events in order to increase the pay and
the board, all are standup teammates in all involved and in the spirit of fairness. benefits for IHSAA officials.
helping the Association provide learning
opportunities for Indiana student- Going back to “the last player on the bench,”
athletes in the second classroom. the Association believes these student- In 2022-23, to the credit of member In addition, the application process was
athletes cannot lose their opportunity to learn school by-laws, 4,131 student-athletes, overhauled to be less cumbersome. Also, a
from sports at the expense of an athlete whose or over 99% of applicants, found a path new system was introduced that connects
transfer is motivated by athletic reasons. to eligibility in the second classroom. would-be officials with seasoned veterans who
act as mentors. The thought process behind
Just as student-athlete transfers can be a implementing this system is to help with
2022-23 STUDENT-ATHLETE TRANSFERS AND FOREIGN difficult issue to navigate, so is the decision official retention—because nothing keeps a
EXCHANGE TRANSFERS to raise ticket prices. In 2022-23, the IHSAA student or mentee invested like a good teacher.
deemed it necessary to standardize ticket
prices at sub-State Tournament events.
The motivation for doing this was to help
address a significant issue that other state
associations throughout the country also
TOTAL TOTAL deal with, a shortage of game officials.
STUDENT-ATHLETE FOREIGN EXCHANGE
TRANSFERS TRANSFERS
3,523 642 The IHSAA understands that education-
based athletics are possible because of
a vast array of roles performed by many
different people. While celebrating
educators this year, the importance of game
officials should not be overlooked. Without
Category Total Category Total them, competition cannot take place.
Full Eligibility 3,268 Full Eligibility 620
Limited Eligibility 227 Limited Eligibility 16 With that in mind, the Association
decided to increase ticket prices and
Ineligible 28 Ineligible 6 used the $500,000 generated in revenue
to increase benefits for IHSAA officials, With the updates to IHSAA.org, the Association’s
The graphics above illustrate the student-athlete transfer eligibility statistics from 2022-23. Last year, less including better pay and increased website now better reflects its mission to keep
than 1% of transfers were deemed ineligible. mileage reimbursement in all sports. education in front of athletics.

14 INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL A THLETIC A S SOCIA TION ANNUAL REPORT 2023 INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL A THLETIC A S SOCIA TION ANNUAL REPORT 2023 15