STEVENS POINT — The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Board of Control reviewed and acted on several Winter Coaches Advisory Committees’ recommendations impacting season regulations and membership policies at its June meeting this week.
Four wrestling recommendations were approved by the Board, including one that restructures the Tournament Series for the 2025-26 season to balance the number of qualifiers across divisions, eliminate the regional round of the tournament competition and replace the Tuesday team sectional with an expanded team sectional on the second Saturday of the Tournament Series. The details for the restructured Tournament Series are available on the WIAA website.
Two of the approved changes impact girls wrestling only. The first allows programs with seven or fewer total wrestlers to request a waiver to have the opportunity to practice with up to three other teams for no more than two times per week during the regular season. The second assigns four regionals per sectional during the Tournament Series beginning in 2025-26.
Another wrestling recommendation approved strikes language for several obsolete regulations for nonvarsity teams with only ninth-grade students.
Several coaches’ recommendations were approved in basketball addressing tournament seeding. Language will be added to the Tournament Procedures in the Season Regulations to include the percentage weight used in the formula for a team’s own win percentage and a team’s overall strength of schedule. The Board also approved a recommendation to release unofficial preliminary electronic seeds for the girls’ tournament in Week 30 and for the boys’ tournament in Week 31. In addition, beginning in 2025-26, head-to-head contest results will be reviewed for all consecutive seeds, and when virtual statistical ties occur among three or more teams, head-to-head results will be reviewed among all respective tied teams.
Another basketball recommendation to be added to the season regulations includes allowing schools to reverse the regulation uniform colors for no more than three home games with mutual consent by each schools’ administration. Furthermore, boys’ regional final games will be required to begin at 4 p.m. or 7 p.m., and girls’ sectional finals will be scheduled for 1 p.m. with an option of a 3 p.m. starting time with WIAA executive office approval.
The basketball coaches’ recommendations to implement the shot clock and expand the State Tournament number of qualifiers to eight in all divisions were voted down by the Advisory Council, and by membership rule, were not advanced to the Board of Control for consideration.
One hockey recommendation reviewed by the Board received approval. In an emergency situation when a team’s goalie is unable to continue because of injury, illness or other unforeseen circumstances, a substitute goaltender may be permitted to enter the game regardless of the day’s previous participation limits of five periods.
The three Sports Medical Advisory Committee recommendations advanced to the Board received support. The first updates the performance enhancing substances listing to remove reference to the NCAA list for cannabinoids, add Selective Androgen Receptor Moderators to the banned substances in the Anabolic Agent section, and to add language to the discouraged listing to include no precursors, sodium bicarbonate supplements and ketone esters. The remaining two approved recommendations adds two nonvoting liaisons to the Sports Medical Advisory Committee, including a sport official from the Officials Advisory Committee and a nonvoting athletic director to be determined with committee input.
In other action taken by the Board, one fast-track conference realignment request received approval that places Manitowoc Lutheran in the Big East Conference from an independent status for girls’ soccer in the spring of 2026. The Board also approved an editorial change clarifying Competitive Balance language in Appendix N of the Senior High Handbook; a spending resolution to continue spending until the 2025-26 budget is approved; winter season sports financial statements; the 2025 Annual Meeting minutes; and the general fund financial statements and payments for May.
Other meeting discussion and report topics included the recently completed spring sports tournaments; amendments approved at the 2025 Annual Meeting; progress of the Calendar & Contact Ad Hoc Committee; June Jam and Summer Slam events; powers and duties of the Advisory Council; activities of the Student-Athlete Leadership Team; ongoing efforts to recruit and retain licensed officials, including a report on a recently conducted officials’ survey; an update on the establishment of the WIAA Foundation; and a reminder of the New Athletic Directors’ Workshop on July 21.
The Board also received liaison reports from Paul Manriquez of the Department of Public Instruction, Dan Rossmiller of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards and Brittany Spencer Grant of the Wisconsin Athletic Directors Association.
