The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Board of Control approved a strategic plan, several Conference Realignment Task Force recommendations, and advanced two constitutional amendments to the Annual Meeting during its March meeting today.
The board approved a five-year strategic plan for the membership with vision and mission statements that will be shared with the membership at next month’s Annual Meeting.
Among the conference realignment solutions approved by the board were sport-specific changes. Altoona will move to the Middle Border Conference from the Cloverbelt Conference in wrestling only; Shawano/Bonduel will transition to the Great Northern Conference for boys hockey from independent status; Parkview will move from independent status to the Rock Valley Conference in girls golf; Middleton will depart the Badger Conference and enter the Big Eight Conference; and the Sun Prairie co-op will split into two stand-alone programs in the Big Eight Conference for boys volleyball.
The change involving Sun Prairie is associated with a larger plan that realigns the Badger and Big Eight conferences in boys volleyball, effective in the 2027-28 school year.
The Big Eight Conference for boys volleyball will include Sun Prairie East, Sun Prairie West, Madison West, Madison East, Madison Memorial, Madison La Follette, Verona and Middleton. The programs in the Badger Conference will include Waunakee, DeForest, Monona Grove/McFarland, Fort Atkinson and Edgewood.
Several realignment solutions for schools in all sports, excluding football, were also approved. Beginning in the 2027-28 school year, Appleton West will exit the Fox Valley Association to enter the Bay Conference; Viroqua will move to the Southwest Conference from the Coulee Conference; Portage will enter the Capitol Conference from the Badger Conference; and St. Ambrose and The Lincoln Academy will move from independent status to the Trailways Conference.
The board approved realignment in the Milwaukee area that moves Menomonee Falls and Germantown from the Greater Metro Conference to the North Shore Conference, and Grafton from the North Shore Conference to the Glacier Trails Conference. The board remanded plans involving other Greater Metro schools, the Classic 8 Conference, the Southeast Conference and independent schools in the Milwaukee area back to the task force for additional review and final consideration at the board’s April meeting.
A fast-track application placing Merrill in the Great Northern Conference for boys hockey will be addressed by the board following completion of the realignment process in April.
The board voted to advance two constitutional amendments to the membership for a vote at next month’s Annual Meeting. One addresses the powers and duties of the Board of Control. It would remove language requiring all changes to rules and regulations to be passed by the Advisory Council before advancing to the board, returning decision-making authority to the Board of Control for matters within the Constitution, Bylaws, Rules of Eligibility and sport-specific regulations.
The second amendment would remove coaching contact restrictions for newly hired coaches who have not previously coached a student-athlete in the respective school’s program.
Other action items approved by the board included winter cooperative teams for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years, as well as routine monthly financial matters, including general fund financial statements and payments, fall sports financial statements, and the deferred liability fund statement.
Claire Higgins of St. Mary Catholic, a member of the Student-Athlete Leadership Team, conducted a virtual presentation on the group’s activities and promoted the rescheduled Leadership Summit on April 15 at SentryWorld in Stevens Point. Additional discussion topics included reassessing divisional placement regulations in basketball, updates from the Calendar and Contact Committee, competitive balance, and ongoing efforts to recruit and retain licensed officials.
The board also received liaison reports from Dan Rossmiller of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, Paul Manriquez of the Department of Public Instruction and Kyle LeMieux of the Wisconsin Athletic Directors Association.
The WIAA, as defined by its constitution, is a private, voluntary, unincorporated nonprofit organization. Its membership oversees interscholastic athletic programs for 515 senior high schools and 30 junior high/middle-level schools.
