Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association
Encyclopedia
The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) is the regulatory body for all high school sports in Wisconsin
. Its history dates to 1895, making it the first high school athletic organization in the country. It also provides the licensing program for more than 10,000 officials in the state, and oversees junior high or middle school athletics in about 100 of the state's nearly 400 school districts. Among its duties are the administration of state tournament series in its various sports, overseeing eligibility and conference alignment, and promoting sportsmanship.
. Meetings led to the formation of a rules committee, followed by a Board of Control, which is still the WIAA's governing board. It has 11 members, seven chosen by regions, three at-large and a representative from the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. An Advisory Council, made up of 18 members, also provides governance and advice. It is made up of 15 members, five each from large, medium and small schools, a gender at-large representative, a minority at-large representative and a nonpublic school representative.
Until 2000, only public schools were WIAA members. Private schools had belonged to the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association. When that organization announced it would shut down, the WIAA changed its rules to allow private schools. The WIAA, unlike some other states, does not add a multiplier to enrollment of private schools to contend with perceived advantages private schools have in drawing athletes.
The WIAA held its own state track meet in 1897 and its first state boys' basketball tournament in 1920. For boys' sports, it added cross country
(1913), golf
(1923), tennis
(1925), and swimming
(1925). In the 1940s, wrestling (1940), volleyball (1948) and baseball (1948) were added; in the 1950s, skiing
and curling
, and in the 1960s, gymnastics
. These sports have been dropped by the WIAA. 1965 also brought a second baseball tournament, this one for summer participants. Ice hockey
was added in 1970, Soccer (1982) was added, and volleyball, which had been dropped (in 1982), returned to tournament status in 2000.
Football
was a recognized sport but championships were only held briefly in the 1920s. The WIAA resumed playoffs in 1976.
The WIAA started adding girls sports in the 1970s. Swimming (1970) was the first, followed by gymnastics, track, and tennis in 1971, golf (1972), and volleyball (1973). Cross country joined the list in 1975, then basketball and softball (1976). Girls' soccer added a state tournament in 1983. The most recent addition was ice hockey in 2002.
The rule has allowed smaller schools to combine for sports such as football and track which require larger numbers, and larger schools to combine for sports with low interest.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. Its history dates to 1895, making it the first high school athletic organization in the country. It also provides the licensing program for more than 10,000 officials in the state, and oversees junior high or middle school athletics in about 100 of the state's nearly 400 school districts. Among its duties are the administration of state tournament series in its various sports, overseeing eligibility and conference alignment, and promoting sportsmanship.
History
The WIAA considers its start to be a meeting in December 1896 of part of the state teachers association following a state track and field meet organized by the University of Wisconsin–MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. Meetings led to the formation of a rules committee, followed by a Board of Control, which is still the WIAA's governing board. It has 11 members, seven chosen by regions, three at-large and a representative from the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. An Advisory Council, made up of 18 members, also provides governance and advice. It is made up of 15 members, five each from large, medium and small schools, a gender at-large representative, a minority at-large representative and a nonpublic school representative.
Until 2000, only public schools were WIAA members. Private schools had belonged to the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association. When that organization announced it would shut down, the WIAA changed its rules to allow private schools. The WIAA, unlike some other states, does not add a multiplier to enrollment of private schools to contend with perceived advantages private schools have in drawing athletes.
The WIAA held its own state track meet in 1897 and its first state boys' basketball tournament in 1920. For boys' sports, it added cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
(1913), golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
(1923), tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
(1925), and swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
(1925). In the 1940s, wrestling (1940), volleyball (1948) and baseball (1948) were added; in the 1950s, skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
and curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
, and in the 1960s, gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
. These sports have been dropped by the WIAA. 1965 also brought a second baseball tournament, this one for summer participants. Ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
was added in 1970, Soccer (1982) was added, and volleyball, which had been dropped (in 1982), returned to tournament status in 2000.
Football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
was a recognized sport but championships were only held briefly in the 1920s. The WIAA resumed playoffs in 1976.
The WIAA started adding girls sports in the 1970s. Swimming (1970) was the first, followed by gymnastics, track, and tennis in 1971, golf (1972), and volleyball (1973). Cross country joined the list in 1975, then basketball and softball (1976). Girls' soccer added a state tournament in 1983. The most recent addition was ice hockey in 2002.
Sports offered
The number of classes - referred to as divisions by the WIAA, and numbered so that 1 includes the largest schools while higher numbers include smaller schools - varies by sport. Except for football, all schools sponsoring a sport are in the tournament. Seeding is used for matchups in several team sports and in individual sports. The tournament structure starts with multi-team regionals, usually at the site of one school, followed by sectionals, usually at a neutral site (unless a team in the regional gets to a sectional it is hosting), and then state.- Cross countryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
— There are three divisions for both boys' and girls' cross country. The championships are held at The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin RapidsWisconsin Rapids, WisconsinWisconsin Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 18,435 at the 2000 census.According to the 2010 census, the Wisconsin Rapids micropolitan area was home to 54,362 people...
. - Girls' volleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
— There are four divisions. The championships are held at the Resch CenterResch CenterThe Resch Center is a 10,200 seat multi-purpose arena, in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin.Built in 2002, it is the home of the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball team, the Green Bay Gamblers ice hockey team, Green Bay Chill and the Green Bay Blizzard arena football teams.The arena...
in Green BayGreen Bay, WisconsinGreen Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
. - Boys' volleyball — There is one division. Finals are held at Wisconsin Lutheran CollegeWisconsin Lutheran CollegeWisconsin Lutheran College is a liberal arts college affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. It has an enrollment of approximately 840 undergraduate students. Its nine-building campus sits on the border of Milwaukee and Wauwatosa, with some buildings in each city...
in MilwaukeeMilwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. - Spring BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
— There are four divisions. The WIAA State Baseball Championships are held at Fox Cities StadiumFox Cities StadiumTime Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium is a baseball park in Grand Chute, Wisconsin. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers minor league baseball team. Since 2000, it has also hosted the NCAA Division III College World Series. The stadium...
in Grand ChuteGrand Chute, WisconsinGrand Chute is a town in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States. The city of Appleton and unincorporated community of Apple Creek are partially located in the town...
. - Summer BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
- There is one division. The state tournament is held at Bukolt Park in Stevens PointStevens Point, WisconsinStevens Point is the county seat of Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. Located in the central part of the state, it is the largest city in the county, with a population of 24,551 at the 2000 census...
. - GymnasticsGymnasticsGymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
— There are two divisions. Championships are held at Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids. - BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
— Both boys' and girls' basketball have five divisions. The boys' & girls' championships are held at the Kohl CenterKohl CenterThe Kohl Center is an arena and athletic center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States. The building, which opened in 1998, is the home of the university's men's and women's basketball and ice hockey teams. Seating capacity is variable, as the center can be rearranged to accommodate...
in MadisonMadison, WisconsinMadison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, or the Alliant Energy CenterAlliant Energy CenterThe Alliant Energy Center of Dane County is a multi-building complex in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It comprises of greenspace and includes the Exhibition Hall, the 10,000 seat Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Willow Island, the Arena, and nine modern agricultural exhibit buildings...
or Wisconsin Field House in years where the Kohl Center hosts NCAA Basketball TournamentNCAA Men's Division I Basketball ChampionshipThe NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
regionals at the same time. - FootballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
— Football has seven divisions. Teams must have a .500 record or better to qualify. There are seven 32 team playoffs, with all championship games held at Camp Randall StadiumCamp Randall StadiumCamp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. It has been the home of the Wisconsin Badgers football team in rudimentary form since 1895, and as a complete stadium since 1917. It is located on the center-southern region of the University of Wisconsin campus. The stadium seats...
in Madison. - WrestlingWrestlingWrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
— There are three divisions. Individuals championships are held at the Kohl CenterKohl CenterThe Kohl Center is an arena and athletic center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States. The building, which opened in 1998, is the home of the university's men's and women's basketball and ice hockey teams. Seating capacity is variable, as the center can be rearranged to accommodate...
in Madison, while team state championships are held at the University Field House in Madison. Regionals serve both individual and team competitions, with the team winning the regional going to the team sectional including all of its members, whether they qualified for the individual sectional or not. - Ice hockeyIce hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
— Both boys' and girls' championships are held at Alliant Energy Center in Madison. - Track and fieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
— There are three divisions in both boys' and girls' track and field. The championships are held at Veterans Memorial StadiumVeterans Memorial Stadium (La Crosse)Veterans Memorial Stadium is a stadium in La Crosse, Wisconsin. It is primarily used for American football and track and field, and is the home field of the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse "Eagles". Veterans Memorial Stadium seats around 6,200 in the main grandstand and upon completion of the...
in La CrosseLa Crosse, WisconsinLa Crosse is a city in and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. The city lies alongside the Mississippi River.The 2011 Census Bureau estimates the city had a population of 52,485...
. - Soccer - Both boys' and girls' soccer has three divisions. The state tournament is held at Uihlein Soccer ParkUihlein Soccer ParkUihlein Soccer Park is a 7,000-seat soccer-specific stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin built in 1994.This stadium was originally home to the Milwaukee Rampage, then became the home to the Milwaukee Wave United. The park has been host to many teams, including the US Women's National Team, and national...
in MilwaukeeMilwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the... - SoftballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
— There are four divisions. The state tournament is held at Goodman Diamond in Madison. - SwimmingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
- There are two divisions. The state meet is held at the University of Wisconsin Natatorium in Madison. - GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- There are two divisions in girls golf and three divisions for boys. Both championships are held at University Ridge Golf CourseUniversity Ridge Golf CourseUniversity Ridge Golf Course is a public golf course located in Verona, Wisconsin. It is the home course to both the men's and women's golf teams for the University of Wisconsin. Also, since 1994, it has been home to both the boys' and girls' WIAA state golf championships for all divisions...
in Madison since 1994. - TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- There are two divisions for both boys and girls tennis. Championships are held at Nielsen Stadium in Madison.
Conferences
The WIAA added overseeing of athletic conferences to its duties in the 1980s after several disputes. Previously, schools had banded together on their own. The WIAA's role is to keep conferences consisting of similar-sized schools within a reasonable distance of each other. Except for football, conference championships do not have any effect on a team's tournament seeding.Cooperative teams
In 1982, the WIAA approved cooperative teams, allowing two or more schools to combine to form a team in a sport where neither school has enough athletes to run the sport on its own. The schools are generally referred to by a hyphenated version of their school names, although some choose a unique team nickname and mascot. The schools involved must be in the same geographical area and combine for at least two years, although the WIAA may approve an early release. In addition, the conference the combined team will compete in must approve. The total enrollment of the two schools determines which tournament division the team plays in.The rule has allowed smaller schools to combine for sports such as football and track which require larger numbers, and larger schools to combine for sports with low interest.