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Interscholastic Sport Governance

Tonya L. Sawyer Indiana State University

Abstract

High school athletics are considered a significant phase of the secondary school educational program. Coaches, athletic directors, and school administrators proclaim the educational values of their athletic programs with pride. However, school officials cannot take credit for introduc- ing these activities into the school program. In fact, students initiated them. Groups of students started athletic contests in colleges following the Civil War. Athletic clubs were patterned after independent athletic clubs to which many of the elite in society belonged during that era. Imi- tating their older brothers and friends, high school students began to form athletic associations around 1900. They elected their own managers, scheduled their own games, and played any teams available. As the interest in competition grew, it was not uncommon for persons outside the school to be recruited to play on the teams. Disputes and brawls occasionally occurred. The interscholastic athletic program, originally an unwanted outsider and later a tolerated extracur- ricular activity, has now gained its rightful place in the secondary curriculum. The program provides opportunities and experiences that make a contribution to the general growth and de- velopment of students and help create a healthy climate in the educational institution and its supporting community.

Keywords: cheating; eligibility; funding; governance; governing bodies; homeschoolers; pay-to-play; school prayer; sport specialization; sportsmanship; substance abuse

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Tonya L. Sawyer is compliance coordinator, Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, Indiana State University. Please send author correspondence to [email protected]

Journal of Facility Planning, Design, and Management

Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 118–133

Interscholastic Sport Governance 119

Evolution of High School Sports

The four stages in the evolution of interscholastic sports are opposition, toleration, recog- nition and capitalization, and exploitation. During opposition, schools did not sponsor high school sports, yet the team representing the student athletic associations eventually came to be identified with their schools and began to embarrass them. School officials found themselves forced to take positions on the recruitment of outsiders to play on the teams, controversies that arose, and volunteer coaching by individuals who had no training as teachers and whose tactics were questionable. As the enthusiasm developed for athletic contests among students and the community, and as school administrators realized that the contests would be continued outside the jurisdiction of the schools if outlawed, the majority of school administrators concluded that the only feasible alternative would be to assume control over them, thereby inaugurating the period of tolerance.

Tolerance brought steps to make these athletic games more respectable. Faculty members were appointed to chaperone the teams. Schools began to adopt controls to prevent abuse, in- cluding requiring athletes to be bona fide students, creating student-athlete eligibility rules, and developing standards for coaches, who had to be faculty members.

During the next period of evolution, school administrators began to recognize that some desirable educational outcomes could result from properly planned and administered inter- school athletic contests. This motivated principals and coaches to formulate specific educational objectives for the interscholastic program. After the standards were adopted to guide the athletic programs, many school administrators began to capitalize on the educational values of athletic activities and to consider them as integral to the secondary school program.

When a school activity reached a certain point of popularity, it entered the fourth period, during which attempts were made to exploit the program. As nonschool organizations and in- dividuals recognized the attractiveness of interscholastic games, they began to promote events involving high school athletes and the interscholastic athletic program. The primary interests of these promoters were generally in gaining recognition, advertising, and raising funds. However, the collective efforts of high school activity associations at the state and national levels have been effective in eliminating much of this exploitation of high school athletes and school athletic programs.

Placed in their proper perspective, and organized and administered as part of a total school program, competitive sports serve as a laboratory for teaching special skills and developing de- sirable habits and attitudes. Sawyer and Gimbert (2014) indicated interschool competition af- fords the superior student in the field of physical activities the opportunity to work toward a high level of achievement and to compete with peers in other schools.

The Value of Interscholastic Sports

An interscholastic sports program should be designed to develop characteristics such as loyalty to purpose, respect for discipline, capacity to lead and direct, respect of rules and au- thority, ability to act effectively under stress, respect for others, capacity for self-discipline in the interest of accomplishment, ability to develop as an individual as well as a team member, determination to overcome obstacles, an understanding that sportsmanship is the golden rule of practice, enduring relationships with teammates, and ability to develop good health habits, strength, and body vigor.

The eight common arguments for interscholastic sports in the United States include, ac- cording to Coakley (2014) and Sawyer and Gimbert (2014), (a) involving students in extra- curricular school activities; (b) linking extracurricular activities to academics; (c) developing occupational skills such as establishing responsibility, building achievement orientation, and

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acquiring teamwork skills; (d) providing opportunities for developing physical fitness; (e) stimu- lating interest in physical activities among students in the school; (f ) generating spirit and unity necessary to maintain the school as a viable organization; (g) promoting parental, alumni, and community support for school programs; and (h) providing students opportunities to develop and display skills in activities valued in society at large.

To provide a balanced perspective, it is necessary to outline the arguments against inter- scholastic sports. The eight common arguments against interscholastic sports, according to Coakley (2014) and Sawyer and Gimbert (2014), include (a) distracts the attention of students from academic activities; (b) relegates most students to the role of spectator; (c) causes too many serious injuries to active participants; (d) deprives educational programs of resources, facilities, staff, and community support; (e) applies excessive pressure on student-athletes; (f ) focuses the attention of students on a power and performance orientation; (g) perpetuates dependence and conformity; and (h) creates a superficial and transitory spirit in the school.

Interscholastic Sports Governing Bodies

Interscholastic sports governing bodies include conferences or leagues, state high school athletic associations, and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Local conferences or leagues are formed to enhance scheduling, provide conference or league championship competition, and implement useful policies and procedures.

Types of Associations

Although state athletic and activities associations function similarly in most respects, they fall into three general classifications in regard to administrative control. The majority are volun- tary associations through which their member schools cooperatively regulate interschool con- tests and activities. The second type is affiliated with a state education department. The third consists of those administered through institutions of higher learning.

Voluntary State Associations Most state associations fall into this category. Membership is voluntary, but is usually de-

pendent on member schools meeting specified requirements regarding the financial support of the school, its plan of organization, the status of its coaches, and the payment of annual dues. Usually, such organizations limit their competition to member schools. In most states, member- ship is open to public secondary schools accredited by state departments of education. Some states also allow private and parochial schools to join, provided they meet the standards for membership. These organizations are not-for-profit educational corporations that are tax-ex- empted 501(c)3 entities. Board members are elected by schools of different sizes, and some have ex-officio members from legislative bodies or departments of education. Many state associations are responsible for speech, debate, theatre, music, and spirit programs. Some are responsible for only Grades 9–12 (e.g., Indiana) and others coordinate activities for Grades 6–12 (e.g., Texas).

The state associations in this category include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

State Associations Affiliated With State Departments of Education The following states are affiliated with state departments of education: Connecticut, Dela-

ware, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, North Caroli- na, Rhode Island, and Vermont. These associations have direct links (e.g., communication, com- mittee appointments) with the state departments of education, but are not governed by the state.

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University-Directed State Associations The following state associations are university directed: South Carolina (University of South

Carolina), Texas (University of Texas), and Virginia (University of Virginia). These organizations are housed in colleges of or schools of education on a university campus. The universities do not govern them. They are free-standing organizations with boards and bylaws.

Advantages of Joining a State Association The advantages of belonging to the state association are (a) eligibility for participation in

state championship athletic events, (b) enforcement of regulations for the conduct of athletics, (c) sponsorship of a classification plan for athletic competition (i.e., a state might have four clas- sifications based on size of school population including 1-A, 2-A, 3-A, and 4-A), (d) certification and assignment of athletic officials, (e) enforcement of athletic standards (i.e., eligibility, transfer, and academic standards), (f ) published bulletins and newsletters, (g) enforcement of sportsman- ship, and (h) a final authority for the resolution of questions, controversies, and appeals. Finally, member schools have obligations to the association, which include compliance with regulations of the association, cooperation, support, and loyalty.

The National Federation of High School Athletic Associations

By 1920, state high school associations had been formed in 29 states. They proved to be desirable and necessary in keeping interscholastic athletics in perspective within the school pro- gram and in making them educationally worthwhile. With the formation of the original Midwest Federation of State High School Athletic Associations in 1920, the first cooperative effort of state associations to control high school athletics came into being. The original organization of five states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin) was the forerunner of the NFHS. In 1970, the word athletics was dropped from the name to expand the responsibilities to include nonathletic activities.

The NFHS has two primary services, namely, controlling interstate competition and pre- venting exploitation of high school athletes and interscholastic athletics by promoters of athletic events to which high school teams and individual athletes are invited. Other services include the National Federation Press, national interscholastic records, rules writing, audio-visual aids, athletic experimental studies, athletic insurance, athletic safety and protection, professional in- terscholastic athletic organizations, rules interpretation meetings, sports participation surveys, National Federation awards, award of merit, National High School Hall of Fame, National High School activities week, and legal aid pact.

The NFHS has six professional organizations under its umbrella including the National Federation of Interscholastic Athletic Coaches (NFICA); National Association of Interscholastic Officials Association (NFIOA); spirit association; speech, debate, and theatre association; music association; and National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA).

The NIAAA (www.niaaa.org) promotes the professional growth and image of interscholas- tic athletic administrators. It promotes the development and prestige of state athletic adminis- trators’ organizations, which will contribute, in cooperation with their state high school associa- tions, to the interscholastic athletic program of each state. Furthermore, it provides an efficient system for exchange of ideas between the NFHS and state athletic administrators’ organizations as well as individual athletic administrators. Finally, it strives to preserve the educational nature of interscholastic athletics and the place of these programs in the curricula of schools.

Governance

Wong (2010) suggested, “The power and authority in high school athletics are in the indi- vidual state organizations, which determine the rules and regulations for the sports programs

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and schools within that state” (p. 26). The five basic components of governance, according to Sawyer and Gimbert (2014), are (a) organizational structure, (b) function, (c) authority, (d) re- quirements for membership, and (e) sanctions and appeals process. The best way to illustrate these components as they relate to an interscholastic governing body is to use a state high school athletic association as an example.

Organizational Structure Most state high school athletic associations have the following organizational structure:

board of directors (elected by the membership), executive committee as established by the by- laws, commissioner, an associate commissioner, and assistant commissioners. The NFHS has a board of directors (elected by the membership), executive committee, executive director (ap- pointed by the board), and directors.

Function The function or purpose of state high school associations is stated in their constitutions,

which illustrate why these organizations were founded and what they are expected to accom- plish. In general, the function of state high school athletic associations is to encourage, regu- late, and give direction to wholesome amateur interschool athletic competition between schools that are members of the association. The primary purposes of these association are to (a) as- sure that the program of interschool athletic competition remains steadfast to the principles of wholesome amateur athletics and subservient to its primary academic or curricular functions of education of the member schools; (b) furnish protection against exploitation of students at member schools; (c) determine qualifications of individual contestants, coaches, and officials; and (c) provide written communications to established standards for eligibility, competition, and sportsmanship.

Sawyer and Gimbert (2014) and Sawyer and Judge (2012) suggested the following objec- tives of athletic and activity types:

• to foster and develop amateur athletics among the secondary schools of the state (New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association),

• to equalize athletic opportunities by standardizing rules of eligibility for individuals and by classifying the competitive purposes of the institutions that are members of the association (Indiana High School Athletic Association),

• to promote uniformity in the arrangement and control of contests (Montana High School Association),

• to protect the mutual interests of the members of the association through the cultiva- tion of ideals of clean sport in relation to the development of character (Missouri State High School Activities Association),

• to ensure that interscholastic activities shall supplement the curricular program of the school to provide opportunities for youth to acquire worthwhile knowledge, skills, and emotional patterns (Washington Interscholastic Activities Association), and

• to foster a cooperative spirit and good sportsmanship on the part of school representa- tives, school patrons, and students (Illinois High School Association).

The mission of the NFHS (2014b) is to serve its members and its related professional groups by providing leadership and national coordination for the administration of interscholastic ac- tivities that will enhance the educational experiences of high school students and reduce risks of their participation. The NFHS’s function is to (a) promote participation and sportsmanship and (b) develop good citizens through interscholastic activities, which provide equitable opportuni- ties, positive recognition, and learning experiences to students while maximizing the achieve- ment of educational goals.

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Authority Principals of the secondary schools or state departments of education establish the author-

ity for state high school athletic associations. These voluntary associations are charged to plan, organize, and regulate a wholesome amateur program of interschool athletic competition in which school members of such associations would participate. The NFHS gains its authority from the 50 member state associations.

Requirements for Membership Memberships are voluntary. Full membership in a state high school athletic association

shall be open to public, private, parochial, boarding, and institutional high schools of the state offering and maintaining 2 or more years of high school work, provided they meet the require- ments of the association and also subscribe to its rules and regulations. For a school to be eligible for membership, it must have full accreditation from the state department of education or be fully accredited by a regional accrediting agency (i.e., North Central Association, Southern As- sociation of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Council on Accreditation and School Improvement, and others).

Members of the NFHS include 50 state high school athletic associations, the District of Co- lumbia, and over 30 affiliate members. The affiliate members include all the Canadian provinces and a variety of state music associations. It is a not-for-profit organization located in Indianapo- lis, Indiana.

Funding The major source of revenue for the NFHS is sale of publications. These publications include

rule books (revised annually for all sports), miscellaneous sports items (e.g., tournament guides, facilities design materials), sports guides, handbooks, officials’ interpretation books, debate and speech books, among others. In addition, the organization earns funds from membership dues, meetings and conferences, royalties, and contracts for injury insurance.

The major source of revenue for a state high school association is tournament revenue. The greatest source of tournament revenue is derived from football and boys’ basketball. However, girls’ basketball is beginning to show a dramatic increase. In addition, the state associations gen- erate revenue from membership dues, tournament fees, ball contracts (i.e., selection of tourna- ment balls), sponsorships, and sale of publications.

High school athletic programs’ key revenue source is gate receipts. In addition, high schools in some states have begun charging athletes for the privilege to participate in sports. Other sources of revenue include concessions, merchandise sales, parking fees, advertising, and spon- sorships. In general, a small amount is allocated from the general fund or taxpayer sources. The two exceptions are coaches’ salaries (paid through the teacher contract and negotiated by the teacher bargaining unit) and transportation, which generally is included in the transportation fund, often a separate tax.

Sanctions and Appeals Process Each state high school athletic association has established a sanction and appeals process.

Commonly, the board of directors establishes the sanctions. The commissioners or executive directors implement the sanctions. Commissioners’ or executive directors’ decisions can be ap- pealed to either the board of directors or executive committees. In some states, the decision of the board of directors or executive committees can be appealed to a state-appointed appeals committee, such as in Indiana.

The NFHS does not sanction high schools, but rather sanctions events between states or a foreign country. The NFHS requires sanctioning of (a) any interstate event involving two or

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more schools that is cosponsored by or titled in the name of an organization outside the school community (e.g., AAU), (b) events in nonbordering states if five or more states are involved, (c) events in nonbordering states if more than eight schools are involved, and (d) any event involv- ing two or more schools that involves a team from a foreign country.

Interscholastic Policy Areas

High school athletic associations are responsible for developing policy for the operation of interscholastic sports within a state or Canadian province. The policy areas are most often focused on (a) membership in the association; (b) corporation/association districts; (c) classes of schools and competition; (d) roles of the board, executive committee, commissioner, and ex- ecutive staff; (e) eligibility; (f ) age; (g) amateurism; (h) coaches; (i) conduct, character, and disci- pline; (j) intrastate and interstate contests; (k) game and official contracts; (l) officials; (m) enroll- ment and attendance; (n) academic standing/scholarship; (o) eligibility and transfer; (p) undue influence; and (q) specific policies for each sport over and above the NFHS-established rules.

Interscholastic Athletic Issues

A number of important interscholastic athletic issues affect sports. They include issues such as amateurism, cheating, deviance and violence, eligibility (i.e., academic, age, red shirting, and transfer rules), equity (i.e., gender and homeschoolers), funding, pressure to win, school prayer, specialization, sportsmanship, and substance abuse.

Amateurism Only an amateur student-athlete is eligible for interscholastic athletic participation in a par-

ticular sport. A student-athlete loses amateur status and shall not be eligible for interscholastic competition in a particular sport if he or she

• is paid (in any form) or accepts the promise of pay for participation in an athletic contest;

• accepts a benefit other than of a symbolic nature, directly or indirectly, for athletic participation in that sport;

• signs a contract or verbally commits with an agent or a professional sports organiza- tion;

• requests that his or her name be placed on a draft list or otherwise agrees to negotiate with a professional sports organization;

• uses his or her athletic skill directly or indirectly for pay (e.g., TV commercials, skills demonstrations);

• participates in athletic activities, tryouts, auditions, practices, and games held or spon- sored by professional athletic organizations, clubs, or their representatives during the contest season;

• participates on an amateur sports team and receives, directly or indirectly, any sal- ary, incentive payment, award, gratuity, educational expenses, or expense allowances (other than playing apparel, equipment, actual and necessary travel, and room and board expenses for practice and games); or

• fails to return player equipment or uniforms issued by a school or nonschool team when the season for that sport concluded or when the student’s continued participa- tion on such team concluded.

To avoid the risk of jeopardizing their current or future eligibility, student-athletes should al- ways check with the athletic director for compliance and/or the coach prior to participating in any contest in which awards or prizes are to be given and/or before beginning any employment related to their sport or sports skills.

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Cheating Cheating often involves a violation of the rules to gain an unfair advantage over an oppo-

nent. The types of cheating depend on the sport and the creativity of the participants. Clearly, cheating is antithetical to educational values and should have no place in educational programs.

Some coaches are under pressure to win at all costs and use illegal techniques that are diffi- cult to detect. For example, holding or tripping by the offensive linemen in football, touching the lower half of a basketball player when shooting, faking being fouled, faking an injury to gain an extra time-out, or not going to the huddle and standing near the sidelines. Furthermore, coaches sometimes break the spirit of a rule, if not the rule itself. For example, teams may not have or- ganized practices before a certain date, yet coaches insist on players practicing, with captains in charge or coaches at a distance yelling orders.

As long as there is pressure to win, coaches, parents, and student-athletes will cheat. High school athletic administrators need to emphasize honesty and integrity within athletics. These are characteristics that student-athletes should learn while participating in sports. Winning at all costs should never be acceptable in an athletic program.

Deviance and Violence Is deviance and violence out of control? A quick glance at the sports pages over the past few

years would lead one to believe that deviance and violence in sports is out of control. The media coverage of on-the-field rule violations and violence and off-the-field behavior would like the reading public to assume that participants in sports (e.g., athletes, coaches, and spectators) are devious and violent.

The commonly reported examples of deviance include cheating, gambling, shaving points, throwing games or matches, engaging in unsportsmanlike conduct, fighting (violence), taking performance-enhancing drugs, and generally finding ways to avoid rules. Over the years, devi- ance has become a serious problem in most sports because of pressures to perform and win that have been heightened by increased commercialization and television coverage.

Violence among spectators is influenced by violence on the field of play as well as crowd dynamics, the situation at the event, and the overall historical and cultural context in which spectators live. Coaches and teammates have encouraged violence on the field of play by other athletes. High school athletic associations continue to try to reduce violence on the field or court and in the stands.

Many of the high school athletic associations are trying hard to improve sportsmanship in interscholastic athletics. The sportsmanship programs are aimed toward athletes, coaches, and spectators. The sportsmanship programs are designed to eliminate cheating, gambling, fighting, and violation of rules by athletes and coaches and to encourage spectators to behave as ladies and gentlemen while attending contests. The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) in collaboration with the Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Company has developed a statewide scholarship program for schools that demonstrate good sportsmanship. In addition, they actively support the sportsmanship theme through championship advertisements; sportsmanship semi- nars for athletes, coaches, and parents; and a sportsmanship presence on the IHSAA website.

Eligibility Who plays and who does not? The answer to this question often causes heated debates and

court challenges. The most common factors used in determining if a person can participate include ability (disability), academic standing, age, citizenship, educational affiliation (private, public, or charter schools), gender, grade in school, height, place of residence, and weight. Eligi- bility rules are often challenged because of arbitrariness. High school students have contested eli- gibility (transfer) rules when their families have moved from one school district to another and

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they have been found they are ineligible to play varsity sports. High school athletic associations have established eligibility rules to ensure a fair competitive situation for all student-athletes.

Participation in interscholastic athletics is voluntary and a privilege in the reasoning of the courts, which may be extended at the discretion of the school board and the state high school athletic association. When eligibility standards are challenged in the courts, they must, in most circumstances, withstand only rational basis scrutiny. Wong (2010) suggested this means that if the requirements are rationally related to the purpose of the activity and not arbitrary, capri- cious, or unjustly discriminatory, they will be upheld by the courts.

Academic eligibility (no pass, no play). Academic eligibility has gained attention with the increase in NCAA academic requirements and the ability of students to meet the NCAA Clearinghouse standards for future collegiate participation. Realizing that the age group served by high schools represents an interval in human development that can be turbulent and com- plex, high school athletic associations have been concerned with educating the whole person. Therefore, the primary focus of the secondary school should be to provide educational oppor- tunities for its students in accordance with the requirements set forth by state education depart- ments. This academic training should progress toward an adequate education and ultimately a high school diploma. Participation in interschool programs is a privilege for which reasonable standards should be established and enforced for the educational and personal welfare of the students who participate. If students cannot successfully carry and pass a normal minimum load of formal classroom work and simultaneously undertake the extra demands on time and energy required by interschool participation, they should postpone their commitment to inter- school programs and concentrate time and effort on achieving in the classroom. Based on these premises, high school athletic associations have established minimum academic achievement requirements. These minimum academic eligibility standards have promoted the establishment of higher educational standards, upgraded student academic performance, countered public criticism of schools for low expectations and low student achievement, and enabled schools to use athletic participation as a motivator for better classroom performance and achievement.

High school athletic associations use several means of demonstrating academic eligibility for athletic participation in high school including grade point average (GPA), courses passed in previous and/or current semesters, courses passed in previous year, percentage of daily atten- dance, enrollment in the minimum number of periods, and maintaining a grade of 70 in each class during a 6-week grading period to stay eligible for the next 6-week grading period. Thus, different states use a variety of standards to demonstrate academic qualification for athletic par- ticipation in high schools. For example, Indiana requires students to complete five solid courses (e.g., English, mathematics, social studies, life science, chemistry, physics, or history) with a D or better grade to maintain athletic eligibility. This is a 60% average. It does not meet the minimum NCAA Eligibility Center standards.

Furthermore, in 1985, the Texas legislature passed a statute requiring students to earn a grade of 70 in each class during a 6-week grading period to stay eligible for the next 6-week grad- ing period. This statute has been known as the “no pass, no play rule.” This law was contested in court and upheld. However, the Texas legislature modified the law to make it more permissive, allowing failing students to rejoin the team if they are passing after 3 weeks. It further allows fail- ing students to practice or rehearse during a suspension period.

No pass, no play rules have garnered opposition for good and bad reasons, but it is not fair to allow students to participate in sports at the high school level not meeting the minimum NCAA Eligibility Center standards. High school athletic administrators should encourage high school athletic associations and school boards to increase academic standards for participation to at least the minimum NCAA Eligibility Center standards. This would allow students who have chosen to move on to higher education a chance at further sports participation.

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Age eligibility (longevity). High school athletic associations have developed rules of lon- gevity to eliminate the problem of red shirting (see Red Shirting). Longevity rules determine the limits for participation in terms of semesters/years (i.e., eight semesters within 4 years or eight consecutive semesters) allowed to complete competition and a maximum age (i.e., 18 or 19) beyond which interscholastic competition may not continue.

The longevity rules are designed to equalize competition and have been defended on the grounds that they prevent older, more mature students from compromising the health and safety of the younger student-athlete; that 19- or 20-year-old students are not the average high school student; and that they eliminated the possibility of athletes red shirting to gain competitive ad- vantage.

Although longevity rules eliminate the problem with aging athletes, it causes another prob- lem: discrimination toward a select group of students, those with mental disabilities. The high school athletic association’s longevity rule often prevents students with mental disabilities from participating in extracurricular activities during their junior and senior years. These students often need extra time to finish high school. When these students have contested this rule, courts have ruled that when participation in interscholastic sports is included as a component of the IEP (individual education plan) as a related service, the privilege of competing in interscholastic sports is transformed into a federally protected right. In general, if participation in interscholas- tic athletics is not a component of the student’s IEP, the court would rule that the student has no constitutional right to participate in interscholastic sports.

The athletic administrator with athletes who have mental disabilities should work coopera- tively with the special education teachers and coordinators to ensure students have the opportu- nity to participate through their senior year. This means developing an appropriate IEP for each student who participates in athletics.

Red shirting. Red shirting is the practice of delaying a student-athlete’s competition to extend the athlete’s career. Red shirting is an effective strategy to take advantage of an extra year’s growth, maturity, and skill development. This practice is common in intercollegiate programs, but high school athletic associations’ rules do not permit the practice because it is contrary to the educational mission. Furthermore, the practice creates unfair competition advantages, danger- ous mismatches, and unwarranted exclusion of peer student-athletes.

However, high school athletic associations recognize illness and/or injury and academic determinations of grade level as legitimate reasons as exceptions to the rules precluding red shirting and make appropriate allowances. In general, courts have agreed with the rational argu- ment that red shirting regulations preserve the privilege of interscholastic athletic competition, consistent with the educational mission.

Transfer. The privilege of participation in interschool athletics should fundamentally be available to bona fide students in school districts where their parents or legally established guardians reside. Standards governing residence and transfer are a necessary prerequisite, ac- cording to Sawyer and Gimbert (2014) and Sawyer and Judge (2012), to participation in inter- school athletics because (a) they protect the opportunities of bona fide students to participate; (b) they provide a fundamentally fair and equitable framework in which interschool athletic competition, in an educational setting, can occur; (c) they provide uniform standards for all schools to follow in maintaining athletic competition; (d) they support the educational philoso- phy that athletics is a privilege that must not be permitted to assume a dominant position in a student’s or school’s program; (e) they keep the focus of educators and students on students at- tending school to receive an education first and participate in athletics second; (f ) they maintain the fundamental principle that a high school student should live at home with his or her parents or legally appointed guardian and attend school in the school district in which the parents or guardians live; (g) they reinforce the view that the family is a strong and viable unit in society

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and, as such, is the best place for students to live while attending high school; (h) they serve as a deterrent to students who would transfer schools for athletic reasons and to individuals who would seek to recruit student-athletes to attend a particular school for the purpose of building athletic strength; (i) they serve as a deterrent to students running away from or avoiding an athletic conflict or discipline that has been imposed; and (j) they protect school programs from losing students who have established an identity as an athlete and, as such, are contributors to the overall school program and image.

There are many legitimate reasons for transfers including family relocations caused by new employment or divorce or relocations from a small rural school to a larger suburban school to gain additional academic opportunities (i.e., expanded elective academic courses in mathemat- ics and sciences). These reasons and others constitute a basis for exceptions within the transfer rules.

Transfer rules are popular targets for legal challenges based on claims of violations of equal protection, freedom of religion, right to travel, and due process. In general, the courts have up- held transfer rules under rational judicial scrutiny. Considering that no fundamental right has been compromised or any suspect class established, the transfer rule need only be rationally related to the purpose stated above to be upheld by the court. However, if the student-athlete can establish fraud, collusion, or arbitrariness, the possibility exists for a successful challenge.

Equity Equity is an important issue facing public high schools. It is imperative that public high

schools not discriminate against any student. The most common areas of discrimination over the years have been focused on age, gender, students with disabilities, homeschoolers, race, and, re- ligion. However, gender and homeschoolers have been hot issues recently and will be discussed next.

Gender. Gender equity has been an issue since the early 1970s and before. The issue is focused on opportunities for equal access to participation by both genders. Title IX (Education Amendments, 1972) has opened many doors for young girls and women to participate in sports in the public school arena. Over the past 30+ years, most of the inequities and barriers for young women have been eliminated in interscholastic athletics.

In 1970, over 2,000,000 men and boys participated in high school athletics and less than 800,000 women and girls. In 2005, over 2,800,000 men and boys participated and over 2,300,000 women and girls. It is projected that by 2020 the number women and girls will exceed the num- ber of men and boys participating in high school athletics (SBJnet, 2014).

Recent trends include issues related to protecting members of discontinued men’s teams (e.g., diving, gymnastics, and wrestling) and having the opportunity to participate without fac- ing sexual harassment. It is clear that Title IX protects the participation rights of the historically underrepresented gender. In the athletic world, the underrepresented gender is female.

Title IX protects students, teachers, and coaches from sexual harassment, which is not only a Title IX violation, but also a criminal offense when it involves a young adult. Title IX has a prohibition against sexual harassment and it defines one method specially: quid pro quo. This is harassment based on a bargain or proposition in which the coach offers the student-athlete something for performing a sexual favor. For example, Coach XYZ offers Sally increased playing time if she has sex with him or her. In sexual harassment cases, the sex of the perpetrator and the victim are not relevant, and civility is not required.

Gender equity requires that the selection of sports and levels of competition effectively ac- commodate the interests and abilities of members of both genders. High school athletic associa- tions and public high schools need to continue to focus on participation opportunities for boys and girls. The challenges that high schools face include (a) facility equity (e.g., girls’ softball field vs. boys’ baseball field or girls’ soccer field vs. boys’ soccer complex), (b) equity in scheduling

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(i.e., scheduling girls’ activities in nontraditional times of the year), (c) girls on boys teams (e.g., football, soccer, and wrestling), and (d) boys on girls teams (e.g., volleyball). The common exam- ples of facility inequity are that the boys’ facilities had announcer’s booth, batting cages, conces- sion stands, lights, press boxes, restrooms, scoreboards, and covered and secured storage areas.

Homeschoolers. A current issue facing many public schools is whether to permit home- schoolers to participate in sports and other activities in their district’s public schools. Many people believe that homeschooled students should be able to participate in school-sponsored extracurricular activities for many reasons. In Indiana, an estimated 33,455 students were being taught at home in 2013–2014, from among 1.1 million school-aged children statewide, accord- ing to the Indiana Department of Education (2014). This is a complex policy area involving state legislatures, state associations, local school districts, and the legal system. National legislation does not provide guidance in this area of policy development, leaving states and others to decide.

If homeschooled students want to interact and participate in school-sponsored sports, they must be ready to take on many conflicts. Local school boards nationally have had to make policy decisions that negatively affect these students. For example, the public schools in Pennsylvania are required to give homeschoolers access to curriculum and books as requested. However, state law allows individual school districts to decide whether to make district activities available to homeschoolers.

Questions continue to emerge and policy continues to evolve in this complex area as home- schooled students in different states seek the opportunity to participate. According to Sawyer and Gimbert (2014) and Sawyer and Judge (2012), the most common questions include the following:

• Is it fair to deny homeschoolers the chance to play when their families pay taxes that fund public education? Some would say they made the choice freely not to attend public school and knew that they would not be eligible to play sports for the local high school or any high school for that fact.

• Is it fair for homeschoolers to take regularly enrolled students’ positions on teams? An interesting question as foreign exchange students in the country for 1 year or less do just that—they take positions of regularly enrolled students. So why not homeschool- ers?

• What educational message is sent when it is acceptable for homeschoolers to play sports with, but not go to school with, other students?

• Should coaches be encouraged and allowed to recruit good homeschooler athletes to strengthen their high school teams?

Funding (Soaring Costs) The costs related to operating a high school athletic program have increased dramatically

in the past 20 years. The number of sports offered in an athletic program has increased from as few as 10 to over 20, the number of coaches employed has doubled, and the number of partici- pants continues to increase annually. The changes in demographics have fueled the soaring costs of operations. Generally, school districts allocate dollars from the general fund to compensate coaches, construct and maintain facilities, and provide transportation, except for drivers’ com- pensation. The athletic departments are required to raise revenue to meet additional expendi- tures including awards, drivers’ compensation for team travel, officials, uniforms, equipment, and game management personnel. Some athletic departments are required to raise funds for construction of new sports facilities.

High schools generate revenue generally through ticket sales, program sales, advertising, sponsorships, fundraising activities (e.g., golf tournaments, awards dinners), and booster clubs. Often these efforts fall short, and the department is faced with cutting sports, requiring parents

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to donate funds to the booster club, assessing equipment fees, or assessing fees to play (except in California or South Dakota).

The issue facing all high schools, large and small, poor and affluent, is a soaring cost to operate interscholastic athletic programs. The future is not bright for financing interscholastic athletics. Gate receipts are not keeping up with operational costs. Athletic administrators are looking for creative ways to add other revenue streams including advertising, sales of licensed products, sponsorships, and pay-to-play, but is pay-to-play the best method to solve the growing problem? Will pay-to-play create more problems than it solves?

Pay-to-Play As sports teams begin practice across the country each year, many parents and student-

athletes are realizing that it may take more than talent to make the cut. Increasingly, schools are charging participation fees for students to be on a team—a trend that educators and sports advocates say is a danger to the concept of public education and the overall effort to involve more children in athletic activities.

Fees typically are $75 to $100 nationally and more often are charged for sports than for clubs and activities (National Federation of High School Associations, 2014a). Fees are often waived or reduced for students in federal free or reduced-price lunch programs and sometimes are capped at several hundred dollars for families with children in several sports.

Moreover, implementation of pay-to-play seems to lead to lower participation at a time when participation is rising in schools that do not charge to play sports. The implication is that playing a sport at a public high school is a privilege to be paid for, not earned through effort. Furthermore, there is some drop-off in participation when pay-to-play is implemented. Finally, some parents feel that because they are paying, they have the right to control when their child plays in a game. Some parents are aggressive, and this can cause problems. Parents who pay for their children to play sometimes believe that should guarantee playing time.

Pressure to Win Most people play a sport for the thrill of having fun with others who share the same inter-

est, right? But it is not always fun and games. Often student athletes who play competitive sports have had thoughts such as this at one time or another: “Man, I can’t believe I let the ball in the goal, and I know from the look in coach’s eyes that he wasn’t happy.”

Coakley (2014) and Sawyer and Gimbert (2014) suggested coaches, parents, and peers ap- ply pressure in high school sports. Much of the time it comes from the feeling that a parent or coach expects to win. But, sometimes, it comes from inside, too. Some players are hard on themselves. Individual situations can add to the stress, too. Maybe there is a recruiter from the athlete’s number one college scouting on the sidelines. Whatever the cause, the pressure to win can sometimes stress the athlete to the point that the athlete does not know how to have fun anymore. Perhaps it could even be the reason why the athlete has not been playing as well lately.

The athletic administrator, being aware of this situation, should develop or seek assistance from outside consultants to develop workshops focusing on how to overcome and prevent undue pressure to win. These workshops should be for athletes, coaches, and parents. The role of athlet- ics should be to have fun and learn how to win and lose gracefully.

School Prayer Organized prayers by coaches have been determined to be unconstitutional by the Supreme

Court. The practice violates the concept of separation of church and state. The coach is an agent of the school; thus, organized prayer is determined to be school sponsored. School sponsorship of a religious message is not appropriate because it tells members of the audience who are non- adherents that they are outsiders.

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However, a student-led prayer in the locker room or on the field or court remains a legally gray area, unless a school official (i.e., the coach) has organized the prayer. It has been argued that students have a free speech right to initiate prayers. The federal courts, according to Sawyer and Gimbert (2014), have ruled that student-led prayer can be as coercive and involuntary as teacher-led prayer and therefore should be banned as teacher-led prayer in the public schools has been since 1962. Yet the right to private acts of devotion, even in school, is protected. Nothing in the Constitution prohibits public school students from voluntarily praying at any time before, during, or after the school day.

In the southern states, public expressions of religious faith are part of the daily routine. These Christian individuals and organizations have promoted prayer and other religious activi- ties in the school. However, they are in direct conflict with individuals and groups (i.e., Ameri- can Civil Liberties Union) who have claimed that the First Amendment to the Constitution specifically prohibits religious practices under the jurisdiction of the public schools.

Specialization This is the age of specialization—and the decline of the three-sport athlete—in high school

sports. It is the age of heightened intensity and competition—and increased spending by school districts and parents. Athletic directors and coaches share a consensus that today’s high school- ers are more skilled than ever. The changes have created a “professional” youth sports model designed to churn out elite athletes. That has placed added pressure on teenage athletes to train harder—and specialize earlier—if they hope to keep up.

The competition has spawned a cottage industry of instruction and training to help chil- dren reach their goals. The athletic instruction/training industry is estimated nationally to be a $4 billion business—and growing steadily in Minnesota and many other states. It is common to see children not only specializing in one sport, but also specializing in one position within that sport at a young age. There are fewer and fewer three-sport athletes in high schools. Parents are more involved. Consequently, children are better players. Elite club or AAU all-star teams exist in almost every sport, starting with children in early grade school. Opportunities for self-im- provement are as limitless as the athlete’s work ethic and parents’ checkbook. Camps and clinics exist for goalies and quarterbacks, for soccer players and jump shooters, for wrestlers and vol- leyball players. Children can choose between day camps, overnight camps, instruction-intensive camps, and specialized skill camps (e.g., pitching, batting, quarterback).

Specialized training centers have become a staple of high school training, especially among suburban athletes whose parents have the disposable income for such extras. They offer super- vised workouts by personal trainers, who combine conditioning with strength, agility, and speed training plus a recruiting service through which they attempt to link athletes with college coach- es by making physical profiles available on the Internet.

Sportsmanship The world of sport has never been perfect. Problems have ranged from spitballs to steroids,

from fixed games to brawls between athletes and fans. The origins of many of these troubles are difficult to pinpoint and eliminate, but lack of sportsmanship is not among them. Who hasn’t complained about a referee’s call? Who hasn’t heard someone holler, “Hey Coach! You’re an idiot!” Who has not seen competing athletes go nose-to-nose, ready to start throwing punches, before being separated?

Sportsmanship may seem like an odd concept in these days of million-dollar contracts and 24-hour-a-day television replays. But on the high school level, the troubles are—or at least should be—more manageable. Young athletes are not playing for money, their coaches certainly are not doing it for the paycheck, and nothing is truly on the line except pride and tradition. Yet problems persist.

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Recently, 116 boys’ soccer players were ejected from Minnesota high school games. In addi- tion, 136 players were ejected from boys’ hockey games (Minnesota High School Athletic Asso- ciation, 2014). The pressure to succeed, the pressure to win, the pressure to grab the golden ring of a college scholarship or a professional career has warped the sports world. Do theater owners allow people to scream, throw objects, and start fights at movies or concerts? Of course not, so why is it accepted at sporting events?

In quiet ways, away from the madding crowd, individuals and organizations are working toward more and better sportsmanship in almost all of the state high school associations. These associations are attempting to generally define sportsmanlike behavior as striving to succeed but committed to playing by the rules and observing ethical standards that take precedence over strategic gain when the two conflict. This view is universally admired, but fair play sometimes conflicts with the quest for victory. Herein lies the dilemma for coaches, administrators, parents, and student-athletes.

Substance Abuse Substance abuse is not new to athletes. Evidence indicates that athletes have sought and

used performance-enhancing drugs for centuries. Athletes in Greece and Rome used potions and substances, including hallucinogenic mushrooms, believed to improve physical perfor- mance. Strychnine and brandy was the potion of choice among European distance skaters dur- ing the 1700s and distance runners during the 1800s. Other drugs including opium, alcohol, caffeine, strychnine, ethyl ether, and nitroglycerine were also used during this period.

High school students abuse drugs (alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, and others) and use perfor- mance-enhancing drugs (steroids). The use pattern increases proportionately as the pressure to win accelerates. There are two basic answers to this problem. The first is to develop a sound comprehensive drug policy, and the second is to reduce the amount of pressure placed upon student-athletes to win.

Drug Testing A growing trend in high schools is to deter the use of performance-enhancing and/or rec-

reational drugs. High schools nationwide have enacted a drug policy that includes drug testing. Drug tests today are much more sophisticated and yield much more information than whether the student-athlete is using drugs. This intrusion into the individual’s privacy rights raises an issue for organizations wishing to test student-athletes (Wong, 2010). A comprehensive drug policy should include drug education, prevention, rehabilitation, and testing.

The leading case in drug testing of interscholastic student-athletes is Vernonia Sch. Dist. v. Acton (1995). The U.S. Supreme Court found in this case that the school’s interest in deterring drug use by school children was an important state interest. The court concluded that a drug problem largely fueled by the role model effect of athlete’s drug use, and of particular danger to athletes, is effectively addressed by the drug testing of athletes. Courts since this case have ruled in favor of drug testing programs as long as they fulfill a compelling need and the reasonableness requirement, that is, the objectives necessitating the implementation of a drug testing program will outweigh the potential invasion of privacy of the student-athletes. Finally, in Vernonia, the court clearly stated that athletes can be compelled to produce a urine sample.

Drug testing of high school students exploded after the Supreme Court ruled upon Ver- nonia Sch. Dist. v. Acton (1995). One of the main concerns about drug policies is the failure to provide sufficient due process to the student-athlete who tested positive. The key components of a sound drug policy include a clear drug testing procedure, a clear definition of probable cause or reasonable suspicion, confidentiality, due process, and sanctions to be imposed.

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Drug Prevention Many state associations (e.g., Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania,

and others) and high schools nationwide have developed and implemented drug prevention pro- grams for athletes. These programs have been focused on alcohol, nicotine, recreational drugs, and performance-enhancing substances.

The NFHS encourages state associations to be proactive regarding drug prevention. The NFHS (2014b) states in its philosophy statement, “…Students should be encouraged and sup- ported in their efforts to develop and maintain a lifestyle free from tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs” (para. 5). Furthermore, NFHS members associations should “…recognize the use of these substances as a significant health problem for students, resulting in negative effects on behavior, learning, and the total development of each individual” (para. 7).

Athletic administrators should be the leaders in developing and implementing a drug pre- vention program for their athletes. The resolution of this problem will affect the health and safety of the athletes. It also provides the administrators and coaches an opportunity to make a differ- ence in the lives of the athletes by enabling them to make wise behavioral choices about drugs.

References

Coakley, J. J. (2014). Sport in society: Issues and controversies (11th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw- Hill.

Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. Indiana Department of Education. (2014). Annual report on home schoolers in Indiana. Retrieved

from http://www.idoe.gov/homeschoolers_2013-14 Minnesota High School Athletic Association. (2014). Sportsmanship violations. Retrieved from

http://www.mhsaa.org/sportmanship National Federation of State High School Associations. (2014a). Average fees charged for athletics

and other activities. Retrieved from http://www.nfhs.org/average_athletic_fees National Federation of State High School Associations. (2014b). Mission statement. Retrieved

from http//:www.nfhs.org Sawyer, T. H., & Gimbert, T. L. (2014). Indiana LANSE (5th ed.). Terre Haute, IN: Indiana Center

for Sport Education. Sawyer, T. H., & Judge, L. W. (2012). The management of fitness, physical activity, recreation, and

sport. Urbana, IL: Sagamore. SBJnet. (2014). The growth of interscholastic sports 1970–2014. Retrieved from http://www.sbj.

net/The_Growth_of_Interscholastic_Sports_1970-2014 Vernonia Sch. Dist. v. Acton, 515 U.S. 646 (1995). Wong, G. M. (2010). Essentials of sports law (4th ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger.

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