NEBRASKA SCHOOL ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATION

OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF CONTROL

The Board of Control met May 25, 2007, at the Association Office, Lincoln, Nebraska, with members present as follows.

District I -- Dr. Brian Maher, Centennial

District II -- Dr. Bob Reznicek, Omaha Westside

District III -- Glen Morgan, Neligh-Oakdale

District IV -- Max Kroger, Ord

District V -- Dr. Dallas Watkins, Dundy County

District VI -- Kent Halley, Mitchell

Also in attendance were Rick Moses, Nebraska Department of Education liaison; Jay Bellar, Battle Creek; Terry Kenealy, York; Ron Powell, Lincoln Journal Star; Stu Pospisil, Omaha World Herald; Steve Johnsen, Nebraska Coaches Association; Wally McNaught and Ray Ehlers, Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame; Randy Bates, Norris High School; Bob Fuller, Plattsmouth High School; Lou Varley, Nebraska City High School; and Mark Wortman, Elkhorn High School.

Chairman Bob Reznicek called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m.

1. It was moved by Glen Morgan, seconded by Kent Halley, to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Motion Carried, 6-0. Items approved on the Consent Agenda included approval of the amended Agenda; approval of the minutes of the April 12 and 13, 2007, Regular Board of Control meeting; approval of the minutes of the April 13, 2007, Representative Assembly; approval of the minutes of the May 11, 2007, special telephonic meeting; approval of the April 2007 Financial Statements; approval of cooperative sponsorship renewals for Ogallala and Paxton High Schools in wrestling, Columbus Scotus Central Catholic and Columbus Lakeview High Schools in baseball, Schuyler Central, Howells and Clarkson High Schools in softball, Columbus Lakeview and Twin River High Schools in wrestling, Bruning-Davenport and Deshler High Schools in wrestling, Chadron, Crawford, and Hay Springs High Schools in softball, Wahoo and Cedar Bluffs High Schools in wrestling, and Nebraska City and Lourdes Central Catholic High School in tennis, cross country and softball; and approval of new cooperative sponsorships for Lutheran High Northeast and Norfolk Catholic High Schools in softball and O’Neill and St. Mary’s High Schools in softball.

2. It was moved by Brian Maher, seconded by Max Kroger, to adopt the revisions to the NSAA Wrestling Weight Management Program as recommended by the Weight Management Committee. Motion Carried, 6-0. The revisions addressed the following areas: appeal process, medical clearance, data entry and recordkeeping, and out-of-state and non-varsity weigh-ins.

3. It was moved by Bob Reznicek, seconded by Dallas Watkins, to approve Omaha Roncalli Catholic’s request to opt up to Class B in all activities for the 2007-08 school year. Motion Carried, 6-0.

4. It was moved by Brain Maher, seconded by Max Kroger, based on unique circumstances resulting from a consolidation of a school pulling out of unification, to establish Hitchcock County and Dundy County’s 2007-08 enrollments for classification purposes based on documentation received in the NSAA office by June 1, 2007. Motion Carried, 5 For (I, II, III, IV, VI), 1 Abstention (V).

5. It was moved by Glen Morgan, seconded by Kent Halley, to establish third-place games in boys and girls basketball for 2007-08 on a trial basis with the consolation games to be played at Pershing Center with a third-place trophy to be presented to the winner. If those games prove successful, consideration will be given to implement third-place games and awards in other NSAA activities for 2008-09. Motion Carried, 6-0.

6. The Board discussed alternative seeding dates for Class A District seeding; however, no action was taken.

7. It was moved by Glen Morgan, seconded by Dallas Watkins, to establish the 2011 District Music Contest dates as April 14, 15, and 16 and April 18, 19, and 20, as recommended. Motion Carried, 6-0.

8. The Board heard a report from Ray Ehlers and Wally McNaught of the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame concerning the request for continued NSAA funding support for the Hall of Fame. The Board will further discuss this topic at their summer retreat.

9. It was moved by Dallas Watkins, seconded by Kent Halley, to adopt a corporate resolution, authorizing the Executive Director to make necessary decisions and sign all documents for the new building project on behalf of the Board of Control. Motion Carried, 6-0.

10. It was moved by Brian Maher, seconded by Kent Halley, to ratify the referendum vote by the schools on the constitutional and eligibility proposals passed at the 2007 Representative Assembly.

Motion Carried, 6-0.

11. It was moved by Max Kroger, seconded by Glen Morgan, to reaffirm the NSAA’s property rights for NSAA subdistrict, district, playoff, and state competition, including the rights for Internet audio and video streaming of postseason contests. The Board took the position that the competing schools retain the property rights for regular season contests. Motion Carried, 6-0.

12. It was moved by Max Kroger, seconded by Brian Maher, to adopt approved rulings regarding district music electronic entries and late entries as follows:

7.6.2.1

(1) Due to the transition to the electronic submittal of District Music Contest entries, effective with the 2007-08 school year, no hard copy entry forms will be accepted. All schools must complete and submit their District Music Contest entries electronically no later than midnight Central time, March 20, prior to their contests.

(2) Any school that does not submit the electronic entry by the deadline will be notified by the NSAA and given two school days to submit their electronic form. A $500 late administrative fee will be paid to the NSAA in addition to regular District Contest fees for the late entry to be allowed within this two-day period.

(3) A school may make additions to their contest entries after the entry deadline with permission from their contest site director, providing they do not exceed the legal number of entries for their class. A $50 administrative fee will be paid by the requesting school to the contest site for each added entry.

7.6.2.2

Due to the transition to the electronic submittal of District Music Contest entries, effective with the 2007-2008 school year, payment for contest entry fees must be sent to the contest site address specified on the electronic entry submission acknowledgement immediately after the March 20 deadline unless payment is required at a different time by the host director or NSAA district involved. Schools will not be allowed to participate at music contest until the designated district host receives the required fees.

Motion Carried, 6-0.

14. Dallas Watkins was excused from the meeting from 10:00 to 11:15 a.m. for another commitment.

15. It was moved by Glen Morgan, seconded by Brian Maher, to adopt an approved ruling regarding the number of quarters students may play in non-varsity basketball competition as follows:

3.11.1.5 If a student participates in two non-varsity games on the same day, and if the length of the quarters of at least one of those non-varsity games exceeds six minutes, the students shall be limited to six quarters of participation per day.

Motion Carried, 5 For (I, II, III, IV, VI), 1 Absent (V).

16. It was moved by Max Kroger, seconded by Glen Morgan, to adopt Approved Ruling 3.3.7 regarding student participation in district and state contests as follows:

3.3.7

1. In all athletic activities, teams wishing to enter a subdistrict, district, or state contest shall have participated in a minimum of five interschool varsity contests prior to the subdistrict, district, or state contest.

(a) Exceptions to the requirements for a team that has not participated in at least five interschool varsity contests would be considered if the team was unable to participate if weather conditions forced a cancellation of scheduled contests. Other extenuating circumstances would be considered by the Executive Director on a case-by-case basis.

2. In order to participate in a district or state tournament, a student is required to have been a member of the school’s team for at least twenty school days prior to the first day of the subdistrict, district, or state tournament.

(a) Exceptions to the requirements for a student who is not a member of the school team for twenty school days would be considered if an individual was unable to participate because of illness, injury, or transfer from another high school. School, team, or game suspensions, regardless of the underlying cause, shall not be considered as exceptions to this participation rule.

3. In all athletic activities, students wishing to enter a subdistrict, district, or state contest shall have been available to participate in at least 30% of the school’s varsity interschool contests prior to the subdistrict, district, or state contest.

(a) Exceptions to the requirements for a student who has not been available to participate in at least 30% of the school’s varsity interschool contests would be considered if an individual was unable to participate because of illness, injury, transfer from another high school, or if weather conditions forced a cancellation of scheduled contests. School, team, or game suspensions, regardless of the underlying cause, shall not be considered as exceptions to this participation rule.

(b) When determining whether a student has been available for 30% of the school’s varsity interschool contests, one would divide the number of varsity interschool contests for which the student was available by the school’s total number of varsity interschool contests; all decimals .1 or above would be rounded up to the next higher whole number.

(c) The term “available to participate” means that the student was a bona fide member of the team, eligible to participate for the school at some level of competition in the sport, not suspended from participation in activities for violation of school, team, or NSAA rules, and not involved in outside participation activities (exception: Olympic Development Program or national team activities as approved by NSAA.)

4. For situations pertaining to eligibility to participate in district or state contests that are not specifically addressed by these guidelines, the Executive Director shall have the authority to waive membership and participation requirements on a case-by-case basis.

Motion Carried, 5 For (I, II, III, IV, VI), 1 Absent (V).

17. It was moved by Glen Morgan, seconded by Kent Halley, to adopt Approved Ruling 3.5.1 regarding participation eligibility for district and state competition as follows:

3.5.1

1. Eligibility for District/State Competition. To be eligible to participate in a district and/or state contest, a student shall have been a member of the school’s team and shall have been available to participate in at least eighty percent (80%) of the school's scheduled interschool contests and not have missed more than twenty percent (20%) of the school's scheduled contests because of participating in non-high school competition.

(a) The term “available to participate” means that the student was a bona fide member of the team, eligible to participate for the school at some level of competition in the sport, not suspended from participation in activities for violation of school, team, or NSAA rules, and not involved in outside participation activities (exception: Olympic Development Program or approved National Team activities.)

(b) The term, "school's scheduled interschool contests," is defined as those contests which appear on the school's varsity schedule at the beginning of the season. An exception to this requirement will be considered if a student was unable to participate because of injury, illness, or had transferred from another high school.

Motion Carried, 5 For (I, II, III, IV, VI), 1 Abstention (V).

18. It was moved by Max Kroger, seconded by Glen Morgan to reconsider Approved Ruling 3.5.1 regarding participation eligibility for district and state competition. Motion Carried, 5 For (I, II, III, IV, VI), 1 Absent (V).

19. It was moved by Glen Morgan, seconded by Brian Maher, to adopt Approved Ruling 3.5.1 regarding participation eligibility for district and state competition as follows:

3.5.1

(a) The term “available to participate” means that the student was a bona fide member of the team, eligible to participate for the school at some level of competition in the sport, and not involved in outside participation activities (exception: Olympic Development Program or national team activities as approved by the NSAA.)

Motion Carried, 5 For (I, II, III, IV, VI), 1 Absent (V).

20. Dr. Tenopir reported on infractions and the resulting sanctions against schools and individuals. Those

infractions included the following: Norfolk High School, participation by two boys golfer in outside participation, one contest suspension each; Palmyra High School, participation by boys golfer in outside participation, one contest suspension; Kimball High School, participation by boys golfer in outside participation, one contest suspension; Omaha Cross Catholic High School, violation by baseball coach of sportsmanship ejection requirements, suspension for remainder of the season and letters of reprimand to the school and coach; and Elkhorn High School, participation by boys golfer in outside participation, one contest suspension.

21. It was moved by Brian Maher, seconded by Dallas Watkins, to adopt an approved ruling dealing with wild card points when a school forfeits the remainder of their contest schedule as follows:

3.3.1.2

2. When a school’s varsity team is unable to complete the season, those remaining teams on that school’s regular season schedule shall receive forfeit wins for those scheduled contests and shall be awarded wild card points for those forfeit wins. Wild card points will be determined by the forfeiting team’s record at the time of seeding for postseason competition.

Motion Carried, 6-0.

22. It was moved by Brian Maher, seconded by Max Kroger, to deny South Sioux City High School’s request to schedule baseball games with schools from South Dakota, as baseball is not an association-sanctioned activity in South Dakota. Motion Carried, 6-0.

23. The Board discussed a request to endorse a research study by Creighton University on skeletal health of children and adolescents; however, no action was taken.

24. A committee of Class B schools met with the Board to discuss the possibility of a change for Class B football schools, starting the football season one week early, continuing with nine regular season games, and playing one football playoff game per week. The committee reported that all Class B schools supported the concept, with schools reportedly willing to accept schedules that potentially did not allow for out-of-state or out-of-class games. It was moved by Brian Maher, seconded by Dallas Watkins, to survey the Class B schools on acceptance of an alternative football playoff format. Motion Carried, 6-0.

25. The Board recognized and complimented Bob Reznicek for his contributions to the NSAA during his

year of service as the Chairman of the Board of Control.

26. The Board expressed appreciation to Glen Morgan and Brian Maher for their service to the NSAA

Board of Control. Mr. Morgan will be retiring from his school position, Dr. Maher will leave District I to become Superintendent of the Kearney Public Schools, and will be leaving the Board of Control, effective with this meeting. Mr. Morgan and Dr. Maher served the Association, member schools, and Nebraska students in an exemplary fashion.

27. The Board expressed appreciation to Dr. Tenopir and the NSAA staff for their efforts during this past year.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:45 p.m.

___________________________

Debra Velder

Associate Director