01/16/20 – Board Approves Site and Date for Esports Championship, Approves Extensive Survey of Officials’ Fees, Reviews Ongoing Operations

January 16, 2020 2019-2020 News Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 16, 2020

The Board of Control addressed several operational issues at its meeting at the KHSAA offices on Thursday. Among the actionable items on the agenda, the Board approved an offer from the University of Kentucky to host the upcoming esports state championship and approved the movement of five schools in Track & Field, as well as Cross Country, for the 2020-21 school year.

The University of Kentucky has offered to host the upcoming esports state championship on Jan. 30 and the Board accepted that proposal. UK has made a substantial investment into its Gatton Student Center as it expands its involvement in the world of competitive gaming.

“We are grateful to UK for reaching out to us to host a championship event in esports this year, allowing our competition and its participants to continue to receive outstanding support, ” said Commissioner Julian Tackett. “Their new facility is outstanding and will be great for our competition as we continue to evolve.”

Following a review of the enrollment figures reported to the Association, the Board approved the movement of five schools in the Track & Field and Cross Country alignment effective 2020-21. Per the Board’s adopted competition rules, the four-year average enrollments of the schools are compared with those same numbers that placed schools in the current alignment at the midpoint of the four-year alignment. A school whose current four-year average places it into a different class and whose enrollment has changed 10% from the prior four-year average is slated to move. Due to that policy, Moore High School and Collins High School will move from Class 2A to Class 3A for 2020-21. In addition, Fort Campbell, Harlan County and Jeffersontown will be permitted to move to a lower class if their Designated Representatives desire to move.

“The Board’s midpoint review allows us to take a data-driven look at the enrollments of our schools in Track & Field and Cross Country, as well as football, and adjust only those who have had significant shifts,” said Tackett. “For this year, this review is for the running sports and next year, the Board will be able to review football at its midpoint of the four-year alignment.”

The Board also approved a survey of officials’ fees from the surrounding states as well as the other states in NFHS Section II with a report back in February.

“Rather than simply look at the sports due for revision, the Board felt it time that a more comprehensive look at fees be done,” said Tackett. “We continue to see a decline in overall officials’ licensing and need to be sure that we are able to maintain our current roster as well as aid in the licensing of new officials as our current roster continues toward retirement age. Fees for baseball and softball officials have been basically frozen for eight years and we were due to review those two, as well as volleyball and field hockey. It just seems a more comprehensive review will be better for our member schools, as well as the licensed officials, and allow both groups to make any necessary future plans.”

In other action Thursday, the Board:

• Approved revision to the RPI calculation for football including assigning a value for out of state teams to the prior year average winning percentage of Kentucky schools and fixing the class value in football games to the class of the reviewed team when dealing with a team that has withdrawn from competition.
• Approved using the RPI for use breaking intra-district three-way ties in football district (after considering head to head matches) instead of the decades old point system that has been in use.
• Heard a report on wrestling that nationwide numbers on boys’ participation is decreasing, while girls’ participation is increasing. The KHSAA is conducting a survey to gauge the interest in sponsoring a state championship for girls.
• Received a report on the growth in esports participation as nearly 1,000 students are currently participating, up from 412 last year.
• Scheduled a discussion and the review of continuing to sanction a state championship in field hockey for the February Board meeting agenda. Interested parties will be invited to attend to speak or answer questions.
• Received a briefing on specifics surrounding both the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16® and the Mingua Beef Jerky Girls Sweet 16® to be held in March.
• Received a status report on each of the ongoing Sports and Sport-Activities as well as championships conducted since the last Board of Control meeting.
• Was given an update about an upcoming survey on dance state championship scheduling.

– KHSAA –

About the Kentucky High School Athletic Association
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association was organized in 1917 and is the agency designated by the Kentucky Department of Education to manage high school athletics in the Commonwealth. The Association is a voluntary nonprofit 501(c)3 organization made up of 280 member schools both public and non-public. The KHSAA awards 215 state championships to 51 teams and 164 individuals in 13 sports and 6 sport-activities, funds catastrophic insurance coverage for its more than 106,000 rostered member school student-athletes, provides coaching education and sports safety programs for more than 12,000 coaches, and licenses and facilitates the distribution of training material for over 4,000 contest officials.