08/02/24 – Board of Control Conducts First Meeting of 2024-25

August 2, 2024 2024-2025 News Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AUG. 2, 2024

The KHSAA Board of Control conducted its first regularly scheduled meeting of the 2024-25 academic year on Friday in Newport, approving a review of proposals to be considered at the 2024 Annual Meeting and approving competition rules information regarding three sports and two sport-activities.

A two-day series of meetings began with an orientation for new and returning Board members and then launched into the full Board work session on Thursday, followed by the conducting of Friday’s full Board meeting. The Board and staff welcomed new Board members Noel Crum of Stambaugh, Chuck Mullins of Hazard and Coy Samons of Murray, as well as new Assistant Commissioner Abby Jackson.

“This meeting offered an opportunity to help the Board members become familiar with both new Board and staff members, as well as lengthy discussions about the future of the important work that they do,” said Commissioner Julian Tackett. “The wide variety of our Board membership was evident again at this meeting and is key to ensuring that all viewpoints around issues are known and considered before making changes to what is so valued by our member schools.”

The proposals dealt with a variety of issues, from the restoration of eligibility of a student failing the first-day credit period to the alignment of Bylaw 23 starts for the sport-activities.

The Board also directed staff to develop a reporting mechanism and review regulatory amendments that would compel name, image and likeness recipients to report such agreements to the designated representative of the member school to assist in ensuring compliance with Bylaw 1.

“Our state has long allowed NIL under the laws adopted by the General Assembly for appropriate NIL awards, but we want to be sure our schools and their athletic programs don’t face issues for things of which they are unaware,” said Tackett. “This is not intended to be an approval requirement by our schools or extra work, but a simple notification process to protect the member school athletic programs.”

The Board also set season limitations for the first-year championship sports of boys’ volleyball, boys’ lacrosse and girls’ lacrosse. The Board determined the season windows for start and end from the May meeting were accurate and appropriate, while amending the contest limits to 21 for girls’ lacrosse and 25 for boys’ volleyball from the original draft. The limit of games for boys’ lacrosse will remain at the originally proposed 18 contests.

In a change to Dance State Championship entry, the maximum squad size limit in all divisions was adjusted to 40 to align with the Universal Dance Association competitions, as were the Hip-Hop championships for 2024. In the future, competition will be divided into multiple divisions if the individual dance competition styles have an average of 40 entries in at least three consecutive years.

An adjustment to the Game Day division at the Competitive Cheer State Championships was also approved to more closely align with the Universal Cheerleaders Association and assist the member schools in all levels of competition.

The Board approved the change of indoor track competition rules to more closely align event listings with the NFHS Track & Field Rules Book. No conversions from similar events will be accepted for the 2025 season, and all qualification performances must come from the specific event.

After a favorable annual review by the Board, the contract of the Commissioner was once again extended for another year, as was the contract of the General Counsel. The Board also adopted objectives for the 2024-25 school year in compliance with state regulations.

Additionally, the Board reviewed and accepted the following reports:

• An update on the four-year timeline of a new alignment for cross country and track & field classes consistent with the two-year timeline of the current football alignment;
• The status of Bowling Green in compliance with the June 2022 agreed order;
• The closing of a January 2023 matter involving Ashland Blazer;
• An interpretation of golf playing rules involving the prohibited use of motorized carts;
• A regular update on the transition of the school data system;
• An update on candidacy member schools; and
• The status of participation lists, Title IX reports and prime date penalties.

– 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 290 member schools, both public and non-public. The KHSAA awards 229 state championships to 59 teams and 178 individuals in 13 sports and six sport-activities, funds catastrophic insurance coverage for its more than 109,000 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.