09/26/24 – Board of Control Approves Bass Fishing Site Rotation

September 26, 2024 2024-2025 News Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SEPT. 26, 2024

The KHSAA Board of Control conducted its second regularly scheduled meeting of the 2024-25 academic year on Thursday in Lexington, approving a four-year site rotation for the Operation UNITE Bass Fishing State Championships presented by UK HealthCare.

The Bass Fishing State Championships will debut at Lake Cumberland in Russell County in 2025 and 2027 and return to Kentucky Lake in Marshall County — where the event has been held for more than a decade since its inception — in 2026 and 2028.

“We have been blessed with tremendous growth since the bass fishing tournament first began in 2013,” said Commissioner Julian Tackett. “The fact that multiple entities are interested in hosting this championship is a testament to the great work of our schools, student-athletes and coaches, as well as our long-time partners at Major League Fishing. We are excited to see that growth continue in the coming years.”

Thursday’s meeting also included the formal approval of the proposals to amend Bylaws 5 and 23 that were passed at the KHSAA Annual Meeting on Sept. 17, as well as the introduction of new Board member Denny Williams of Louisville

The Board held more discussions and gathered information as part of its strategic goals and objectives review, including items that will be further discussed at a later meeting such as a review of girls’ wrestling weight classes, an update on participation in the sports of lacrosse and boys’ volleyball, discussions of postseason entry requirements for diving and pole vault and a report on alternate postseason tournament formats for soccer in Region 1 and baseball and softball in Region 6.

The Board also directed the Commissioner to review potential consideration of a reset of the expirations surrounding the Sports Safety Course as part of its ongoing data transition and discussed the timing of the planned survey regarding the use of a shot clock in the sport of basketball, an update on the four-year timeline of a new alignment for cross country and track & field classes and regions, a continued review of future football alignment criteria and a review of ongoing areas of focus regarding basketball alignment.

Additionally, the Board reviewed and accepted the following reports:

• The status of Bowling Green in compliance with the June 2022 agreed order;
• Further data to be gathered from advocates of the coach’s use of motorized carts in golf state championship play;
• Feedback from Association membership meetings;
• A regular update on the transition of the school data system; and 
• General discussion around eligibility provisions in other states.

– 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.