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Sportsmanship Has a Face. Yours!
Letter From the Commissioner
Have you ever thought of yourself as the face of sportsmanship?
I believe it is an important reminder as we enter into a new school year. We all need to remember that as high school student-athletes, coaches, athletic administrators, principals, and game officials, we are role models in our community. Our response to any given situation—whether it is favorable or unfavorable—is observed by everyone in our sphere of influence. How we act, or react, can be a green light in terms of encouraging others to do the same.
At the IHSAA, we've stepped up our efforts this school year to remind everyone of their responsibility to practice good sportsmanship. Not only have we sent all of our member high schools sportsmanship posters to display in high traffic areas, we will also be communicating directly with coaches and principals all year long about the role they play as advocates and practitioners of good sportsmanship. In addition, we have armed our high schools with fresh, new tools to use in reminding students that sportsmanship is everyone's responsibility, including theirs.
The need has never been more apparent. The reminders of poor sportsmanship are everywhere—on television, in the newspapers, and all over social media. There are baseball players getting ejected from key games, fights on the football field between players of opposing teams, athletic directors chasing referees down the sidelines, losing coaches blaming the officiating for a tough loss, winning coaches gloating over a shallow victory, the use of performance-enhancing drugs to gain a competitive edge, name-calling, taunting, profanity, excessive celebrating... The list goes on.
All of these examples, as isolated as some may be, are magnified many times over thanks to the overly-zealous, hyper-competitive media world in which we live.
That's why we need you! We need your consistent, steady example to follow the rules, respect the judgment of the game officials, and treat your opponents with respect. We need your self-control, your discipline, your emotional maturity, your high sense of fairness and fellowship.
We need for you to realize that, in your school community, you are the face of sportsmanship. And we need for you to govern yourself accordingly, in good times and in bad. Remember, others are watching.
Throughout this school year, the IHSAA will be promoting our sportsmanship campaign at all of our championship events. We encourage you to capture acts of good sportsmanship with your mobile device and share them with #FaceOfSportsmanship. Together, we can extol the virtues of education-based athletics through technology and provide a better environment for our student-athletes to perform.
Perhaps American philosopher, psychologist, and educator, William James, said it best. He once wrote, "Act as if what you do makes a difference. Because it does." Truer words were never spoken.
Cordially,
Bobby Cox
Commissioner
Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc.
Highlights From the 2014 IHSAA Annual Report
As we reported in our 2014 annual report, the IHSAA completed the 2013-14 school year with numbers that would even make Wall Street blush. Much of the credit goes to high school administrators and sports fans like you. Thank you!
Here are some of the reasons we can all be proud:
- Total Attendance for All 21 State Tournament Events: +2.1%
- Attendance for the Boys Basketball Tournament: +18%
- Attendance for the Football Tournament: +18%
- Attendance for the Football State Finals: +57%
- Total Tournament Revenue: $8,052,246
The Value of Being an IHSAA Member School
The amenities that the IHSAA provides member schools are services that schools do not have to budget and pay for, a significant point during this era of budgetary cutbacks and concerns. The benefits of being an IHSAA member are perhaps best illustrated by catastrophic medical insurance, which would be cost-prohibitive for many schools if they had to pay for it themselves.
- In the annual report, it was noted that the IHSAA distributed $2,566,142 in reimbursements and stipends to its 412 member schools during the 2012-13 school year.* This is approximately $250,000 more than it retained to operate the association during the same year.
- The IHSAA provides catastrophic medical insurance for the student-athletes enrolled in all 412 member schools during practices, interscholastic games, and tournament competition.
- The IHSAA provides rulebooks and other publications for all member high schools at no cost.
- Unlike many state associations, the IHSAA does not charge schools an annual membership fee.
- Unlike many state associations, the IHSAA does not charge schools tournament entry fees at any level.
- The IHSAA aggressively promotes the value of high school sports on a statewide basis. Schools received over $980,172 worth of radio and television exposure during the 2013-14 sports season.
- The IHSAA provides an array of web-based software products to its member schools at no charge. This service includes the administration of ArbiterSports, a platform to coordinate the licensure, scheduling, and rating of contest officials.
- The IHSAA underwrites seven tournament events that annually lose money in an effort to provide more opportunities for Indiana's high school students.
If you'd like a copy of the complete 2014 IHSAA annual report, please contact Chris Kaufman, Assistant Commissioner and Director of Communications.
*Note: Numbers for the 2013-14 school year are still being finalized.
2013-14 State Champions: Spring
Boys Track & Field
- Team: Gary West Side
Girls Track & Field
- Team: Lawrence Central
Girls Tennis
- Team: Carmel
Boys Golf
- Team: Columbus North
Softball
- 1A: North Miami
- 2A: South Spencer
- 3A: Leo
- 4A: Bloomington South
Baseball
- 1A: Shakamak
- 2A: Wapahani
- 3A: Andrean
- 4A: Noblesville
2013-14 Mental Attitude Award Winners: Spring
Boys Track & Field
- Calvin Kraft, Fishers
Girls Track & Field
- Holly Hankenson, Bellmont
Girls Tennis
- Bailey Padgett, Carmel
Boys Golf
- Michael VanDeventer, Columbus North
Softball
- 1A: Tailon Graber, North Daviess
- 2A: Chandra Schroeder, South Spencer
- 3A: Rachel Hanold, Gibson Southern
- 4A: Elizabeth Getz, Bloomington South
Baseball
- 1A: Brett Yeryar, Shakamak
- 2A: Collin Hoots, Wapahani
- 3A: Matthew Harpenau, Gibson Southern
- 4A: Nathan Will, Terre Haute North
- October 3-4: Girls Golf State Finals
- October 17-18: Boys Tennis State Finals (Team)
- October 24-25: Boys Tennis State Finals (Singles/Doubles)
- November 1: Boys & Girls Cross Country State Finals, Boys & Girls Soccer State Finals
- November 8: Volleyball State Finals
- November 28-29: Football State Finals