News
Pick Up the Pace!
Letter From Commissioner Bobby Cox
One of the more interesting initiatives the IHSAA is currently engaged with is a collaboration between the Indiana High School Golf Coaches Association, the Indiana Golf Association, and the Indiana PGA regarding the pace of play in junior golf.
Slow play in the sport of golf has beleaguered virtually every level of golf for decades. From the casual Friday afternoon choose-up to a high school state championship, painful pre-shot routines and paralysis by analysis has gripped our game. In a recent PGA event, one player took over four minutes on the par 5, 18th hole to decide what shot to hit. After an extended mental battle, the player determined to lay up short of the green. This episode, coupled with a strong field of the best players in the world making similar determinations throughout the day, extended a final round played in threesomes to nearly six hours.
Unfortunately, junior golfers around the country witnessed this as an acceptable example of how the game should be played. The game truly does not have to be played this slow.
Recently, the IHSAA has hosted meetings with leaders of the sport in our state to formulate plans to educate junior golfers with respect to pace of play. Our collective labors rest in the hope that we can illustrate and emphasize points that will increase the pace of play and improve the quality of the event.
Our plans include the production of an instructional video featuring top professional and amateur golfers from Indiana, identifying and demonstrating ideas to improve pace of play. This video will become mandatory viewing for all high school golfers and coaches in our state. Additionally, the IHSAA and the Indiana PGA will pilot a program during regular season play requiring players to complete nine holes of golf in two hours and 15 minutes. Procedures and guidelines will be in place to assist players and ensure their successful completion of the stipulated round.
These measures and more are being implemented to improve the player and spectator experience in one of America’s most treasured sporting endeavors. Players at all levels will benefit from the cultural change our efforts will produce. Cynics may chime in and state, “just penalize the slow players.” While that approach has been applied throughout the years, it has not appreciably improved pace of play. More importantly, the IHSAA continues to adhere to the notions of education-based athletics in our state and a more instructional-based, scholarly approach is now necessary to combat this problem.
We are enthusiastic about our progress and extend our sincere thanks to the dedicated leaders of golf in our state for their contributions to this important enterprise. Play on!
Cordially,
Bobby Cox
Commissioner
Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc.
Basketball Day in Indiana
The IHSAA winter tournament schedule has turned its full attention to basketball as the boys tournament gets underway. While other states tout a strong high school basketball pedigree, there is no substitute for Hoosier Hysteria.
Here’s still another example that Hoosier Hysteria is alive and well. The second annual “Basketball Day in Indiana” showcased Hoosier basketball at all levels of play—from high school to the NBA—and featured nine games with over 13 total hours of coverage.
The day tipped off with three high school games from Bankers Life Fieldhouse, featuring two top-ranked matchups: Girls Class 4A preseason #2 Pike vs. #3 North Central and boys preseason 4A #1 New Albany vs. 3A #16 Silver Creek. Later in the day, Class 3A #1 Crispus Attucks played #8 Broad Ripple at Grand Park Fieldhouse in Westfield, Indiana. All of the action was broadcasted by the IHSAA’s television partner, Fox Sports Indiana.
After an action-packed morning, the excitement continued with an afternoon focused on three college basketball games broadcast simultaneously. Purdue's women's team took on IU at Assembly Hall, Nebraska's men's team squared off against Purdue at Mackey Arena, and the Seton Hall men's team visited Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Finally, the evening culminated when the Indiana Pacers took on the Chicago Bulls at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The IHSAA Champions Network is the best resource to watch the Boys Basketball State Championships if you’re not able to attend in person. Presented by Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, this integrated network blankets the state with coverage, consisting of Fox Sports Indiana Television, 49 terrestrial radio stations, and livestreaming at IHSAAtv.org as well as the IHSAA TV app. Visit IHSAA.org and follow IHSAAtv on Twitter to stay in the game!
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Extends Its Partnership With the IHSAA for Three More Years
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance has agreed to continue its presenting sponsorship of the IHSAA Champions Network for three more years! The network includes the IHSAA’s statewide 40+ station radio network, statewide coverage of IHSAA state championship events on Fox, and the streaming of IHSAA regular season and tournament events on the web.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance was the IHSAA’s first corporate partner, beginning its sponsorship of high school sports in Indiana 35 years ago. You can help support this extraordinary partnership by inviting your hometown agent to quote your car, home, and life insurance, by welcoming representatives of Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance to the athletic events at your school, and by promoting the partnership every chance you get.
Thank you, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance!
These Student-Athletes Are Region Proud!
This year, the IHSAA is highlighting student-athletes in “The Region”—a collection of five diverse counties in northwest Indiana—through a series of newspaper ads. The Chicago media market dominates northwest Indiana, so it is sometimes hard to tell the story of education-based athletics in the far northwest corner of our state.
To remedy this, we invited 42 member schools to nominate a varsity student-athlete who excels in mental attitude, athletic ability, scholarship, and leadership. A total of 27 students were nominated by their principals and athletic directors and are highlighted in a series of newspaper ads in The Times of Northwest Indiana.
These ads point out that these student-athletes, and hundreds more just like them, have a bright future, in part, thanks to their participation in education-based athletics. The Times of Northwest Indiana is supporting this effort by running stories of former Indiana high school athletes that have gone on to accomplish great things in the area after completing their high school careers. Here’s an example of one of our ads.
How Have You Shared Your Face of Sportmanship?
For the third consecutive year, the IHSAA is using social media to spread the word about the importance of good sportsmanship when playing, coaching, or cheering on high school teams. The multi-platform campaign, integrated through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, encourages spontaneous acts of sportsmanship by member schools, student-athletes, and the parents and fans who support them.
The figures tell a great story—the IHSAA’s social media audiences are at an all-time high with over 113,000 followers on Twitter, 7,800 on Facebook, and 2,500 on Instagram—the largest of any of the 51 state associations. With this high following comes an increased awareness of the #FaceOfSportsmanship conversation online. In 2017, the hashtag #FaceOfSportsmanship garnered over 33 million impressions across all social media platforms.
Here is an example of this year’s #FaceOfSportsmanship social media posts. Remember to share your school’s #FaceOfSportsmanship!
Mental Attitude Award Recipients: Fall 2017
Girls Golf
- Kayla Benge, Plainfield
Boys Tennis
- Eddie Prein, North Central (Indianapolis)
Boys Soccer
- 1A: Austin Wagner, Covenant Christian
- 2A: Ben Loshe, Fort Wayne Concordia
- 3A: Pete Newton, Harrison
Girls Soccer
- 1A: Francesca Zeitler, Wheeler
- 2A: Caitlin Casey, South Bend Saint Joseph
- 3A: Kristina Lynch, Penn
Boys Cross Country
- Connor Goetz, Carroll (Fort Wayne)
Girls Cross Country
- Katherine Modrall, Brebeuf Jesuit
Volleyball
- 1A: Sydney Schoen, Hauser
- 2A: Alli Stumler, Christian Academy of Indiana
- 3A: Grace Roudebush, Brebeuf Jesuit
- 4A: Alex Equihua, Crown Point
Football
- 1A: Garrett Schroder, Pioneer
- 2A: Jayce Harter, Southridge
- 3A: Dillon Howell, Pioneer
- 4A: Jayden Williamson, East Central
- 5A: Kyle Wade, Kokomo
- 6A: Tommy McDonald, Ben Davis
State Champions: Fall 2017
Girls Golf
- Team: Zionsville
- Individual: Kayla Benge, Plainfield
Boys Tennis
- Team: Carmel
- Singles: Patrick Fletchall, Carmel
- Doubles: Timmy Dixon & Drew Michael, Carmel
Boys Soccer
- 1A: Fort Wayne Canterbury
- 2A: Evansville Memorial
- 3A: Harrison (West Lafayette)
Girls Soccer
- 1A: Evansville Mater Dei
- 2A: Evansville Memorial
- 3A: Penn
Boys Cross Country
- Team: Carmel
- Individual: Gabe Fendel, Hamilton Southeastern
Girls Cross Country
- Team: Zionsville
- Individual: Emma Wilson, Greencastle
Volleyball
- 1A: Lafayette Central Catholic
- 2A: Andrean
- 3A: New Castle
- 4A: Avon
Football
- 1A: Pioneer
- 2A: Southridge
- 3A: Evansville Memorial
- 4A: East Central
- 5A: Columbus East
- 6A: Ben Davis
- February 24: Girls Basketball State Finals
- March 10: Gymnastics State Finals
- March 24: Boys Basketball State Finals