STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The member schools of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association passed four amendments to the Constitution, Bylaws and Rules of Eligibility and conducted other membership business at the 129th Annual Meeting at the Sentry Insurance Theater today.
Two of the approved amendments impact the membership’s Rules of Eligibility. After voting down a similar proposal last year, the members voted 293-108 to approve the proposed Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) language, making Wisconsin one of more than 40 states that permit student-athletes to enter into NIL opportunities. The approved language permits NIL activities that are not associated or identified with their respective school team, school, conference or the WIAA and are in accordance with other prohibited NIL activities, including language attempting to deter undue influence to transfer schools.
“With today’s vote, member schools have opted to join a growing list of states that allow student athletes to capitalize on their athletic talents in a way that is similar to students with other valued talents and skills,” Executive Director Stephanie Hauser said. “At its core, the WIAA is charged with promoting fairness and sportsmanship while protecting the integrity of the game–something I believe this NIL language preserves.”
The other amendment affecting the Rules of Eligibility, which was advanced as a recommendation of the Calendar and Contact Ad-Hoc Committee, expands the opportunities for summer coaching contact in all WIAA-sponsored sports. Coaches and members of a school’s team may now voluntarily assemble without restriction from June 1-June 30 and from July 7-July 31, except football, which requires coaching contact to conclude one week prior to the start of fall practice. No school, sport-specific coach contact will be permitted from July 1-July 6. The membership approved the amendment by a 294-106 vote.
One of the approved amendments results in a change to the Constitution. The membership voted 393-17 to allow ninth-grade teams to play the same number of contests as allowed in the Season Regulations for junior varsity and varsity teams.
The membership elected to maintain the current process for applying the performance factor for all sports with a team qualifying component. The Constitutional amendment advanced directly to the Annual Meeting by petition that would have excluded cross country from applying the competitive balance performance factor procedure was voted down by a 161-241 vote.
The one amendment impacting the Bylaws received membership approval by a 335-67 tally. In addition to the current one-game suspension, a spectator ejected from a contest is now required to complete the free online NFHS Sportsmanship Course available on the NFHSLearn.com website. The completed course certificate must be submitted to school officials before attending any future home athletic events.
The membership also voted 390-5 in support of two editorial changes clarifying Board of Control election language outlined in the Constitution and the performance factor procedures stated in Appendix N of the Senior High Handbook. The edits do not change any existing rules or interpretations of the rules. The changes only serve as clarifications to the existing rule or interpretation.
In the Director’s Report, Hauser presented a sports-themed message in recognition of the NFL Draft held in Green Bay this week. Her comments conveyed her vision on moving education-based athletics forward and adapting to changes in the interscholastic athletics landscape, as well as expressing her appreciation for the efforts of committee members and school leaders that contribute to the membership’s governance.
Hauser highlighted maintaining and building the WIAA legacy, which included the announcement of the WIAA Foundation, which will be formally introduced at the Area Meetings in fall. She also introduced the launching of the first-ever WIAA Strategic Planning Process beginning with a member survey to collect the schools’ voices for future planning.
In addition, she shared that the WIAA is in good financial standing. With 85 percent of revenue generated by Tournament Series attendance, last year’s 1.3 million spectators allowed the Board of Control to recently approve tournament-related school reimbursements that will be approximately $4 million in 2025-26. Her comments also alluded to the first year success of the Student-Athlete Leadership Team and securing facility agreements for the State Tournaments. She also acknowledged the need to confront persistent challenges to the membership’s rules and governance.
Hauser commended the dedication of more than 10,000 licensed officials and recognized the conducting of the first-ever survey to inquire how to effectively support and recruit officials. Additionally, she extended respect to former WIAA Assistant Director Karen Kuhn, who passed away in November, and acknowledged the career of Assistant Director Tom Shafranski, who retired in February.
The executive staff responded to 10 pre-submitted requests addressing five open forum topics, including the petition for the performance factor amendment involving cross country, coaches’ contact during the summertime, transgender participation policy and electronic seeding for the Tournament Series. In addition, Co-chairs Jake Beschta and Janel Batten presented an update on the efforts and progress of the Calendar & Contact Committee.
Reid Hansche of Westosha Central High School was recognized as the Wisconsin Spirit of Sport Award recipient, sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. Also recognized were the representatives of the 27 schools that received the WIAA Award of Excellence in 2023-24.
In the 2025-26 Board of Control elections, Cory Hinkel, the current Board president and district administrator at Luck was elected to a second three-year term on the Board as the District 1 representative. Bryan Davis, the superintendent of the Oshkosh Area School District, will continue serving after being elected to a three-term representing District 4. Dennis Birr, the superintendent at Fall River, will serve a second consecutive three-year term representing District 6. Ryan McMillen, athletic director and assistant principal at Muskego, was re-elected for a three-year term representing District 7. Ted Knutson, the president at Aquinas, will return to the Board to serve a three-year term as the private school at-large representative. Knutson formerly served on the Board from 2012-19.
In the 2025-26 Advisory Council elections, Joe Brandl, the principal at Plymouth, was re-elected to a three-year term as a large school representative. Joseph Schneider, the athletic director and assistant principal at Monona Grove, was also elected to a three-year term representing large schools. Jerry Pritzl, the district administrator at Poynette, and Vincent Propson, the athletic director and principal at Ripon, were both elected to a three-year term representing medium-sized schools. Kyle Luedtke, superintendent at Frederic, returns to the Council to serve a three-year term representing small schools after formerly serving from 2016-19 and 2020-23. Craig Anderson Ruskin, superintendent at Pepin, was also elected to a three-year term as a small school representative.
Approximately 456 representatives from 411 schools were registered to attend the meeting. The WIAA, as defined by its Constitution, is a private, voluntary, unincorporated, and nonprofit organization. The membership oversees interscholastic athletic programs for 513 senior high schools and 36 junior high/middle level schools in its membership.
