The South Dakota High School Activities Association board of directors will meet today in Pierre to discuss and vote on numerous proposed changes to the state's athletic handbook.
The proposals come from the rules advisory committee in each sport, and were already put to a vote of the state's athletic directors in March. However, that was a non-binding advisory vote, designed only to provide guidance for the board of directors in today's vote.
Among the proposals in front of the board of directors today is one that would reinstate districts in Class B wrestling. The board had previously decided to eliminate districts at the Class B level, but a coaches vote at the state tournament in February showed interest in bringing them back next season.
The athletic directors also voted 27-14 in favor of bringing districts back in Class B, but the board does not necessarily have to follow that recommendation.
Also taken into consideration today will be a number of football proposals. One would cut the number of playoff teams in each class from 16 to eight, and another would start the season one week earlier. Those proposals however, drew almost no support from the ADs. They voted 104-11 against starting the season earlier and 113-4 against reducing the number of playoff teams.
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A number of significant basketball changes will also be discussed. The board will consider instituting the shot clock at the Class A and B levels, like Class AA level already utilizes. However, the ADs in both Class A and Class B showed little support for that proposal.
The athletic directors were more inclined to support a proposal that would essentially eliminate postseason district play in Class A and B basketball and volleyball. Instead of seeding teams within the district, teams would be seeded from top to bottom in the entire region. After two rounds of play, there would be four remaining teams in each region, which would then merge with its nearest region (Regions 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8), and be reseeded one through eight in four "Super Regionals."
After two more rounds of play, those 32 teams would be reduced to eight, and those teams would advance to the state tournament, which would remain unchanged. The athletic directors voted 58-34 in favor of such a change, but it will be left up to the board of directors today.
The board of directors today will also finalize the district and region realignments for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years. Those changes are expected to affect a number of area football teams in particular, most notably Howard, which was granted a petition to move from Class 11B to 9AA this year.
If the alignments are all passed as proposed, Winner would move from 11A to 11B, Mount Vernon and Corsica/Stickney would both play in 9A, Marty will move from 9B to 9AA, McCook Central/Montrose will play its initial season in 11B, Tripp-Delmont/Armour and Freeman will both move from 9AA to 9A, Scotland and Kimball will both move from 9A to 9B and Hanson will move from 9B to 9A.
