Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Minutes of Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors

June 8, 2023

The regular spring meeting of the Board of Directors was held in a hybrid format on June 8, 2023.

The meeting was called to order by President Ingold at 10:09 a.m. The following members were present in person: Haupt, Hogue, McAlister, Yoder, Johnson, Ingold, Chavers, Marquardt, Isenhower, Vanausdoll, and Davis. Present via Zoom were Scott and Duncan. Also present were Nicole Schaefbauer, Chris Frasco, Kristen D’Alfonso and Charlie Shempf from the IESA staff. Not present were Marski and Drees.

Motion by Hogue/Vanausdoll to approve the April 2023, regular meeting minutes as presented. Carried.

Mrs. Schaefbauer presented the Treasurer's report. Motion by Hogue/Yoder to approve the Treasurer's report as of May, 2023. Carried.

Division Reports

Division B - Dr. Hogue was contacted by a potential new member with some policy and procedure questions. Mrs. Schaefbauer did speak with the school shortly before the meeting to answer their questions.

Division E - Mr. Yoder was contacted regarding the work of the Public/Non-Boundary Committee. Mr. Yoder shared his work with some of the committee members on the development of a survey that will be distributed with the membership in August.

Division H - Mr. Ingold was contacted by a member of his division with a concern about the participation of non-boundary schools in the post-season. A brief discussion was had regarding the work of the Public/Non-Boundary Committee and on their development of a membership survey.

Administrative Reports

Charlie Shempf, Assistant Executive Director - Shared with the Board the selection of Dan Newkirk as a wrestling Grand Marshal. Updated the Board on an upcoming meeting with the BOS Center in Springfield as a potential site of the IESA Chess State Tournament. The contract with the Peoria Civic Center will expire after the 2024 tournament. Reviewed the IESA Bowling State Tournament. Updated the Board on the organizational status of the upcoming baseball state tournament.

Kristen D'Alfonso, Assistant Executive Director - Shared music updates with the Board. Updated the Board on the organizational status of the upcoming softball state tournament.

Chris Frasco, Associate Executive Director - Updated the Board on the total number of ejections for the year. Ejections were down from the previous year. The current number of golf registrations was shared with the Board. Registration for both boys and girls are above last year’s numbers. The contract with Metamora Fields was extended through the 2027 state tournament. Information regarding the Division Sportsmanship winners was distributed to the Board. Banners will be sent to the winning schools in August. A review of the Scholastic Bowl state tournament was shared with the Board.

Nicole Schaefbauer, Executive Director - An update on the conversation with Dissinger/Reed to review the Association’s insurance coverage and provide recommendations was shared. Nicole and Chris will be meeting with D/R representatives in Seattle at the end of June. A&M Products will be providing a rebate for all mini trophies that will be sold. The building loan was paid off slightly ahead of schedule. An update was provided regarding some of the facility projects planned for the building. Additional conversation was held regarding the work of the Public/Non-Boundary committee. The Board was asked for feedback on the Association goals and focus for the 2023-24 school year. A form will be sent to the Board for their thoughts and input. The Board was updated on the recent change to the IHSA Transgender Policy wording. Motion by Isenhower/Hogue to adopt the updated wording presented for the Transgender Policy. Carried.

Old Business

Tabled Softball Financial Report Recommendation - After discussion by staff, no recommendation was presented. Announcer, scorekeeper, ticket taker fees will continue to be determined by the host schools.

Tabled Athletic Director Recommendation regarding bylaws 5.073 - Two different by-law wording options were presented by staff. The first option was to increase the forfeiture deadline to within 45 minutes of the scheduled contest time. The second option created a penalty system for teams failing to field a team within 30 of the scheduled contest time. After discussion, no motions were presented and the existing wording for by-law 5.073 will remain as written.

Tabled Athletic Director Recommendation regarding bylaws 5.101 and 5.102 - New wording for an additional by-law was presented that clarifies when post-season ejection penalties must be served. Motion by Hogue/Isenhower to adopt the new by-law presented beginning in 2023-24. Carried.

Tabled Cheer Recommendation regarding combining cheer divisions - A recommendation was presented to combine Small Team Cheer and Large Team Cheer into a single Cheer Division because of consistent low numbers in each separate division. Motion by Davis/McAlister to adopt the new Cheer Division parameters. Carried.

Tabled Volleyball Recommendation regarding a uniform exception - A recommendation was presented to allow for an exception to NFHS Volleyball rule 4-2-4(f) to allow the jersey number to be no more than 6” down from the shoulder seam. Motion by McAlister/Yoder to adopt the jersey number exception. Carried.

Central Illinois Sports streaming contract - A proposed contract with Central Illinois Sports to serve as the streaming service for IESA championships was reviewed by the Board. Minor changes were proposed. Motion by Haupt/Isenhower to approve the contract pending approval by TPG and signatures from CIS. Carried.

New Business

Presentation by TPG - Adam Raak of TPG- a strategic marketing and sponsorship company- presented a proposal to partner with the IESA and manage and maximize sponsorship opportunities for the Association. TPG will identify unique opportunities to create shared value and manage the strategic marketing programs for the IESA from concept to activation. The Board was able to ask questions and discuss the process, timeline, and potential concerns about the partnership. Motion by Hogue/Isenhower to enter into a contract with TPG. Carried.

State Final Sites - Volleyball and track state final sites were presented. Motion by Hogue/Johnson to accept the state final sites as presented. Carried.

President Ingold recessed the meeting for lunch at 11:49 a.m. and reconvened the meeting at 12:20 p.m.

NIU wrestling extension - A two-year facility extension proposal with NIU was reviewed, and the changes within the contract from the previous year were discussed. The Board expressed concern over the amount of fees that were being assessed per ticket by the venue. The staff was encouraged to seek assistance with potential partners in DeKalb for future agreements. No recommendation was made to increase ticket prices to off-set fees; thus, the IESA will be receiving $1.75 less off each ticket sold for the 2024 & 2025 tournaments. Motion by Vanausdoll/Hogue to accept the extension proposal with NIU for the 2024 and 2025 state tournaments. Carried.

Board Committee Reports

Staff Relations - None.

June 8, 2023 - None.

Advisory Committee Reports

Bowling - The Bowling Advisory Committee met on May 4, 2023. Motion by Yoder/McAlister to approve recommendation #1 (remove the requirement for a coach meeting to be held prior to awards ceremony at the sectional). Carried. Motion by Isenhower/Marquardt to approve recommendation #2 (shorten the state tournament lunch break on Saturday to 30 minutes). Carried. Recommendation #3 (alternate which gender bowls in the 1st shift each year) died for lack of a motion. Complete advisory minutes may be found at the following link.

Scholastic Bowl - The Scholastic Bowl Advisory Committee met on June 5, 2023 via Zoom. Motion by McAlister/Yoder to increase scorer and timer stipend to $10.00 per match. Carried. Complete minutes may be found at the following link.

Track and Field - The Track and Field Advisory Committee met on June 7, 2023 in a hybrid format. Motion by Hogue/Scott to approve recommendation #1 (move to metric measurement for state series field events beginning with the 2024 state series). Carried. Recommendation #2 (validation of seed marks) died for lack of a motion. Motion by Yoder/Marquardt to approve recommendation #3 (multi-event athlete protocol for high jump and pole vault). Carried. Motion by Hogue/McAlister to approve recommendation #4 (conduct a survey for the implementation of the Distance Medley relay). Carried. Motion by Vanausdoll/Isenhower to approve recommendation #5 (increase relay personnel from 5 to 6, allowing for 2 alternates). Carried. Motion by Vanausdoll/Marquardt to approve recommendation #6 (state meet field event protocol for long jump board designation and pole vault bar increment increase). Carried. A recommendation to increase the number of sectional team awards died for a lack of a motion. A recommendation to add team medals at the state meet died for lack of a motion. Motion by Hogue/Marquardt to approve the qualifying standards recommendations. Carried. Full minutes may be found at the following link.

Wrestling - The Wrestling Advisory Committee met on May 31, 2023 via Zoom. Motion by Vanausdoll/Yoder to approve recommendation #6 (adopt NFHS individual contest specifications of 6 matches in a day with a minimum 30 min. rest period between each match). Carried. Full minutes may be found at the following link.

Music - The Music Advisory Committee met on June 1, 2023 via Zoom. Motion by Johnson/Marquardt to approve recommendation #1 (adjust the Participation Information Deadline for S&E), recommendation #2 (eliminate the final entry deadline for Organization), recommendation #3 (eliminate the requirement for the minimum number of performers needed for choir chime/handbell organizations), and recommendation #4 (allow judges to select more than one Best of Day performance if more than one genre is being judged). Carried. Full minutes may be found at the following link.

President Ingold informed the Board this would be the final meeting for David Scott who will be retiring at the end of the school year and will have to vacate his Division J seat. Mr. Scott was thanked for his service to the Association and those members of his division. Mr. Ingold will work with Mrs. Schaefbauer to appoint a new representative over the summer.

The dates of the meetings for 2023-24 were announced- Sept. 11, Jan. 26, April 12, and June 6.

Motion by Hogue/McAlister to approve the expenses of the meeting. Carried.

There being no further business, motion by Haupt/Davis to adjourn the meeting. Carried. President Ingold adjourned the meeting at 2:08 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Nicole Schaefbauer