The Arizona Interscholastic Association’s Community Advisory Board is beginning to help shape the future of the AIA.

The board’s chair, Don Kile, the president of the Grand Canyon Gridiron State Club, addressed the AIA’s board for the first time Monday. AIA executive director David Hines wants to expand the AIA’s services for schools without burdening the association’s more than 270-plus members.

To do so, he is consulting with community business leaders, with the goal of also expanding the AIA’s budget and transferring some of its budget responsibilities to the private sector.

“We are eager to accomplish all of that,” said Kile during Monday’s AIA board meeting.

The AIA’s Community Advisory Board is comprised of 10 members and has already met twice.

After understanding how the AIA operates, the community advisory board went to work. Kile said that his board along with the National Sports Foundation, which Kile also heads, and the Arizona Football Coaches Association are planning to help initiate and fund two programs for Arizona’s high schools.

Kile said his board will meet with the AIA’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee to help draft heat exertion emergency protocols. The National Sports Foundation will provide funding for ice tubs, which athletes need if they are exhibiting heat related illnesses, Kile said.

To help reduce injuries and the AIA’s insurance liability, Kile also recommended that every campus have a certified equipment manager. That equipment manager can be somebody already on campus.

“The (community advisory board) has done a tremendous job of working close with our staff,” Hines said.

With ejections continuing, AIA requests stiffer penalties for players, coaches

One hundred and three ejections were logged by the AIA since the 2019 Arizona high school sports season started five weeks ago.

“It’s a concern that is not slowing down,” Hines said.

Last year, more than 1,000 Arizona high school players and coaches were ejected.

Before their first games this season, coaches and athletic directors were made aware of the high ejection rates in recent years.

Because the trend continues, the AIA recommended that coaches be suspended for two games instead of one and that the punishment for an ejected player be tiered based on the infraction committed. The proposal will be sent to the conferences to discuss, and if it moves forward the legislative council will vote on it during the next school year.

Executive director report

The interest from schools to participate in the AIA’s first eSports seasons is growing, so much so that non-member schools are inquiring about joining the AIA just to play eSports, Hines said.

AIA staff members went over the association’s membership process during Hines’ monthly report to the board. Schools first have to determine if they want to join as full or associate members.

Associate members can’t participate in state championships.

The AIA will open its eSports campaign with a fall and spring season during this school year.

Once a school informs the AIA that it will be an associate or full member, it then has to declare if it will be an athletic or non-athletic member school. The membership dues of non-athletic schools are reduced.

Hines also went over a recommendation the AIA’s Ethics and Sportsmanship Committee made. A sportsmanship statement is read by an announcer before every game.

But the Ethics and Sportsmanship Committee would like students to start reading the statement before regular season and championship games. The committee said the impact would be greater if students read the statement.

Also, Hines talked about a recent trip he and some AIA staff members made to attend the Section 7-8 meeting. The 12 most western states form the Section 7-8 state high school associations.

During the Section 7-8 meeting, Hines informed the other associations that more than 200 referees joined the AIA this season. If the officials can stay on for three years, then the AIA has a good chance of retaining those officials, AIA state commissioner of officials Brian Gessner said.

Bass fishing proposal

Chris Knutsen, superintendent of the Florence Unified School District, presented a proposal to introduce bass fishing as an AIA sanctioned activity.

Currently, five U.S. high school state associations run bass fishing seasons. The AIA’s board didn’t say no to the proposal, but it does want its conference leaders to study the proposal more before a decision is rendered.

Agenda items approved

The following agenda items were approved during Monday’s board meeting:

The student eligibility appeal (paper review) and or request for hardship eligibility (legal guardian) requests from Queen Creek, Liberty, Maricopa, Vista Grande, Florence, Winslow, and AZ College Prep.

--Additional game requests from six schools.

--Nine AIA lifetime passes.

--Fifty-three contests and or program cancellation requests, including the junior varsity football programs of Arcadia, Catalina, Deer Valley, Glendale, Marcos de Niza, Maryvale, Moon Valley, North Canyon, Scottsdale Christian, Sunnyside, Tanque Verde, Tempe, Wickenburg. Some football programs are eliminating their JV programs so their sophomores and freshmen can play on the same team, Hines said during the meeting.

--McClintock’s complimentary replacement pass.

--Ironwood’s request to run two wrestling tournaments with Arizona teams just for this season.

Agenda items denied

The following ageda items were denied:

Eastmark High’s request to allow all Queen Creek Unified School District students who transfer to the school to be granted full eligibility during the 2019-20 school year. Only students who transferred to Eastmark at the start of the school year and are in Eastmark’s boundary will be allowed to play immediately in 2019-20.

--Saguaro’s request to reduce its warning to an advisement for missing the mandatory preseason meeting for football coaches.

--Yuma Catholic’s reconsideration of a sanction for participating in a 7 on 7 event during spring football along with Yuma High.

--Mountain Pointe’s request to allow a tournament its baseball coach organizes to run during 10 school days instead of the mandatory nine.

School violations

Warning for Mesquite’s football program. Students were allowed to participate in full-padded practices before completing the first six days of the acclimatization process.

Advisement for Independence’s activities program. Three students practiced without having completed the Brainbook course due to a miscommunication.

Warning for Marana’s spiritline program. A student was allowed to try out for cheer without having a current physical on file.

Warning for Kingman Academy’s spiritline program. A coach failed to check her all-clear list during a Monday morning practice. Four athletes hadn’t turned in their physicals.

Warning for Canyon del Oro’s volleyball program. Students were allowed to practice without getting officially cleared.

Warning for Sunrise Mountain’s football program. The coach failed to check a student’s Register My Athlete status. The student didn’t have a physical on file.

Warning for Arizona Lutheran’s girls’ cross country program. The coach didn’t check with the athletic office to see if a freshman was cleared to participate.

Warning for Casteel’s football program for violating the recruitment rule. A former head coach correctly directed a parent of an 8th grade student requesting information about a quarterback camp to Casteel’s AD in 2017. But the parent, whose son currently attends Queen Creek, and coach continued to communicate. The parent asked specific questions about the head coach and Casteel’s football program, according to the violation report Casteel filed with the AIA. Casteel became aware of the conversation between the former head coach and parent during the AIA fall 2019 hardship appeals.

Advisement for Anthem Prep’s volleyball program. The coach forgot to sit a player out who transferred to Anthem Prep. The player played in a match.

Warning for Kofa’s swim and dive program. An assistant coach who wasn’t approved to be an assistant by the Yuma Union District governing board led a practice. He was eventually approved at a following board meeting.

Advisement for Sahuarita’s activities program. The husband of the head cheer coach was photographed helping with a stunt. He was not cleared to do so at that point.

Advisement for Apache Junction’s football program. The head coach provided assistants coaches and volunteers with cash to attend the team’s 2019 football camp. According to the violation report, he also offered/provided cash to two former assistant coaches in 2014 after stipends were split. As part of the school’s corrective action, the head coach received a letter of reprimand, three unpaid leave days and placed on probation through July 2021.

Advisement for Chandler, La Joya, Immaculate Heart and Brophy for failing to send a representative to the mandatory annual fall coaches meeting.

Abut AIA punishments

An advisement is a word of caution.

A warning places a school in jeopardy of being placed on probation if another violation of any rule or regulation is committed. A school will not be eligible for the Overall Excellence Award during a warning period.

If a school or one of its sports programs is placed on probation, that school/program is ineligible for the postseason and will not receive any award for achievement in that sport. A school is not eligible also for the Overall Excellence Award during its probation period.