The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) is the regulatory body for all high school sports in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Its history dates to 1895, making it the earliest continually existing high school athletic organization in the country. It also provides the licensing program for more than 10,000 officials in the state, and oversees junior high or middle school athletics in about 100 of the state's nearly 400 school districts. Among its duties are the administration of state tournament series in its various sports, overseeing eligibility and conference alignment, and promoting sportsmanship.WIAA 86th Annual Yearbook 2008-2009.

History

The WIAA considers its start to be a meeting in December 1896 of part of the state teachers association following a state track and field meet organized by the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. Meetings led to the formation of a rules committee, followed by a Board of Control, which is still the WIAA's governing board. It has 11 members, seven chosen by regions, three at-large and a representative from the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. An Advisory Council, made up of 18 members, also provides governance and advice. It is made up of 15 members, five each from large, medium and small schools, a gender at-large representative, a minority at-large representative and a nonpublic school representative. Until 2000, only public schools were WIAA members. Private schools had belonged to the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association. When that organization announced it would shut down, the WIAA changed its rules to allow private schools. The WIAA, unlike some other states, does not add a multiplier to enrollment of private schools to contend with perceived advantages private schools have in drawing athletes. The WIAA held its own state track meet in 1897 and its first state boys' basketball tournament in 1920. For boys' sports, it added cross country (1913),

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

(1923),

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

(1925), and

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

(1925). In the 1940s, wrestling (1940), volleyball (1948) and baseball (1948) were added; in the 1950s,

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

and

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

, and in the 1960s,

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

. These sports have been dropped by the WIAA. 1965 also brought a second baseball tournament, this one for summer participants, which was dropped after the 2018 season due to dwindling participation.

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

was added in 1970,

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

(1982) was added, and volleyball, which had been dropped (in 1982), returned to tournament status in 2000.

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

was a recognized sport but championships were only held briefly in the 1920s. The WIAA resumed playoffs in 1976. The WIAA started adding girls sports in the 1970s. Swimming (1970) was the first, followed by gymnastics, track, and tennis in 1971, golf (1972), and volleyball (1973). Cross country joined the list in 1975, then basketball and softball (1976). Girls' soccer added a state tournament in 1983. Ice hockey was added in 2002. The most recent is Girls' Wrestling in 2021.

Sports offered

The number of classes - referred to as divisions by the WIAA, and numbered so that 1 includes the largest schools while higher numbers include smaller schools - varies by sport. Except for football, all schools sponsoring a sport are in the tournament. Seeding is used for matchups in several team sports and in individual sports. The tournament structure starts with multi-team regionals, usually at the site of one school, followed by sectionals, usually at a neutral site (unless a team in the regional gets to a sectional it is hosting), and then state. * Cross country — There are three divisions for both boys' and girls' cross country. The championships are held at The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids. *Girls'

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

— There are five divisions. The championships are held at the Resch Center in Green Bay. *Boys' volleyball — There is one division. Finals are held at Wisconsin Lutheran College in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. *

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

— There are four divisions. The WIAA State Baseball Championships are held at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute. *

Gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

— There are two divisions. Championships are held at Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids. *

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

— Both boys' and girls' basketball have five divisions. The boys' championships are held at the Kohl Center in Madison, or the Alliant Energy Center or Wisconsin Field House in years where the Kohl Center hosts NCAA basketball tournament regionals at the same time. The girls' championships are held at the Resch Center in Green Bay. *

— There are seven divisions. Teams must have a .500 conference record or better to qualify for the state tournament. There are seven 32 team playoffs, with all championship games held at

Camp Randall Stadium Camp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Wisconsin. It has been the home of the Wisconsin Badgers football team in rudimentary form since 1895 ...

in Madison the week before

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

. *

Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

— There are three divisions. Individuals championships are held at the Kohl Center in Madison, while team state championships are held at the University Field House in Madison. Regionals serve both individual and team competitions, with the team winning the regional going to the team sectional including all of its members, whether they qualified for the individual sectional or not. *

— There are two divisions for boys' ice hockey and one division for girls' ice hockey. The championships were held at Alliant Energy Center in Madison until 2023, when they moved to Bob Suter's Capitol Ice Arena in Middleton. *

Track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

— There are three divisions in both boys' and girls' track and field. The championships are held at Veterans Memorial Stadium in La Crosse. *

- Boys' and girls' soccer have four divisions. The state tournament is held at Uhlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee. *

Softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

— There are five divisions. The state tournament is held at Goodman Diamond in Madison. *

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

- There are two divisions. The state meet is held at the University of Wisconsin Natatorium in Madison. *

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

- There are two divisions in girls golf and three divisions for boys. Both championships are held at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison since 1994. *

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

- There are two divisions for both boys and girls tennis. Championships are held at Nielsen Stadium in Madison. *Girls' Wrestling - There is one division held at the Kohl Center in Madison with the boys' tournament. Individual champions at the sectional qualify for state. There is no team state tournament for girls only. *

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

- Added to the WIAA in 2023, with the sanctioned season taking place in 2024. Championships are held at Ashley Field in Sun Prairie.

Conferences

The WIAA added overseeing of athletic conferences to its duties in the 1980s after several disputes. Previously, schools had banded together on their own. The WIAA's role is to keep conferences consisting of similar-sized schools within a reasonable distance of each other. Except for football, conference championships do not have any effect on a team's tournament seeding.

Cooperative teams

In 1982, the WIAA approved cooperative teams, allowing two or more schools to combine to form a team in a sport where neither school has enough athletes to run the sport on its own. The schools are generally referred to by a hyphenated version of their school names, although some choose a unique team nickname and mascot. The schools involved must be in the same geographical area and combine for at least two years, although the WIAA may approve an early release. In addition, the conference the combined team will compete in must approve. The total enrollment of the two schools determines which tournament division the team plays in. The rule has allowed smaller schools to combine for sports such as football and track which require larger numbers, and larger schools to combine for sports with low interest.

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control High school sports associations in the United States Sports organizations established in 1895 High school sports in Wisconsin 1895 establishments in Wisconsin