May 30, 2008: The Salt Lake Tribune

Q and A about the UHSAA

UHSAA: Transfer rule never solved

UHSAA boss has few critics anymore

1. What is the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA)?

A collection of 128 member schools (probably 135 by 2009) that cooperate together to administer and supervise interscholastic activities according to its bylaws and constitution. Although schools have been organized into leagues for competition since 1910, the UHSAA considers 1927 as its founding date because the overhaul of its constitution that year essentially created a new organization.

2. What does the UHSAA do?

Its primary duty is to run high school state tournaments in 22 sports and competitions in nonsports activities involving music, speech and drama. However, it also determines regions and classifications with its every-four-years realignment process and is charged with determining eligibility for more than 80,000 student-athletes.

3. How is the UHSAA governed?

The governing body of the UHSAA is known as the Board of Trustees. It includes 19 school board members (one for each region), a state school board member, two superintendents and five high school principals (one from each classification). The Board of Trustees is responsible for setting UHSAA policy. Most notably it aligns schools based on geography and size into classifications and regions. A secondary ruling body is known as the Executive Committee and is comprised of one member from each region (usually a principal) and one representative from the state office of education.
The Executive Committee administers the policies and directives of the Board of Trustees. An office staff of seven full-time employees, based in Midvale, runs the day-to-day operations of the UHSAA and is headed by an Executive Director. Evan Excell is stepping down after 14 years as the Executive Director on July 1 and will be replaced by Dave Wilkey, a longtime Associate Director. A list of all the members of the UHSAA's governing boards can be found at www.uhsaa.org.

4. Is the UHSAA a branch of state government?

No. However, it works in consultation with the Utah State Board of Education, the Utah State Office of Education, the Utah School Boards Association and governing boards of private schools. A member of the USBE sits on the BOT and a staff member of the USOE sits on the Executive Committee. Courts in various states have determined state associations to be "state actors" but not state agencies.

5. How is the UHSAA funded?

The UHSAA has an annual budget of nearly $2 million. About 68 percent of its funding comes from state tournament gate receipts. Some 13 percent comes from rule book sales, state tournament program sales, officials fees and the sale of annual passes. Corporate sponsorships account for about 11 percent and school dues the final 8 percent.

6. Does taxpayer money support the UHSAA?

No. Small membership dues are assessed based on school size. There is a base annual fee of $500 and $40 for each sport or activity the school participates in (so, larger schools pay a bit more because they sponsor more sports and activities). When state tournaments are held at venues owned by municipalities or state-owned colleges, the UHSAA pays a rental fee for those facilities.

7. What sports does the UHSAA sponsor?

Baseball, *basketball, *cross country, drill team, football, *golf, *soccer, softball, *swimming and diving, *tennis, *track, volleyball, wrestling.
*boys and girls.

8. What non-sports activities does it sponsor?

Jazz festival, solo/ensemble festival, forensics, debate and drama

9. How many students are involved?

In the 2006-07 school year, 43,422 boys and 38,448 girls participated in at least one sport sanctioned by the UHSAA

10. Which high school sports does the UHSAA have no control over?

The main ones are hockey, lacrosse, water polo, boys volleyball, rodeo, skiing, bowling and cheerleading and are generally referred to as "club" sports.

11. Will the UHSAA add (sponsor) another sport in the near future?

Probably not, because of the costs to its member schools and to itself. However, if a new sport is added it will likely be lacrosse because of its growing popularity in Utah and because it could be added for boys and girls to meet Title IX requirements.

12. Why does the UHSAA limit the transferring of student-athletes between schools and care so much about where students play?

Part of its charge is to "create a level playing field" among its member schools, and allowing schools to become "superpowers" in particular sports through recruiting or undue influence runs contrary to that charge, it believes.

Sources: UHSAA handbook, interviews with UHSAA officials