(6-18-26) The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) competitive balance committee held its fourth meeting.
IHSA Competitive Balance Committee
June 3, 2026
The Competitive Balance Review Committee met on June 3, 2026. The committee members in attendance were Tim McConnell, Erie; Juliana Zavala, Chicago (University); Tom Schergen, Chicago (De La Salle); Dan Tully, Niles (Notre Dame), Scott Maupin, Wilmington; Katie Cazalet, Dunlap; Brian Brooks, St. Joseph (S.J.-Ogden); Jason Clay,Vandalia; Maurice Young, Country Club Hills (Hillcrest); Skip Birdsong, Belleville (Althoff); Tracie Henry, IHSA Staff; Matt Troha, IHSA Staff; and Craig Anderson, IHSA Staff.
Committee members not in attendance: Chris McGraw, Bloomington(Central Catholic); Danley Killam, Carlinville; Barry Creviston, Jacksonville (Routt); Whitney Martino, West Aurora.
The committee discussed several sample proposals related to transfer and residence by- laws that were developed based on conversations from the previous committee meetings and feedback from a recent membership survey. The committee provided direction to the IHSA staff to help prepare a more detailed proposal prior to the July meeting.
The committee held a call with staff members from the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) to learn more and ask questions about the OHSAA competitive balance formula that was implemented in 2014.
The committee held a call with staff members from the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) to learn more and ask questions about the AIA’s open divisions in basketball, soccer, and football.
The Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Open Division is an elite postseason tournament bracket designed to crown an undisputed state champion in specific sports, regardless of the school’s enrollment size or standard conference classification (4A, 5A, or 6A).
Introduced for football in 2019—and later expanded to basketball and volleyball—the system was created to prevent predictable postseason blowouts, increase competitive balance, and give smaller but highly dominant athletic programs a chance to play the best teams in the state.
How It Works
- The Selection Process: Throughout the regular season, the AIA uses an advanced computer ranking system to evaluate teams across the 4A, 5A, and 6A conferences. Cronkite News
- The Bracket Split: At the end of the regular season, the absolute top-ranked teams (for example, the top 8 teams in football or the top 32 teams in basketball) are pulled out of their traditional enrollment-based conferences and placed into the Open Division bracket. Cronkite News
- The Ripple Effect: By removing the heavy favorites and powerhouse programs from the standard 4A, 5A, and 6A brackets, the traditional conference tournaments become much more competitive, opening the door for a wider pool of schools to go deep into the state playoffs. Cronkite News
Current Status (As of 2026)
The Open Division continues to serve as the highest tier of high school athletic competition in Arizona. For instance, in the recently wrapped 2026 AIA Boys Basketball Open State Championship, Sunnyslope High School captured the title by defeating St. Mary’s 60-51 at the Arizona Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum.
The committee reviewed and discussed sample brackets/pairings in mutliple sports based upon a proposed system that would separate non-boundaried schools into their own Sectionals, creating a path for one non-boundaried school to qualify for the state finals in team-bracketed sports, and a semifinal path in football in select classes.
The committee reviewed and discussed socio-economic policies that are being used by other states that would allow schools within a certain threshold to potentially move to a lower classification.
The committee came to an agreement that they anticipate creating by-law proposals that address multiple different topics. Given the October deadline, they acknowledged that it will be difficult to address every area they seek to in the coming months. As a result, they plan to develop a plan to share with membership that would provide timelines on potential proposals and their aim.
The committee will hold its next meeting virtually on July 14 and will resume in-person meetings at the IHSA office on August 26.
Meeting Minutes
The minutes below show the process that has been taking place up to the June 3rd meeting.
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