IHSA Reacts to Illinois Private vs Public School Athletics Debate

The recently concluded high school football season in Illinois has drawn the ire of parents, fans and alumni of public schools as private schools in the state won seven of eight championships this season.

At the IHSA December meeting the iron was hot. Monday December 9^th the Board of Directors made the decision to move to a yearly classification cycle beginning next fall for the 2025-26 school year. Meaning that they will work with the Illinois State Board of Education to apply enrollment for the current year to athletic classification. Previously there has been a two-year cycle.

The plan is to determine these numbers in September of the previous school year and apply them to the following school year/season.

Certainly, there will be issues and complaints that will pop up with this adjustment.

Will it address the observed imbalance in outcome in football championships won by private schools? Is that an annual issue? Is it a long running trend?

The 2023 season concluded with five of the eight state championships won by public schools. In 2022 private schools won six of eight. In 2021 and 2020 public schools won six of eight each year. The IHSA board says recognize certain “trends and data” following completion of fall sports. Is one year a trend? Is two of three a trend? Is three of five a trend?

The board says they plan to “delve deeper into all aspects that impact IHSA classifications”. What does that mean?

How much “deeper” do school athletic directors want the IHSA delving into their programs? ”All” seems pretty thorough though. Is this just an Illinois issue? Is it occurring in other Midwest states, or across the country?

This topic won’t have a satisfactory conclusion at the end of any school athletic season when parents, fans and alumni think they have been dealt an unfair hand. Where does that end? The next chapter unfolds in March.