Hoops coaches want a say in the WIAA. This is how they plan to get their voices heard

The way Washington high school sports are governed could change drastically in the near future because of a piece of legislature making its way through the state senate.

SB 6336 would allow the office of the superintendent of public instruction, a governmental institution, to have increased oversight on operations of the WIAA, an independent non-profit. There will be a public hearing for the bill at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in the state’s senate committee on early learning and K-12 education.

Under the bill, the WIAA would have its rules and policies subjected to an annual review by the office of the superintendent of public instruction, and submit reports on student appeal decisions, assets and financial receipts and disbursements.

SB 6336 also mandates that state championship basketball tournaments be composed of 16 teams per classification, per gender; be held on consecutive days; and “have all tournament games in each classification played in the same city or county.” The format is similar to the one labeled “Option A” when the WIAA was deliberating on a new style of tournament, which began last year. “Option B,” a 12-team format, was selected and is still in place.

The Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association (WIBCA) sent an email to the state’s basketball coaches and athletic directors earlier this week listing their complaints with the WIAA and urging the recipients to contact their local legislators to advocate for the bill. The WIBCA’s chief complaint with the state’s athletics association was that it disregarded the feedback of the WIBCA and Washington State Girls Basketball Coaches Association (WSGBCA) on key decisions made within the sport over the past decade, namely in regard to:

▪ the state tournaments. The WIBCA had advocated for a return to 16 teams per gender, per classification at each championship site, like is outlined in SB 6336, as opposed to the 12-team tournaments (16 teams at regionals) format that was debuted last year. Because Option A would have taken place over two weekends and on five days, it would have been more expensive and travel-inefficient the four days in one week Option B, but sending 16 teams to the state tournament would have given more kids the opportunity to play stadium games. A WIBCA survey showed 76 of state superintendents and school leaders wanted to return to the traditional 16-team format (it had dropped to eight) with Option A, but the WIAA chose Option B.

▪ the RPI. While most state coaches were in favor of the ranking system in some form, the WIBCA states it was not involved in the process of choosing the formula, and that it didn’t have a say in whether or not it would be implemented. The WIAA updated the formula this season to address many of those concerns.

▪ the shot clock, which was implemented in the state in 2009 in spite of a WIBCA survey — reportedly requested by the WIAA — showing 80 percent of the state’s voting coaches not wanting it.

▪ the official high school ball. The WIBCA reports it was not consulted in the 2015 change from Baden to Spalding.

▪ the MaxPreps contract. The WIAA agreed to a contract with MaxPreps and required all basketball coaches to input their team’s schedule, scores, rosters and a photo on their team’s page in order to be eligible for the state tournament, without seeking feedback from the WIBCA. The record kept on MaxPreps now allows the WIAA to tabulate its RPI rankings.

SB 6336 is sponsored by Senators Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane), Patty Kuderer (D-Bellevue) and Bob Hasegawa (D-Beacon Hill).

This story was originally published January 31, 2018 at 11:04 PM with the headline "Hoops coaches want a say in the WIAA. This is how they plan to get their voices heard."