COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Directors held its January meeting last Thursday morning, Jan. 19, at the OHSAA office. The following are highlights from the meeting. Complete meeting minutes will be posted at OHSAA.org
•The board approved moving the OHSAA football state championships to Canton for 2017 and 2018. The OHSAA previously described its intent to rotate the state championships between Columbus, which hosted the football state championships in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and Canton, where Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium is being renovated. The board’s vote makes the move official. A separate press release is posted at: http://bit.ly/2jZC0iN
•The board approved an OHSAA baseball pitch count regulation, as mandated by the National Federation, which goes into effect for the 2017 season. The regulation and a separate press release are posted on the baseball page at: http://ohsaa.org/sports/baseball
•The track and field regional tournament dates and sites were approved by the board and are posted on the track and field tournament information page at: http://ohsaa.org/sports/track/tournament-info
•Since the board’s October meeting, 18 member schools were penalized for committing infractions of OHSAA bylaws or sports regulations.
The list of infractions and penalties is always included in the complete meeting minutes, but media members may request the list in advance from Tim Stried, OHSAA Director of Communications, at tstried@ohsaa.org
•The board approved a change to the 2017 golf season start date. Matches may begin on Friday, August 4, which is one day earlier that previously published.
•The financial and attendance reports for the 2016 spring state tournaments in baseball, softball, track and field and boys tennis were presented to the board. Details will be included in the complete meeting minutes posted at OHSAA.org.
•The 2017 spring sports manuals for coaches, administrators and officials, along with tournament regulations, were approved by the board and are posted on the respective sport pages at OHSAA.org
•The board recognized Dr. Jeffrey Harwood of New London as the Ohio Team Physician of the Year, as selected by the Ohio State Medical Association. The board also recognized Aurora High School athletic director Paul Powers as the recipient of the 2016 National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) State Award of Merit. This annual award is provided by the NIAAA for recognition of meritorious dedication to high school and middle school athletics.
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