Purpose & History

Organized in 1903, the Indiana High School Athletic Association is a voluntary, not-for-profit organization that is self-supporting without the use of tax monies.

Any high school in the state, or any junior high school offering ninth grade, whether public, private, parochial, or institutional, if accredited by the Indiana Department of Education, may become a member of the Association by making a formal application that is authorized by its board of education and by subscribing to the rules and By-Laws of the Association. Membership, once attained, is renewable annually provided requirements are met. The purpose of the IHSAA is to encourage and direct wholesome amateur athletics in the high schools of Indiana. In keeping with this mission, the Association:

• Regulates, supervises and administers interschool athletic activities among its member high schools as an integral part of the secondary education program. A tournament series is sanctioned in 22 sports, 10 for girls, 10 for boys and two co-ed (unified flag football and unified track and field). This school year, more than 160,000 students will compete in IHSAA-sanctioned tournaments.
• Cooperates with all agencies vitally concerned with the health and educational welfare of secondary school students.
• Determines qualifications of individual contestants, coaches and officials.
• Provides written communications to facilitate athletic relations among member schools.
• Establishes standards for eligibility, competition and sportsmanship while providing protection against exploitation of schools or students.

The IHSAA is governed by its legislative body, the Board of Directors. Composed of 19 members who are elected by member school principals from three IHSAA legislative districts, the directors serve staggered three-year terms. The Board of Directors meets annually with the responsibility of establishing the Association’s rules and regulations.

The same 19 members of the Board also comprise the IHSAA Executive Committee. The Committee meets monthly and is responsible for organizing and directing state tournaments and meets, interpreting the Association's By-Laws, determining penalties for rules violations, establishing the Association's state office and employing a commissioner and staff to administer the daily functions of the Association.

The Founding of the IHSAA

While several regional athletic associations were formed around the state in the late 1890s, there was no statewide organization that administered athletics. Game rules were not uniform and abuses were common, including undue influence and non-students representing high schools in interscholastic competition. In the spring of 1903 at a teachers convention in Richmond, the seeds of a state high school athletic governing body were sewn. Common concerns were voiced, high school principals in attendance resolved to bring interscholastic competition under their direction, and an executive committee of six principals was formed. That session, long known as the “Richmond Agreement,” led to another meeting on December 5, 1903 with some 50 representatives of Indiana high schools gathering in the office of F.A. Cotton, state superintendent of public instruction, for the purpose of establishing a statewide athletic association. That meeting produced a provisional constitution, which was based on the constitution of the recently formed Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. On December 29, 1903, that constitution was presented to a meeting of high school principals from around the state. In part, that original constitution stated:

“The purpose of this organization is the encouragement and direction of athletics in the high schools of the state. No effort has been made to repress the athletic spirit that is everywhere in evidence in our schools. On the contrary, this organization gives recognition to athletics as an essential factor in the activities of the pupil and seeks only to direct these activities into proper and legitimate channels.”

The first IHSAA Board of Control was elected at the December 29, 1903 meeting. George W. Benton, principal of Indianapolis Shortridge High School, was elected chairman. L.D. Coffman, superintendent at Salem, was elected as treasurer, and J.T. Giles, principal at Marion High School, as secretary.

No record exists detailing which schools joined the IHSAA immediately. But the IHSAA Handbook of 1928 lists 15 schools as charter members. Those schools were: Anderson, Alexandria, Bloomington, Eaton, Fairmount, Goshen, Huntington, Indianapolis Manual Training, Indianapolis Shortridge, Kokomo, Marion, Noblesville, North Manchester, Salem and Wabash. By April 1, 1904, membership had increased to 33 schools. By December 1904, membership reached 71 schools.