The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) held a board of control meeting on Tuesday, June 18 and proposed some significant changes that would affect Lowry High School athletics in the years to come.
All proposed changes still have to be approved and/or added to the Nevada Administrative Codes.
The Northern 3A could be split into east and west divisions under the proposed changes, with Truckee, Sparks, South Tahoe, and three teams moved from 4A/5A comprising the West.
Churchill County (Fallon), Fernley, Elko, Lowry, Spring Creek, and Dayton would make up the East. Dayton will compete as an independent in football starting this fall.
“What the realignment committee proposed was not exactly what the Board adopted," said NIAA Assistant Director Donnie Nelson. "The board adopted an amendment to the realignment committee’s proposal. No schools have been placed into classifications yet, but everybody can kind of figure it out based on the direction that we are going in. The board adopted the creation of a 5A Division, and that will affect the 3A North because of the addition of three more schools on a sport by sport basis for the team sports. The playoff structure still has to be worked out.”
The board approved creating a Class 5A, but the Northern 4A schools have not decided yet if they will go all in for 5A or still split out for 5A/4A playoffs. The new divisions would go into effect for the 2020-21 school year and teams will be ranked by a rubric that will be re-evaluated every two years.
Lowry High School head basketball coach Chad Peters commented on the proposed changes.
“I think that if they try and do it on a sport by sport basis that will be very difficult," Peters said. "That is going to be a nightmare for somebody to figure out, and they are going to re-evaluate each school every two years. From a competitive standpoint now league play will really matter. Before you only had to be in the top six out of 10 teams to make the playoffs. Now you are going to have to be in the top three or four out of six, depending on what they decide to do. There is never going to be a right answer, you will have pros and cons either way you go, but I thought that the league that we have had for the last couple of years has been fun and competitive.”
eSports may be on tap for Nevada schools
NIAA Executive Director Bart Thompson told the board that several different technology companies have approached him about bringing eSports (video games) to Nevada.
Thompson said that the companies would be in charge of most facets of eSports.
He said that students would pay around $50 to be on their high school team, with the NIAA getting a portion and the technology company getting the rest.
The companies have said that they would build computer labs for the participating high schools.
Thompson said that involving more students in high school activities was one of his main goals when he became the executive director in 2015, and eSports would help achieve that.
The NIAA is going to research eSports further with the possibility that they could be sanctioned in about a year.
“We at the NIAA still have a lot to learn about esports," Nelson said. "We have to look at it and see if it is really feasible. We are looking at it as a way to possibly attract more students to school activities.”
Peters gave his thoughts on eSports saying, “I know the kids that come to the Boys and Girls Club want to play the video games, they love doing that. My question is why is that a NIAA thing? I am not opposed to that kind of thing, but I think that we have enough issues without trying to figure that thing out.”
Poor sportsmanship
to be punished
The board also approved more severe penalties for fan, coach, and athlete ejections; one game for the first offense, two games for the second, and the rest of the season for a third ejection.
The board passed these penalties on the recommendation of the Sportsmanship Committee, but it still needs to be written into the Nevada Administrative Codes and approved before they can be enforced. The next board meeting is in September and the new penalties could be in place by then.
“The Sportsmanship Committee has been very much at work in the trenches trying to develop policies that will put an emphasis on positive sportsmanship and fan behavior,” Nelson said. “They have worked diligently and gotten feedback from many different people at all levels so that all communities were represented. We already have rules in place for coaches, administrators and players, but we currently have nothing in place for fans. This change would fix that problem and is something that is long overdue.”
