Past-link transfer rule among several initiatives IHSAA expected to consider

The Indiana High School Athletic Association is considering a proposal that would strengthen its rule on undue influence, specifically banning the practice of transferring to a school where a student has a coach, manager or trainer on staff who has coached or trained them in the summer or on a non-school team.

The "past link" rule is similar to one adopted by the high school association in Michigan. The proposal, which originated with the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, would make an athlete ineligible for 365 days if a past link to the receiving school in the transfer is established. It will come before the IHSAA at its annual Board of Directors meeting on May 4.

IHSAA commissioner Bobby Cox said the proposal was well-received in straw polls at its area principals meetings this spring.

"I think the membership likes it," Cox said. "The concern that is being raised by the basketball coaches is that they are growing weary of having to fight and defend for their own kids. A kid is in my program and is developing into a nice player and somebody comes in and tries to sway that kid to go to a different school for whatever purpose."

The rule would potentially limit the practice of hiring assistant coaches affiliated with travel teams, or at least diminish the significance. Marty Johnson, athletic director at Perry Meridian and associate director of the IBCA, told the Star last summer the coaches association planned to pursue a rule similar to the one implemented by Michigan.

The past link rule would establish a clear boundary to a transfer rule that has a lot of gray area. Some high school coaches have not-so-jokingly referred to the summer as a free agent period.

"I think what we're trying to get people to understand here is that you just don't go around recruiting kids," Cox said. "If the parents choose they want to go somewhere because the situation is better and athletics don't have anything to do with it, we allow that to occur. But I think the basketball coaches are making a pretty clear statement that they are pretty fed up with it."

Cox said he doesn't believe it will be difficult to police the past link rule.

"We won't have to do a thing as far as investigation," he said. "The minute it happens, there will be a coach that will come tell us it happened. The sending school is going to cry foul immediately, so it'll be pretty easy for us to track."

The proposal is just one of several that the IHSAA's Board of Directors will consider on May 4. A few of the other highlights:

• Coach education: Last year, the IHSAA established three levels of accreditation for coach education — registered, certified and professional coaches. A bill this year was proposed in the legislature for coaches in all sports to follow the football model of coach education. Though it ultimately didn't pass, the IHSAA proposal would require coaches to pass education courses on a variety of issues, as well as sport-specific topics, every 3-5 years.

"We're trying to protect our member schools," Cox said. "We're a litigious society and the minute something goes south at a school, whether it's an injury, a bullying issue or whatever and the school stands before the judge says, 'We didn't educate our coaches,' the school is going to be liable. You're going to lose that lawsuit. There's some consternation from some who don't want to take the courses, but if you don't want to be a lifelong learner, then you probably need to get out of education. I don't care if you're coached two years or 30 years, there are new things coming out that coaches need to be educated on."

• Summer rules: The Northeast Corner Conference issued a proposal to follow the football model for all sports with 12 activity days in the summer. Under the current "open facility" rule, a coach can work with two players at a time.

"No one is doing that, so why do we have the rule?" Cox said. "So the idea is, let's get rid of open facility and work with kids in a practice setting."

The proposal would allow coaches to work with their team but also restrict the time spent, similar to football.

"When I first started, there were specific rules that said you couldn't have any contact with kids in the summer," Cox said. "Then our coaches were saying those evil AAU and travel coaches were ruining our kids. Well, now it's gone back the other way. We've made a big circle."

• Sunday events: A proposal to allow Sunday tournament games in extreme circumstances is on the table, though Cox has reservations about implementing the rule even if it does pass.

"I think it's a little bit of a slippery slope," he said. "Right now, it's the only day where our members can't have contact with kids. But if you open that door, at some point, there is no Sunday rule. And we're like every other level of sport and playing on Sundays. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to start tinkering with that, even saying it's an extreme case."

• Transparency in budget: The Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference has issued a proposal asking for the IHSAA to provide "a detailed budget, including line item income, accounts payable, and employment contacts of Association employees, annually distributed to the member schools."

Cox said the IHSAA, a private organization, discloses everything to the member schools other than details on "private contracts."

"I have a fear of disclosing those tallies because it could jeopardize our partnerships," he said. "The way we do business could change. We receive significant contributions from major corporate partners. That allows us to play football in Lucas Oil Stadium, basketball and wrestling at Bankers Life and other things on behalf of the association that would have to be modified dramatically should we lose that income."

There are 43 proposals in all that the Board of Directors will consider. The IHSAA will also confirm the new sectional groupings for the next two-year cycle in all sports.

"The general tenor of the meeting is that our members are seeking assistance in restricting contact, reducing recruiting and clearly defining what can happen out of season and in the summer," Cox said.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.