STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The Conference Realignment Task Force assembled Wednesday at the executive staff office and reviewed four appeals of realignment requests that were denied last month.

The schools requesting and receiving an appeal hearing included Ashland, Campbellsport, Delavan-Darien and Westfield.

The appeals of Ashland and Campbellsport received approval of the Task Force, which reassessed its decision following additional information provided in the appeal. The Task Force advanced the proposals to move Campbellsport from the East Central Conference to the Wisconsin Flyway Conference and Ashland to the Heart O’ North Conference beginning in 2021-22, if eventually approved by the Board of Control.

All schools impacted by the advancement of the proposals will have the opportunity to provide feedback at the Task Force meeting on Feb. 12. Following the meeting, the Task Force will communicate the solutions to the membership and advance its recommendations to the Board of Control for final consideration at its March 6 meeting.

The Task Force denied the appeals from Delavan-Darien and Westfield. The two schools are offered the opportunity to appeal the decision directly to the Board of Control at its meeting on Jan. 29.

The intent of the new conference realignment process is to apply a more formalized method for member schools to request relief from conference affiliations. A committee of member school administrators has been established to evaluate all realignment requests and present them to the Board, which retains the authority to make final determinations of all conference alignment decisions.

The new collaborative model adds structure, enhanced communication and transparency to the realignment process. All levels of school administration at each member school are informed of the committee’s deliberations and decisions.

The conference realignment web page containing all information regarding realignment requests is accessible on the Conference Realignment “Requests and Proposals” page on the WIAA website.

The membership of the WIAA oversees interscholastic athletic programs for 511 senior high schools and 46 junior high/middle level schools in its membership. It sponsors 27 championship tournament series for boys and girls in 2019-20. For more information, please contact the WIAA office at (715) 344-8580.

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