The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors met for its regularly scheduled meeting at the IHSA office in Bloomington on Monday, June 15, 2026, where the Board finalized expectations for the 35-second shot clock, which will be required for varsity boys and girls basketball contests beginning with the 2026-27 IHSA season.
“It is important that we provide clearcut guidelines to our schools on the expectations for the shot clock as we move toward the 2026-27 season,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “We believe our Board was forward-thinking in providing significant planning time for schools to prepare for the shot clock. It is imperative that all schools are afforded the same competitive experience and that every student-athlete competes under consistent conditions. By establishing these expectations, schools have had ample opportunity to budget, plan, and install the necessary equipment, ensuring an equitable environment.”
The Board voted to accept the recommendation of the IHSA Basketball Advisory Committee by adding State Association Adoption #4, which reads “A school may not host a varsity contest if a shot clock is not installed or is not properly mounted on the backboard in the primary gym in accordance with NFHS rules. The host school must secure an alternate facility or allow the opponent to host the contest. If the host school is unable to secure a gym with functioning shot clocks and the opposing school cannot host, the game shall be forfeited by the home team.”
Additionally, State Association Adoption #4 addresses events that use multiple-gyms: “When a school hosts a tournament or shootout utilizing multiple gyms or sites, and a traditional backboard-mounted shot clock is not feasible in an auxiliary gym, shot clocks must be mounted on the wall behind the basket, at or above the backboard, and must be clearly visible and unobstructed.”
The shot clock is optional for lower-level games (junior varsity, sophomore, freshman, etc.).
The Board allowed for experimental use of the shot clock in 2022-23 and 2023-24, providing teams the option to use it in tournaments and shootouts. In June of 2024, the IHSA Board voted to implement a 35-second shot clock for all varsity games beginning with the 2026-27 season in order to provide schools with time to plan and install the devices. At the same meeting, the Board made the shot clock an option for regular-season games in 2024-25 and 2025-26 when mutually agreed upon by the competing teams.
Entering the 2025-26 high school basketball season, 29 states were requiring the use of the shot clock, while three others offered it as an option. Illinois and Oklahoma are both adopting the shot clock for the 2026-27 season, while New Jersey (2027-28) and Pennsylvania (2028-29) have announced plans to add the shot clock in coming seasons.
A statewide survey of high school coaches in Illinois conducted by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) in 2020 revealed that 75% of the boys head coaches in the state supported the implementation of the shot clock, while 68% percent of the girls coaches who responded were in favor.
Educational resources for shot clock operators, as well as information for scenarios in which a shot clock malfunctions can be found here (resources will be updated for 2026-27 as soon as they are available).
ACTION
1. The Board approved multiplier waiver requests for 2026-27 winter sports. Spring sport waiver applications are currently open and will close on August 31.
2. The Board approved additional language to IHSA Board Policy 2 (Eligibility Rulings From IHSA). The Policy will be updated to include the following new language:
“When making eligibility rulings, or hearing appeals from such rulings, the Association officers and Board shall give due consideration to all information submitted through the TMS but shall have the discretion to resolve conflicts between information appearing on TMS submittals and other pertinent information that may bear upon a student-athlete’s eligibility.”
3. The Board approved a new Board Policy, entitled “Supremacy of Board Adopted Policies,” which dictates the Board’s course of action in the event a new by-law or change to an existing by-law causes one of the following scenarios:
(a) may create or contribute to an unacceptable and material risk to the health or safety of a student-athlete; or
(b) may place the Association or its member schools at substantial risk of legal liability, regulatory non-compliance, or material financial exposure
4. The Board approved two additional Illustrations to the IHSA Handbook related to by-law 3.040. See the Illustrations here.
5. The Board approved a Strategic Planning Summary document to release to member schools that highlights the goals developed by the IHSA’s Strategic Planning Committee in January. The document will be shared with member schools in the All-School Mailing in August.
6. The Board approved its appeal hearing schedule for the 2026-27 school year.
7. The Board approved the dissolution of a cooperative team agreement in girls gymnastics. Prairie Ridge High School and Crystal Lake Central High School will now form a cooperative in the sport, as will Crystal Lake South High School and Cary-Grove High School. All four schools previously competed as one cooperative team.
8. The Board approved the dissolution of a cooperative team agreement in boys track & field and girls track & field between Cornerstone Christian Academy in Bloomington and Calvary Christian Academy in Normal.
9. The Board approved an International Program Approval for Illinois Lutheran High School in Crete.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
Minutes from all Advisory Committees can be viewed by clicking here.
1. The Board approved the consent items from the Advisory Committees in the following sports & activities: Basketball, Bowling, Cheerleading, Chess, Dance, Esports, Gymnastics, Music, Officials, Scholastic Bowl, Soccer, Speech, Sportsmanship, Sports Medicine, Student Advisory Committee, Swimming & Diving, and Wrestling.
Consent items are recommendations that received approval from the sport/activity advisory committee, the Athletic Administrators Advisory Committee and the IHSA staff. Consent items can be viewed by clicking here.
Non-consent items are recommendations from sport or activity committees that did not receive a majority vote from the Athletic Advisory Committee or IHSA staff.
The only non-consent item that was approved was the aforementioned shot clock guidelines in boys and girls basketball.
Some consent items of note:
Boys & Girls Bowling
1. Starting with the 2027-28 season, urethane bowling balls are banned from IHSA State Series competition.
Competitive Cheerleading
1. A team may use a maximum of two minutes and 15 seconds (2:15) of the three-minute time limit for music.
APPEALS & ELIGIBILITY RULINGS
Appeals 1-3 were held with the IHSA Hearing Board, a subset of the IHSA Board of Directors, virtually on April 20, 2026. Appeals 4-5 were heard virtually by the full Board of Directors on April 13, 2026.
1. The Hearing Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Lake Forest High School. Per IHSA by-law, 3.042, the student was ineligible in a sport after participating in that sport at their previous school. As a result, the student is eligible in all other sports but was seeking eligibility in the sport they were ruled ineligible in.
2. The Hearing Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Montini Catholic in Lombard. The student was granted limited eligibility in accordance with the provisions of IHSA By-law 3.043.3 and was seeking full eligibility.
3. The Hearing Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from West Chicago High School. The student was ruled ineligible for non-compliance with IHSA By-law 3.030.
4. The Board heard an appeal seeking a waiver of IHSA By-law 3.051 for a student from Rockford Lutheran High School that was seeking a fifth year of eligibility. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling.
5. The Board heard an appeal seeking a waiver that would allow the usage of a golf cart for a student at Wethersfield High School in Kewanee. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
At each meeting of the Board of Directors, there are certain items the Board discusses, but upon which no action is taken. The following is a report of those items from the meeting on June 15, 2026, agenda:
1. The Board heard a report on State Series participation for each IHSA sport and activity as a part of its annual review of Policy 14 (Review Guidelines for Adding and Deleting State Series Programs).
2. The Board heard a report on the new by-laws that take effect on July 1, 2026. The by-laws were approved during the IHSA’s annual legislative process in December of 2025. To read the approved by-law changes, click here.
3. The Board heard an update on the most recent meeting of the Competitive Balance Committee. See the minutes here.
4. The Board reviewed and discussed a letter from the Southwest Prairie Conference and the Superintendent of District 308 regarding the changes that were approved by the IHSA membership for the cooperative team by-laws that go into effect for the 2026-27 school year.
5. The Board discussed a letter it received regarding the Tennis State Series and the potential of a separate team state tournament.
6. The Board discussed the travel in team-bracketed sports in the southernmost Sectional in Class 4A.
7. The Board discussed a request from Quad Cities Christian School in Moline seeking an exception to play against a school that is not an Approved IHSA School. The Board did not take any action on the request.
8. The Board recognized Kurt Gibson, who officially retired from the IHSA staff on June 1. Gibson worked as an administrator for the IHSA from 2002 to 2024. During the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, Gibson oversaw the IHSA Officials Department in a part-time role. IHSA Assistant Executive Director Sam Knox will step into Gibson’s role overseeing the Officials Department immediately.
9. The Board discussed the imbalance in competing teams in certain sports and classes. The Executive Director informed the Board that the staff will review and offer classification cutoff changes for the Board to consider in August that would go into effect for the 2027-28 school year.
10. The Board discussed concerns from member schools who host State Series events in sports that require technology fees for the host schools, including cross country, track & field, and wrestling.
11. The Board discussed the IHSA Drone Policy and intends to revisit the subject at a future meeting.
12. The Board discussed the IHSA policy that permits schools to petition to play up in classification.
13. The Board heard a report that the IHSA will host and staff members will present at the Illinois Athletic Directors Association (IADA) New Athletic Directors workshop on July 15-16.
14. The Board heard a report on the 2026 IHSA Officials Conference on July 10-11 in Normal.
15. The Board heard a report on the 2026 Dr. Marty Hickman Foundation IHSAF Outing, which will take place on June 16, 2026, and benefits the Illinois High School Association Foundation.
16. The Board heard an update on the NFHS Summer Meeting schedule and itinerary.
