State task force urges major changes for Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association
A state government task force looking into making the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association more efficient is close to giving the organization a major overhaul.
In the seventh of eight planned meetings Monday in Dover, the group appeared set to keep the DIAA under the auspices of the Delaware Department of Education but give it more freedom to operate and with a significantly larger full-time staff.
The DIAA is a rarity nationally by being part of the DOE. Most such organizations overseeing statewide scholastic sports operate as a nonprofit, with strong connections to member schools.
While the task force seemed prone to keeping the DIAA within the Education Department framework, it suggested removing the need to have its regulations approved by the State Board of Education. That has periodically been viewed as an unwieldy process undermining the DIAA board of directors’ expertise and slowing down implementation.
In addition, it was recommended that the DIAA be permitted to hire three new full-time staffers to manage finances, compliance and communications. The DIAA staff presently includes just executive director David Baylor, coordinator of interscholastic athletics Angel Prinos and a secretary.
Secretary of Education Mark Holodick, a former Concord High athlete who served on the DIAA board when he was a school and district administrator, called the proposed additions “a logical step forward” that would allow the DIAA “to do the more proactive things that we’ve talked about.”
The additional staff, especially the compliance director, would alleviate the often time-consuming task of considering waivers of DIAA regulations, often related to athlete transfers and eligibility, upon which Baylor and the board of directors must act.
It’s believed the additions would also help improve what Baylor termed “revenue generation” presently undermined, Holodick said, by the small staff not having time to take what he termed “proactive measures.” That would include, Holodick gave as an example, data collection on participation and other trends in middle and high school athletics that might make joining a team more appealing to students.
Democratic Sen. Nicole Poore, the task force chair, said conclusions drawn during the process and proposals made “should help support” the anticipated funding requests. Any DIAA changes would be subject to approval by the Delaware General Assembly. The task force began work in September and meets one more time April 22.
“This task force was designed,” Poore said Monday, “because the general public and people weren’t feeling things were getting done.”
More than half of Monday’s two-hour meeting did end up in a debate about the composition of the DIAA board of directors, which presently has 22 members.
Decreasing its size was viewed as necessary to make it more effective. A draft to reduce the board to 13, including non-voting representation from the University of Delaware and Delaware State University athletic directors, was deemed too small.
Instead, it was agreed 15 was a better number, with five district and school leaders and athletic directors, typically the core of the DIAA board, joined by three members of the public plus a physician, athletic trainer and mental-health professional as voting members. The UD and DSU athletic directors would still be included as non-voting members, though some did question the necessity of their inclusion.
The makeup of the board was, however, less important, Baylor said, than remembering “a board is only effective if it understands its mission.” That is, he added, “to serve the member schools, our kids, and to make sure interscholastic athletics provide an opportunity for each and every student to participate.”
Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Sen. Nicole Poore's task force suggests major changes for DIAA
