Illinois high school rule change caused confusion and controversy. How the IHSA fixed it

Illinois' underclass high school athletes are back in the lineup for all-star events after an adjustment made this month by the state's athletic association.

The Illinois High School Association has clarified — via a new definition — a by-law change that triggered confusion among those involved in its team sports, especially baseball and softball organizations in the midst of all-star season.

Illinois high school football previews: Ultimate guide to Peoria-area high school football for 2024

The by-law was passed by IHSA member schools via a December vote of 547-136 (43 no opinion). It went into effect July 1 , prompting the IHSA to spotlight it on their website. It reads:

"No student at a member school shall participate on an all-star team in any IHSA sport during the student’s high school career until completing their interscholastic athletic eligibility in that particular sport. A student may participate in no more than three (3) all-star contests in a sport."

IHSA By-law 3.120: 'ALL-STAR PARTICIPATION'

Why the IHSA rule caused confusion

That new wording caused panic among showcases like the McDonald's All-Star Classic and other special baseball and softball events that traditionally were open to seniors and underclassmen at the outset of summer.

"It was badly conceived and badly written," said Ben Diggle, a former junior college coach, summer developmental team recruiting coordinator and founder of Diggle's Diamonds , a program that promotes high school baseball players in the form of mentorship, advice, recruiting news and promotion via social media.

"I felt bad for the IHSA guys in a way. They were stuck enforcing a bad law," Diggle said. "I don't think anybody had a damn clue what they were voting on. It reads like stereo assembly instructions.

"To the credit of the IHSA, they fixed it. I don't ever recall another instance where the IHSA has made a common-sense adjustment."

But that's exactly what happened, as IHSA executive director Craig Anderson explains.

IHSA executive director 'was a bit surprised' rule passed

Anderson saw the bylaw pass and knew it might be problematic, but it was not directed at just baseball, softball and basketball. It was designed to simply bring all IHSA team sports into alignment so they were all treated equally. The rule change just happened to go into effect at a time when baseball and softball were staging summer showcase events, which prompted confusion and controversy.

"Honestly, I was a bit surprised that it passed in favor of the change," Anderson said. "So on July 1, the new by-law was implemented. These non-school teams and leagues were culminating at that time in selecting their all-stars to play one last time at the end of summer. Our by-law indicated that wasn't permitted unless you were a graduated senior."

The reaction was, in some places, panic, according to longtime Morton baseball coach Jesse Crawford. He feared the rule could affect his players' future IHSA eligibility.

'I'm just a dad': Head of IHSA worked the chains at Morton football games

"That kind of directly impacted some of the kids who played for me," said Crawford, who also is on the Greater Peoria Baseball Coaches Association board — headed up by Metamora's Tony Riddle — which operates the annual McDonald's All-Star Game .

"PBR (Prep Baseball Report) was hosting a showcase in Indianapolis when that bylaw was announced," Crawford said. "Team Illinois was there, and got pulled off the field because of the bylaw. There was concern kids' eligibility could be impacted."

Where IHSA by-law 3.120 came from

So why does IHSA by-law 3.120 exist? Anderson said an all-star limitation has long been in place for football, soccer, volleyball and basketball, preventing underclass players from participating in all-star contests during their seasons.

"They had to be seniors with eligibility in their sport finished," Anderson said. "It's been in place over 40 years, dates back a long, long ways and long before there were non-school sports the way we know it today."

Last fall, one of IHSA member schools proposed to expand that limitation to all team sports — including baseball and softball — and it passed. Hence, the confusion. "We quickly discovered," Anderson said, "there's all kinds of these non-school organizations in baseball and softball that meet our (definition) of an all-star game or tournament."

How the IHSA board altered the bylaw and notched a save

Faced with mounting confusion from the team sports showcase ranks about the revised by-law on his hands , Anderson found a solution. The executive director met with his board and changed the IHSA's definition of an all-star event.

"Our office didn't do this by-law change," Anderson said. "Our school membership made this change. ... So the board put together a new definition of what an all-star event should be. Fortunately, it withdrew a lot of concern and backlash we were getting.

"All team sports are covered. And the bottom line is, there are no all-star contests or showcase limitations for baseball, softball and basketball during the summer. This has broad application."

IHSA all-star games: The 180 players selected for 2024 McDonald's all-star high school baseball and softball games

The clarifications on the bylaw from the IHSA leave the door open for continuation of the annual McDonald's All-Star Game with seniors in its traditional format. If underclassmen are involved, then the above-mentioned restrictions apply, in addition to one more — no score can be kept at the event.

How the new definition reads

The IHSA handbook now defines "All-Star Team" as the following for all team sports:

"All-Star Team — A team of students who are selected to participate in a non-school contest or tournament based on athletic ability, performance or reputation when representing the member high school the student attends or previously attended. Students represent their school by using the school’s name, being selected or nominated by the school, or by wearing any part of the school’s athletic uniform.

Illustration: By-law 3.120 applies during the school year (from Monday of Week 8 through Saturday of Week 49 of the IHSA standardized calendar)."

Anderson released a statement on Aug. 9 after the board re-worked the all-star definition.

“When the new IHSA by-laws went into effect on July 1, 2024, the changes to the All-Star Participation by-law created a significant number of questions from member schools amidst the changing landscape of non-high school participation in the summer.

"The Board felt it was prudent to produce the updated language to the All-Star Team definition and the new by-law illustration to more clearly define the scope and timeline of when ‘all-star events’ for underclassmen are restricted. The changes to the by-law that were voted into effect by our member schools in December remain intact as written, however, the Board is confident that today’s updates will better reflect the initial intent of the by-law change."

Clarification from the IHSA

Here are a few clarifying questions and answers from Anderson about revived IHSA bylaw 3.120:

• Can underclassmen play all-star games? "Underclassmen can now play," he said. "Everyone can get in it. I think we shocked them initially."
• What is not allowed? "During the IHSA school year, you can't play in all-star events when representing a school, whether by selection or wearing equipment from the school as underclassmen. That's not allowed," Anderson said.
• What about AAU? "If players are part of a team, like AAU, that has a full schedule, that's not considered an all-star game and it's OK," Anderson said.
• Why does the bylaw exist? "At the heart of why the original by-law limit was in place was to not bog down underclassmen with playing in showcases and all-star events after their season," Anderson said.

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Illinois high school rule change caused confusion and controversy. How the IHSA fixed it