Basketball Advisory Committee

Minutes
March 24, 2003 • 10 a.m.
FHSAA Headquarters
Gainesville, Florida


I. Purpose and Introductions
The meeting was called to order at 10 a.m. by Gary Pigott. Mr. Pigott and Mr. Thornton noted the purpose of the meeting and those in attendance proceeded with a brief introduction of themselves. In attendance were members: Gary Roper, Plant City High; Shea Bolin, Orange Park High; Gary Anders, Ridgewood High; Marcia Pinder, Dillard High; Joe Fenlon, Tampa Prep (Boys FACA Rep); Don Dziagwa, Tampa Catholic High; Jose Arias, Gulf Coast High; Cindy Cox, Santa Fe High and Ron Allan Lecanto High (FACA Girls Rep). Spencer Reeder, Belleview High, attended as a visitor. FHSAA staff members present were: Ronald L. Allen, Associate Commissioner; Gary Pigott, Associate Director of Athletics and M. Denarvise Thornton, Associate Director of Athletics.

II. The Committee completed their travel expense vouchers.

III. The Committee selected Gary Anders as the chairperson.

IV. The minutes from the previous meeting reviewed and adopted as recorded.

The agenda was adopted (noting a correction that Mr. Haley’s recommendations were not FACA recommendations as listed).

V. Action
A. Review
1. 2003 FHSAA Florida Basketball Finals. The committee discussed concerns resulting from the recently concluded girls and boys basketball finals:

• State Series Passes – Staff reviewed situations in which use of state series passes was abused. A general consensus among coaches was that the passes are not meant for children, 18 and under.
• Practice Facilities – The committee suggested that FHSAA implement a procedure to assist coaches / teams participating in the final four in securing practice facilities. Staff suggested this procedure be implemented through the host committee.
• Lakeland Center Staff – The attitude / atmosphere was not conducive to the desired atmosphere for a Florida state final, citing attendants were harsh and unwilling to communicate with patrons.
• Officials – Officiating concerns with regard to the assignment process was discussed, noting that FHSAA staff assigns the officials for regionals and state finals.
• Venue – With one year remaining in the Lakeland contract, coaches request that, at the very least, the girls’ playoffs be assigned to a smaller venue. The Lakeland Center Arena is too large and takes away from the atmosphere, especially in the girls finals. When mentioned of equity, the committee conveyed that equity in this respect would place the girls in an adequate facility. Coaches are open to separating boys and girls sites. Centralized location was a concern also.
• Team Pictures – After a request to re-institute taking team pictures at the state finals, Mr. Watford explained the logistics in securing a photographer to offer team pictures as in years past, citing that no one had offered a proposal to provide this service to the teams/schools participating in the state finals.
• Programs – Coaches inquired about the reduction of information found in the souvenir programs, i.e. team statistics, schedules with scores, i.e. Mr. Watford informed the committee that it was the communication department’s decision to eliminate this information.
RECOMMENDATIONS for State Finals
• Coaches would like a special section / preferably on the floor, for holders of state series passes (this is the second year in a row this has been requested.).
• Coaches strongly suggest that the girls finals be moved to a venue more conducive to it crowds.
A. Precision Timing Letter – Mr. Thornton solicited coaches’ input regarding the use of Precision Timing system for the state finals only. Through consensus, the committee supports the use of the timing system, which allows the clock’s stoppage to be “whistle activated.” The committee endorses the system’s use provided it is no additional cost to the Association.
2. Free-Throw Experiment – Basketball Administrators, Pigott and Thornton, reviewed the statistics provided to the NFHS resulting from its survey of officials, coaches, athletic directors and out-of-state schools that competed in a Florida tournament. Of note, coaches generally liked the rule as experimented, but coaches’ would prefer players enter the lane on the thrower’s release. (Recommendation for NFHS to that effect follows)
3. FHSAA Basketball Regulations Manual.
A. The committee discussed Appendix G in the manual relative to the instructions forwarded to schools during region playoffs. It was noted that the warm-up format is suggested, and not mandatory, however some officials still applied the “begin” time.
B. The committee discussed the effectiveness of the 40% ticket allocation policy as implemented during the 2002-03 season. Basketball Administrators, Pigott and Thornton, noted that the only events involving ticket request(s) were boys games. There were a few instances where FHSAA became involved in mediating ticket requests by the visiting school.
C. Committee members inquired about the pre-season tournaments beginning on Tuesday for boys basketball. Basketball Administrators shared with the committee that because girls basketball is generally “cut” one day, due to officials’ exams, then Monday was eliminated as a playing date as a matter of fairness.

B. BkAC Recommendations (Effective for 2003-04, if Passed by Board of Directors)
Listed below are the recommendations proposed, active for the 2002-2003 season, as a result of the meeting:

RECOMMENDATION #1
Pre-Season Tournament / Controlled Competition / Scrimmage
Renumber Items 6.000 / 7.000 and 8.000 to include a tournament, which allows teams to participate in 2, 2-hour controlled scrimmages instead of pre-season classic and pre-season jamboree.
Motion by Roper / 2nd by Arias
1st BkAC Rdg (8-0 Approve)
1st ADAC Rdg (8-0 Disapprove) April 3, 2002
2nd BkAC Rdg (9-0 Approve)

RECOMMENDATION #2
Tournament Sanctioning Fees
Allow pre-season and regular season tournaments to pay a set fee for expenses in sanctioning tournaments.
*Committee supports the concept previously submitted to Board of Directors. Modify fees charged to include 4 Teams & Pre-Season Classics - $100 / 5-8 Teams - $250 / 9-16 Teams $500.
Motion by Bolin / 2nd Pinder
1st BkAC Rdg (9-0 Approved)
1st ADAC Rdg (8-0 Approve) April 3, 2002
2nd BkAC Rdg (9-0 Approved w/modification)

RECOMMENDATION #3
Practice
Allow coaches to work with 2 (two) (4 four) players at a time for up to 2 hours a week, during the off-season. (No team play allowed, only for skill development)
Motion by Cox / 2nd by Arias
1st BkAC Rdg (9-0 Approve)
1st ADAC Rdg (8-0 Disapprove) April 3, 2002
2nd BkAC Rdg (9-0 Approve w/modification)

RECOMMENDATION #4
District Schedule / Competition Dates
Allow district play up to Tuesday preceding district tournament week before the district tournament.
Motion by Arias / 2nd by Bolin
1st Rdg BkAC (8-1 Approve)
1st ADAC Rdg (8-0 Disapprove) April 3, 2002
2nd BkAC Rdg (9-0 Deny) With less games, this is no longer an issue.

RECOMMENDATION #5
20.020 District Tournament / 20.030 Regional Tournament
Begin district championship / regional tournament games at 6:30 7:00 p.m. local time.
Motion by Arias / 2nd Cox
1st BkAC Rdg (8-0 Approve)
1st ADAC Rdg (8-0 Modify) April 3, 2002 (AD’s suggestion: 7 PM)
2nd BkAC Rdg (9-0 w/modification)

RECOMMENDATION #6
3.020 Squad Participation
Delete existing article 3.020 and replace with new article to read as follows: “A student may participate in a total of four varsity or junior varsity quarters of interscholastic boys and girls basketball contests in one day.”
Motion by Roper / 2nd by Allan
1st BkAC Rdg (9-0 Approve)
1st ADAC Rdg (8-0 Disapprove) April 3, 2002
2nd BkAC Rdg (9-0 Approve)

C. BkAC Recommendations (Effective for 2004-05, if Passed by Board of Directors)
Listed below are the recommendations proposed, active for the 2004-2005 season, as a result of the meeting:

RECOMMENDATION #1
Mercy Rule
Instate a running clock when a point spread of 35 points is reached after the first half.
Motion by Arias / 2nd by Cox
1st BkAC Rdg (9-0 Approve) If NF state association adoption, coaches are in favor of adopting a rule.
1st ADAC Rdg

RECOMMENDATION #2
NFHS Signal – Held Ball
Add new basketball signal for held ball.
Motion by
1st BkAC Rdg No Action. Committee feels that present signal is sufficient.

RECOMMENDATION #3
4 Classes / Classification
Create 4 classes for basketball, dividing classes according to public / private status.
No action taken.

RECOMMENDATION #4
3 Classes / Classification
Create 3 classes for basketball, diving classes according to size and public / private status.
No action taken.

RECOMMENDATION #5
State Tournament Terminology
Change the name of the regional tournament to regional, sectional and super sectional, allowing a championship trophy for each round.
No action taken.

RECOMMENDATION #6
Ticket Prices / Admission
Create a student priced ticket for students K-12 at state series basketball games. Admission for students shall be one-half of current state series prices.
Motion by Arias / 2nd Cox
1st BkAC Rdg (8-0 Approve)
1st ADAC Rdg

RECOMMENDATION #7
Classifications
Reduce the number of classes from 6 to 4 in boys and girls basketball.
Motion by Arias / 2nd by Cox
1st BkAC Rdg (8-0 Approve)
1st ADAC Rdg

RECOMMENDATION #8
NFHS – Rule 8-1-3
In free-throw situations, allow players to enter the lane on the release of the ball.
Motion by
1st BkAC Rdg (8-0 Approve)

D. FACA Recommendations
FACA submitted no recommendations.

VI. Discussion
• Staff clarified that with the reduction of number of contests policy, districts may vote to play district opponents ONCE by a MAJORITY vote of district members present. The athletic director or FHSAA representative present at the meeting must cast the vote.
• Staff clarified for coaches regarding appendix G (Suggested Pre-Game Format), citing some instances where officials mandated that the warm-ups begin at 7:08. It is suggested and officials are expected to make adjustments accordingly if schools do not use the Pre-Game Format.
• Coaches discussed the possibility of adding a fifth administrative section, dividing section 4 into 2 sections for the purpose of creating an additional representative on the advisory committee. Staff shared the ramifications of doing so, which would require changes in many areas, i.e. by-laws, board of directors, officials advisory, sportsmanship awards programs, etc.
• The committee would like to see the coaches’ email addresses included in the newly created iFHSAA database
• The committee reviewed a ten-panel basketball. Only two coaches on the committee had experiences in playing / practicing with the basketball and the feelings were not strong enough either way for the committee to establish an opinion.

Mr. Anders adjourned the meeting at 1:22 p.m.