Illinois High School Association

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). The IHSA regulates 14 sports for boys, 14 sports for girls, and eight co-educational non-athletic activities. More than 760 public and private high schools in the state of Illinois are members of the IHSA. The Association's offices are in Bloomington, Illinois.

In its over 100 years of existence, the IHSA has been at the center of many controversies. Some of these controversies (inclusion of sports for girls, the inclusion of private schools, drug testing, and the use of the term "March Madness") have had national resonance, or paralleled the struggles seen in other states across the country. Other controversies (geographic advancement of teams to the state playoff series, struggles between small schools and large schools, particular rules unique to Illinois competition) are more of a local focus.

Read more about Illinois High School Association:  Governance, Sanctioned Sports, Sanctioned Non-athletic Activities, State Series Format, Notable Medalists in IHSA Sponsored State Series, National High School Hall of Fame Inductees

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