Venues, expense concerns arise at NIAA BoC meeting

The NIAA’s first Board of Control meeting of 2024 concluded Thursday afternoon.

Several items went through discussion such as transfer rules, realignment and potential dues for certain sports.

The two-day meeting was streamed on YouTube on the NIAA Information page.

No rule changes were made in regards to transfer rules.

The discussion will continue to at the next Board of Control meeting.

The Board moved to bump realignment cycles back by one year in order to avoid timing conflicts.

The next realignment cycle will run from 2025 to 2028.

State wrestling finally had a location settled on for the state tournament, coming up in four weeks.

Due to venue shortages and efforts to host all five classes in one location, the host site will be Anderson AutoGroup Fieldhouse in Bullhead City, Arizona just over the river from Laughlin in Southern Nevada.

The board stated that moving forward, hosting all five classes in one venue may not be feasible. 

“We can’t be spearheaded by that coach that says we have to have it all at one place. Financially, it’s going to be almost impossible,” said board of control president Rollins Stallworth. “We have some beautiful high schools in this state that could host some of these events.”

The state wrestling tournament will be a one-day production and NIAA executive director Donnie Nelson said he expects the event to run from 7 a.m. for weigh-ins to roughly 11 p.m. at night to completion and award ceremonies.

Nelson added that high school sites would likely be the best option for state wrestling tournament in the future due to venue conflicts and budgetary constraints.

“We are not like other states where we have a permanent venue every single year,” said Nelson.

Nelson and the board added that the NIAA doesn't have the financial ability to secure and hold venues against the Super Bowl, college basketball, concerts and other events going on in Las Vegas. 

CONCERN FOR PREP GOLF

There was significant concern over the state of high school golf and its postseason tournaments Thursday.

With several state tournaments having to call their two-day events short, the Board of Control stated that cannot be a resolution moving forward.

However, the main concern for the golf courses that are hosting postseason events is how long can they afford to support free play for multiple days?

The reason state tournaments were being cut short is due to the tournaments not starting until 11:30 a.m. or noon.

“We’re in trouble. Golf is not going to survive in our state as a high school sport,” said Nelson. “I don’t see an avenue unless we charge kids to play in the postseason. We’re not getting courses with tee times where we can finish rounds of golf.”

Northern Nevada prep golfers already pay $50 per season as a participation fee.

“If we don’t have some way of getting revenue in and being able to pay courses for their tee times, we can’t expect them to keep donating them,” said NIAA assistant director Bartt Davis. “We have some (courses) that do so much for us and I’m appreciative of them, but it’s not going to last.”

Nelson said the NIAA will need to budget more money for tee times moving forward.

“It’s going to be a major shift for the NIAA budget,” Nelson said. “I don’t want to see it go away and my comment about golf is because I am fearful.”

EXPENSES; DUES INCREASE

The Oakland Raiders allowed the NIAA high school football state playoffs games to be played at Allegiant Stadium without charge this past fall.

As a result, the NIAA stated it was able to make roughly $150,000 in profit from attendance at those contests.

The lack of football officiating this past fall forced 30-plus high school football games to be moved to Thursday night or Saturday.

Cross country received a $16,000 donation this season, which will help offset the annual loss of $25,000 the sport operates at, per the NIAA.

However, the NIAA is still looking for more funding and plans to increase membership dues next school year by $0.50 per pupil.

Alumni or charity games will count against a team’s season total of games allowed starting in 2024-25.

Previously, team’s were allowed to schedule an alumni/charity game that would not count toward the team’s max number of playable games for the season.

That won’t be the case moving forward.

The next NIAA Board of Control meeting is scheduled for March 20 and 21.