More teams, state qualifiers in D2 swimming in 2026-27

More teams will compete in Division 2 in boys’ and girls’ swimming and the division will have more individual state qualifiers in 2026-27 following changes approved by the WIAA Board of Control during its meeting Wednesday, Feb. 4 in Stevens Point.

Beginning next school year, schools sponsoring the boys’ and girls’ swimming wil be split evenly between two divisions. The winner of each event at each sectional qualifies for the state meet. In addition, the next 19 fastest individuals and relay teams across all sectionals combined, excluding sectional winners, also qualify. Previously, and still the case for this winter’s boys’ swimming tournament, the top 60% of programs, based on enrollment, were placed in Division 1 with the remaining schools falling to Division 2. There are currently 24 state qualifiers per event in D1 and 16 in D2.

The other alteration to the tournament procedures in swimming changes language to mandate swimming sectionals to start no later than 1 p.m. The third modification affects the season regulations by allowing the use of backstroke ledges, and if used in competition, the host team must provide identical ledges for all lanes. It is also noted that swimmers are not required to use the ledges.

The board approved several football recommended changes, effective in 2026. Two of these address forfeits and point values assessed in the Playoff Qualifying System (PQS). Schools are required to submit their football schedule to the WIAA office by May 1 prior to the season. Any nonconference game canceled after June 15 will be considered a forfeit for PQS points, and games canceled by non-mutual agreement would result in a forfeit. Any non-conference game dropped or canceled prior to June 15 would be considered a “no contest” when calculating the team's PQS score. In addition, if a team wins the replacement game of a forfeited game, the more favorable points outcome — whether that be the replacement game victory or the original forfeited game­­ — will be applied if mathematically possible.

The football tournament procedures were modified to use PQS seeding to determine jersey color and sideline assignments, with the higher seed wearing the home jersey color and using the home sideline throughout the Tournament Series. In addition, the No. 1 and No. 4 ranked top seed in the PQS rankings will be assigned into one State semifinal half of the bracket, and the No. 2 and No. 3 ranked teams top seeds in the PQS will be assigned to the opposite state semifinal half of the bracket.

Another approved football recommendation adds a note to the acclimatization policy stating any school program intending to participate in a summer team camp must follow acclimatization rules prior to participating in fully padded activities, either prior to the camp or at the camp.

Volleyball will move to electronic seeding for the tournament series beginning in 2026. The seeds will be determined by all match scores entered throughout the season into the WIAA Score Center. An initial electronic seeding report will be released the Monday of Week 15 on the WIAA calendar followed by a coaches’ appeal meeting. The official brackets will be released on Friday of Week 15. The seeding criteria will include a team’s own winning percentage, opponent’s winning percentage, opponents’ opponent winning percentage; and head-to-head results across all consecutive seeds.

All volleyball sectional finals must be scheduled at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. or 7 p.m., and Division 1 semifinals must be played at 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. at the discretion of the host school. The WIAA will have final authority to determine locations, dates and start times. 

In cross country the board improved changes to permitted headgear, a clarification to rules permitting face and body paint, symbols and temporary tattoos to be displayed; and a change to allow competitors to receive biometric data from watches or smart watches. 

The board approved the lone soccer coaches’ recommendation, adding language stating that the accumulation of yellow cards does not affect a participant’s eligibility to attend or participate in the state championship awards ceremony.

In boys’ and girls’ tennis, all players will be seeded at the subsectional level of the tournament series beginning in 2026-27. In addition, the board approved moving the first day girls may begin practice one day earlier in the fall­ from Tuesday (Aug. 10) to Monday (Aug. 9) of Week 6 on the WIAA calendar.

In golf a player, within USGA limitations, will be allowed to take a one-time free relief by placing the ball within one club-length of its original spot, not closer to the hole, in the “general area” that is cut to fairway height or less. The player may clean the ball when lifted and following normal procedures for placing it. Season scores will be required to be entered into the tournament management software, which for use to determine divisional rankings for regional groupings. Language was struck from the season regulations that required host managers to mark the starting time on a physical scorecard for each group.

Four Officials Advisory Committee recommendations were approved by the board, effective in 2026-27. Three of them add language to the Sports Officials Guide. The final change eliminates the need to report the loss of the coaching box in basketball.

Other action by the board included approvals of the procedural monthly general fund financial statements and payments, fall sports financial statements and the deferred liability fund statement. In addition, the board requested to initiate a study that reassesses divisional placement regulations in basketball.

Topics of board discussions included the membership’s ongoing transition to new athletic management systems, as well as staff reports on two prospective Constitutional amendments, the upcoming Advisory Council and Board of Control elections, and reviews of the work done by the Classification Committee and the Calendar & Contact Committee.