IHSAA Report- The IHSAA came together a few months ago to declare that they were going to use a socioeconomic factor to determine the “final classification numbers” for the 2023 and 2024 football seasons. The data for school enrollment (BEDS) and free and reduced lunch percentages have been processed and the Panthers will be moving down a classification.
The Panthers move down from 4A to 3A to rejoin fellow Southeastern rivals in Fairfield, Keokuk, and Washington. Despite the different classification, the Panthers did face off against these teams last year and went 0-3 against them. Mt. Pleasant ranks just underneath the line of 4A, so they will be the biggest Class 3A team with a BEDS number of 0.45. Danville will no longer be combining with Mt. Pleasant as the Bears will field a team for Class 1A.
Also presented at the meeting were the spring and summer sport manuals for golf, tennis, track and field, and baseball. The following dates are subject to change. The golf season will begin the week of March 27th with the Sectional tournament starting on May 10th and the State tournament going May 22nd and 23rd. The Tennis season will begin the week of March 27th. Track and field will be limited to 16 meets, not including IHSAA meets, the Drake Relays, or indoor track and field meets. Baseball has a 40-game limitation, and they begin play the week of May 15th.
An additional rule the IHSAA has adopted is teams may use a courtesy runner for the pitcher or the catcher as soon as they get on base or anytime while on base. The same runner may not run for both positions. If a player is used to only courtesy run in a game, then the game does not count as one of his 40 games.