The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) is once again facing scrutiny over a controversial decision affecting high school athletes — this time involving a rural football team already dealing with tragedy.
Ithaca/Weston canceled its Aug. 28 football game against Wauzeka-Steuben/Seneca following the death of freshman football player Briggs Maxwell, who was killed in a farm accident the day before. Maxwell was a running back and linebacker for the newly formed Ithaca/Weston co-op.
But rather than treating the canceled game as a no-contest, the WIAA determined Ithaca/Weston would have to take a forfeit — a decision that could carry postseason implications for the team.
The decision is the latest in a string of WIAA rulings that have generated criticism from athletes, parents, coaches and lawmakers.
Last year, Arrowhead senior Tristen Seidl was initially declared ineligible after transferring schools following a fire that destroyed his family’s home. Both Arrowhead and his former school supported allowing him to play, but Seidl ultimately had to go to court, where a judge issued an injunction allowing him to take the field. Arrowhead went on to win the 2025 state football championship–a championship that the WIAA is now considering vacating.
Keira Cason also sued the WIAA after she was denied eligibility to play lacrosse at Edgewood High School. Cason had lost an entire sports season during COVID and argued that she had never played a varsity sport or transferred for athletic purposes.
In Baraboo, Macy Weigel’s family went to court after the WIAA prevented her from playing softball following her transfer from a private school. Her family said they could no longer afford private-school tuition after her mother left her job to care for a younger sibling with a serious medical condition. Baraboo High School itself supported granting Weigel a waiver, but the WIAA denied the request.
And in 2024, Campbellsport track standout Josh Onwunili was initially ruled ineligible after spending two years living in Ghana while his parents performed mission work. Following significant public backlash and pressure from Republican lawmakers, the WIAA reversed course and allowed him to compete.
The controversies aren’t new
A decade ago, Eau Claire Memorial hockey standout Ty Emberson faced losing his WIAA postseason eligibility because he had been selected to represent Team USA at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics. At the time, WIAA rules restricted athletes from participating in non-school competition during their high school season. The organization later adopted an exceptional-athlete waiver for qualifying international competition.
That same year, the WIAA drew national attention over sportsmanship guidance discouraging chants including “Air ball,” “Scoreboard,” “Season’s over” and others. “U-S-A” also became part of the controversy, with the WIAA arguing the chant could sometimes be used as a taunt rather than an expression of patriotism. Students at one Wisconsin school responded by attending a basketball game with duct tape over their mouths in protest.
Who holds the WIAA accountable?
The recurring controversies have also fueled a broader debate in Madison over how much public scrutiny should apply to an organization with sweeping authority over athletics at Wisconsin’s public schools.
The WIAA is legally a private, voluntary nonprofit organization and does not receive direct state funding. But roughly 80 percent of its more than 500 member high schools are public schools, and its decisions determine eligibility, tournament participation and other rules governing student-athletes at those taxpayer-funded institutions.
Despite that authority, the WIAA is not subject to Wisconsin’s public-records and open-meetings laws like school boards and other governmental bodies.That means many consequential decisions affecting public school athletes can be made outside the public scrutiny required of the schools themselves.
Republican Rep. Cindi Duchow and Sen. Cory Tomczyk attempted to change that this past legislative session, authoring a bill that would have required an interscholastic athletic association governing public schools to comply with Wisconsin’s public-records and open-meetings laws.
The proposal received bipartisan support, passing the Senate 22-11 and later clearing the Assembly unanimously on a voice vote.
The WIAA fought the legislation, arguing that it is a private organization and should not be treated like a governmental body. Executive Director Stephanie Hauser also warned that public-records requirements could inundate the organization with requests from people unhappy with its decisions.
Supporters countered that an organization entrusted with making consequential decisions about students at hundreds of taxpayer-funded public schools should be subject to greater transparency.
Despite the bipartisan support, Gov. Tony Evers vetoed the legislation in March.
For now, the WIAA remains outside Wisconsin’s open-records and open-meetings requirements — even as its decisions continue to determine whether student-athletes at public schools across the state are allowed to compete.
And after Ithaca/Weston was forced to take a loss following the death of one of its own players, questions surrounding how those decisions are made — and who gets to see the process — are once again front and center.
