Busy Year for WHSAA as Board Approves 16 New Rules

While the high school sports calendar for the 2025-26 school year is in the books, the past year was an active one for the Wyoming High School Activities Association (WHSAA) Board of Directors. WHSAA Commissioner Trevor Wilson told WyoPreps that the board passed 16 new rules, and it was one of the busiest years he’s been around in his time at the WHSAA.

WYOPREPS RECAPS RULE CHANGES PASSED BY THE WHSAA IN 2025-26

If you do not know, the WHSAA Board of Directors is made up of Athletic Directors and other administrative personnel from school districts around the state. They represent the four ‘Districts’ and the four classifications in the state of Wyoming: Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, and Southeast. Each member serves a term of three years. Other board members represent the Wyoming School Boards Association and the State Department of Education.

Some items were passed by the board, and others were defeated. Here are some of the proposals that impact schools and are key for fans to understand.

One of the biggest discussions centered around the start of football practice for teams in 3A, 2A, and 1A. There was a proposal that would have given schools in those classes three more practices than they have now and allowed them to start practice on the same date as 4A schools. The District meetings were split, 2-2, according to Wilson. Two were in favor of the proposal, and two were against it after visiting with school personnel within their corner of the state. That football practice proposal was defeated by the board after a lot of discussion.

Three other football items were passed this year.

First, the 6-man football schools felt the current 12-point rule in the WHSAA Handbook for a three-way seeding tiebreaker was not adequate for their division because of the scoring that 6-man games can have. They opted for a 24-point rule, and that was passed. This means a school can get a maximum of 24 points in a three-way tiebreaker. An example is Team A defeats Team B, 62-24. Team B beats Team C, 44-40, and Team C tops Team A, 52-45. Team A gets 24 points for its win over B but loses 7 for its loss to C. That gives Team A +17 points. Team B is at -20 after their 2 games, and Team C is at +3. That gives Team A the highest seed, and the head-to-head between Team B and Team C determines the next highest seed.

Second, all football semifinal playoff games will be played on Friday unless the schools mutually agree to move the game. That motion passed.

Third, the football state championships will continue in Laramie at the University of Wyoming’s War Memorial Stadium through 2030. The Board of Directors accepted UW and Laramie’s four-year bid.

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A couple of other changes coming in the 2026-27 school year for sports include the extension of the fall high school golf season by three days. That proposal was passed by the board. That means if weather interferes with the state championship weekend, or if a venue hosts two classes in the same year, one event can move to the following Monday through Wednesday on the calendar at the end of the golf season. The practice round would be on Monday, with the two rounds of the state golf championship on Tuesday and Wednesday. This will happen in 2026, as Evanston will host 4A and 2A for Kemmerer. Evanston will host 4A on September 18 and 19, and Class 2A on September 22 and 23.

In volleyball, a motion passed that will allow players to play up to 20 sets per day.

For the swimming and diving state championships, Gillette has won a four-year bid to host both the girls’ and boys’ championship meets at their new facility starting in the 2027-28 school year. The WHSAA Board had asked for bids with the potential to continue the current three-site rotation between Cheyenne, Gillette, and Laramie, but Gillette opted for its own bid, and that was approved.

For indoor track, a motion was approved to create a new state indoor track qualification standard for both classes. This would mean the top 24 in each race and field event will qualify for the state championships starting in the 2026-27 school year.

In softball, the 2027 season will have new mercy run rules in place to move games along. The proposal that passed was that games will end when a team is leading by 8 runs after 4.5 or 5 innings, by 12 runs after 3.5 or 4 innings, and by 15 runs after 2.5 or 3 innings. Also approved was a bid to host the state softball championships in Gillette for four years starting in the 2026-27 school year.

The state soccer championship bid was accepted for the next two years for Rock Springs and Green River. That will be for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years.

Remember, the new classification structure takes effect this fall. That moves 16 teams into 4A, 16 into 3A, 18 into 2A, and 20 or the rest into 1A. This impacts volleyball, basketball, and track and field. For sports like cross country and golf, that means the largest 16 schools are 4A, the next 16 are in 3A, and the rest are in 2A. For swimming and diving, indoor track, and soccer, the top 16 schools are 4A, and the rest are 3A.

WyoPreps will have more of the changes in fall sports later this summer.