A long list of agenda items welcomed the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s executive board back from its summer vacation.

And the nine-member board wasted little time voting through a couple of very important proposals during its first meeting of the 2014-15 school calendar year. Protecting student athletes from head injuries continues to be a priority for the AIA and its board, and they remained at the forefront of that national high school debate by passing emergency legislation Monday that will limit the amount of playing time for some football players.

Division V and VI football players can no longer play an unlimited amount of regular season games, joining another division, IV, that already follows that football bylaw, 23.5.3.2. The players in D-V-VI can still play a full regular season schedule, but they now can’t exceed a 50 percent scheduled game threshold.

Since some programs in the lower divisions struggle to fill their freshmen, junior varsity and varsity rosters, they are allowed to play their players on each team multiple times during the regular season. But now they can’t do so as much as in the past.

If, for example, a D-V player participates in 10 regular season varsity football games, he can now only play in at least five junior varsity games in the same season. If a D-VI player participates in eight regular season varsity games, he can now only play in at least four junior varsity games in one season.

Football players in D-I-III can only each participate in 10 regular season games.

The executive board also passed an AIA proposal to eliminate the $100 service charge Arizona schools were preparing to charge out of state teams to participate in Arizona high school tournaments. The AIA originally implemented the fee as well as other in-state school fees this summer.

On Monday, the board also approved a computer scheduling committee proposal that will allow the AIA to align its two-year scheduling block with its out of state neighbors. Arizona’s two-year block currently ends on odd years, but after the 2015-16 school year it will end on even years.

Arizona schools that tend to schedule out of state games won’t have as many issues scheduling those games now. The board also reviewed Monday a proposal that the private schools presented.

The private schools wanted the board to approve two options, a multiplier formula and previous playoff history/section title history, to help determine which private schools would move up to a higher division. 

The proposal never reached a vote after a 15-20 minute discussion.

“There’s a bylaw that they (private schools) are all going to be moved up, and then if they want to appeal down they can go through that process,” said Chuck Schmidt, the AIA’s associate executive director. “We will work hard to make sure that the process is done in a fair and equitable manner.”

Other important items that were also discussed during Monday’s board meeting:

The board instructed the AIA to continue investigating a couple of schools, including Marana Mountain View, for allegedly recruiting football players. 

---The AIA will look at ways to help eliminate the cancellation of games, which happens more often in the lower divisions. Fining teams was an option that was raised.

---The board approved a proposal from Valley Christian to allow the school to host a boys basketball Thanksgiving tournament filled with former Class 2A Metro Region team.

---Gilbert Christian’s baseball program was placed on probation last season after canelling a game it rescheduled but couldn’t play because some of its players attended a “senior ditch day” event. Gilbert Christian appealed the ruling and the punishment was dropped to a warning.