By Tom Mix
NDHSAA Media Specialist

VALLEY CITY, N.D. – The North Dakota High School Activities Association Board of Directors met on Thursday, January 16.

Highlights of the meeting included:

• The announcement of new NDHSAA Board members for the 2020-21 school year.

• Approval of several recommendations from Athletic Review 

• Approval of the 2020 Fall Region Tournament sites.

• Approval of Don Hanson as a recipient of the NDHSAA’s Robert D. King Distinguished Service Award.

New NDHSAA Board members for the 2020-21 school year are:

Rick Diegel, Superintendent at Kidder County Public School District #1, was elected as the Class B Southeast representative.

Guy Fridley, Athletic Director at Dickinson High School, was elected as the North Dakota Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NDIAAA) representative.

Josh Johnson, Superintendent of Valley City Public Schools, was elected as the Class A At-Large representative.

The election of NDHSAA Board Members is determined by a vote of member schools. Board Members serve four-year terms.

The Board of Directors approved three coaches advisory and Athletic Review recommendations that will go into effect in the 2020-21 school year. LINK: 2019-20 ATHLETIC REVIEW GRID

2020 Fall Region Tournament sites approved can be found here: http://bit.ly/NDHSAA-Tour-Current

NOTE: Click the 2020-21 Tab on the bottom of the Tournament Sites Page.

Don Hanson, former editor of the North Dakota Hoopster Magazines, was approved as a recipient of the Robert D. King Distinguished Service Award presented by the North Dakota High School Activities Association.

The NDHSAA’s Distinguished Service Award recognizes individuals and organizations that have made positive contributions to interscholastic activities in the state.

Hanson, who passed away in September of 2018, began publishing the North Dakota Hoopster Magazine – a preseason high school and collegiate basketball preview magazine detailing in-depth looks at teams across the state – in 1983. He later added a Miss Hoopster Magazine in 1992. Along with team previews of every high school and collegiate team in North Dakota, Hanson’s Hoopster Magazines also featured the always popular high school basketball power polls and his preseason picks for each district, region and state winners.

The agenda also included the following items:

• Approval of the NDHSAA Football Guidelines to go into effect starting in 2021. The Guidelines will be sent to member schools for review and feedback. Any new amendments to the NDHSAA Football Guidelines will be reviewed at the March 31 NDHSAA Board of Directors Meeting.

• Approval of a new Track and Field Regulation to include a Wheelchair Division during regular season meets. The NDHSAA will offer four events in the Wheelchair Track and Field Division for the regular season. The track events will include the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. The field event opportunity will include the shot put.

• Approval of Board meeting dates for the 2020-21 school year. Dates for 2020-21 NDHSAA Board Meetings are: September 24, December 3, January 21, March 30 and June 7-8.

Follow NDHSAA on Twitter at @NDHSAA and visit www.ndhsaanow.com for the latest NDHSAA sports and activities news from around the state.