High school sports in Wisconsin have gone big time. Never before has the prep scene received such extensive coverage -- good and bad. And that's why the governing body, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, has more on its plate than ever before.
There are more schools, more sports, more athletes. But growth can create controversies and problems. It is up to the WIAA to set the rules and standards and help to create an athletic environment that makes everyone happy. It is a tough task. But the person with the biggest office in Stevens Point likes to try.
On New Year's Day, Doug Chickering will begin his 22nd year as WIAA's executive director. He's been in top positions of authority throughout his career, working as a district administrator for 16 years at two different schools prior to his current tour of duty with the WIAA. Chickering has also been a principal, an athletic director, a coach and a teacher, so he's been in the shoes of the folks he must now oversee.
During the recent WIAA state football championships in Madison, OnMilwaukee.com sat down to chat with the man at the top of the WIAA.
OMC: Since you took this job back in 1986, has it been more of a challenge or about what you expected?
Doug Chickering: It's about what I expected. When you go into a position that's new and different than what you were doing, you don't really know what you should be doing the first couple of weeks. But you quickly find out, and I will tell anyone who follows me that they should not come in with a perceived agenda, they should let the agenda develop and then begin to nurture that, because that will reflect the needs of the WIAA, and then go from there putting your touches and your personality into it. I was very fortunate when I began because I had a person that was with them for over 20 years, Matt Otte. He was more than supportive.
OMC: What part of the job do you just hate?
DC: The most difficult thing to deal with is when you have to order a team to forfeit a game or games that might cost them a place in the playoffs or impact its standing going into a tournament when it's caused by an oversight by an adult. And there are people who will never understand why kids have to be punished for adult errors, but there can be too much creativity in some people's minds. If we excuse errors, misapplications or rules because of adult errors, we'll in effect have no rules. That's become the standard, and I think because we've maintained that standard, it's made our people more accountable.
OMC: This is the seventh year of the private schools and public schools all under one roof, so to speak. It seems like the uproar prior to the merger has died down, but are there still some people who think private schools have an advantage over public schools?
DC: At area meetings we have throughout the state, we talked about some things that might be done, and one of the options would have moved all of the non public schools up a division. And we were going to model that in just basketball to begin with. But ultimately we decided we can't do that, because we can't defend it. And the reason we can't defend it is that in all of our non public schools, we've got a combined enrollment of about 20,000 kids. If we look at all of the other kids in public schools, there are about 12,000 students grades 9 through 12. So how can we target that set of 20,000 because they've been successful and try to make it more difficult while we ignore the other set that's almost two thirds as large and just walk away from that? We would not be able to defend that and if we were to do that, we would have to defend it in one of two places, one would be in the courts, and the other might be before the legislator.
OMC: Did you have cases or situations in the past that were unique, and you thought to yourself, now I've seen it all?
DC: I used to think that a lot, but now it's once a week or so! That's what makes the job and the experience so much fun. It's a labor or love, and I wouldn't trade places with anybody.
OMC: If you had the power to do one thing, without having to get it approved by your board, without having to hear any argument from parents or coaches or anyone, what would that be?
DC: That's an easy question. Every kid should have an opportunity to participate in school activities whether it's athletic or non-athletic and not have to pay for it. Or not have to have booster clubs, so that programs are open to everybody. Because we found out that kids who participate in programs have better grade point averages, better attendance records, and they are less likely to be disciplinary problems. And recent research has shown that kids with a successful history of participation is a better predictor of future success than rank in class or GPA testing.
OMC: When you are up there handing out trophies, is it still a thrill? Is it emotional at times? What goes on in your gut?
DC: I have lumps in my throat all the time... tears in my eyes.
