LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR CHANGE IN NSAA RULES AND REGULATIONS
Title:

8th Graders Participating in Varsity and JV Competition w/o Impacting 4-yr HS Eligibility

Author:Matt Asche
School:Meridian
NSAA District:1
 
Proposal for:Constitution & Bylaws
 
Classes Affected:All
Activities Affected:Baseball
Boys Basketball
Girls Basketball
Boys Soccer
Girls Soccer
Softball
Volleyball
This proposal:WILL NOT increase costs to the school
WILL NOT increase costs to the NSAA
WILL NOT increase travel for participating schools
WILL NOT decrease a student's or coach's instruction time
Implementation date:2026-09-30
Sections affected in Constitution & Bylaws:Page
22
24
25
28
29
Article
2
2
2
2
2
Section
2.1.1
2.2.2
2.2.3
2.6.3
2.6.4
Summary:This proposal would allow 8th grade students to participate in HS Varsity and JV competitions in Volleyball, Basketball, Baseball, Softball, and Soccer. Any 8th grade student who would participate would not sacrifice any of their 4-year HS eligibility and would be able to participate in Varsity, JV, and JH seasons concurrently.
Rationale:The email list serve is littered with requests for Varsity and JV competitions due to cancelations. This change is needed to allow for more consistent development of HS student-athletes by being able to have Varsity and JV competitions. Due to declining enrollment and participation, this would allow schools to continue to offer opportunities. There would be no game limit or student count impacting qualification. Individual schools would have local control over allowing their respective 8th graders to compete in varsity and JV competitions.

Currently, the NSAA Constitution prohibits this proposal. NDE Rule 10 puts caps on number of competitions for middle school/JH. However, NDE-NSAA focus group has been looking at this possibility and are scheduled to meet again this fall.
Pros:Increased opportunites for student-athletes to develop skillsets.
Allow schools to offer Varsity and JV competitions more regularly.
More talented 8th graders get to develop and challenge their skillsets against older competition.
Cons: