This morning, the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Board of Directors has approved membership dues to be collected during the upcoming academic school year. The measure was voted on unanimously as a recommendation from OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute:
“First, I want to thank our board of directors for unanimously approving my recommendation. I also have received favorable feedback from the majority of the administrators with whom I have conversed at our member schools. Levying membership dues does not change our mission, which is to serve our member schools and enrich interscholastic opportunities for students."
For the 2021-2022 school year, high schools will contribute $50 per OHSAA sanctioned sport in which the school participates. The OHSAA has cited that the current financial model is not sustainable especially given the global pandemic. Doug Ute continued:
“We traditionally have relied on tournament ticket sales for about 80 percent of our revenue,” Ute explained. “That financial model has not been sustainable, and the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly not helped. Levying membership dues will give us a steady line of income since many of our other lines are variable, and it will help us build a new, more sustainable revenue model. That model, which will help ensure our long-term sustainability, will be a combination of a wider variety of income streams – including these dues – and continued better management of our expenses.”
Dues are projected to range from $300 to $1300 per school depending upon the number of sanctioned sports the school has. These dues will be under annual review and will not exceed $100 per sport.
Learn more from the approved proposal here.