The WIAA Board of Control approved four recommendations from its Soccer Coaches Advisory Committee at its January meeting Wednesday in Stevens Point, including changes to its tournament seeding format and the state tournament schedule.
Starting in the 2016-17 school year, all but one sectional in each of the four divisions of the boys and girls soccer tournaments will be seeded as a whole bracket. In the past, some sectionals were split in half and then seeded; under the plan approved Wednesday, only Sectional 1 in each division will follow that format.
Also, the days and times of the semifinals and finals of the state semifinals and championship games will rotate on a four-year schedule. In the current format, the Division 3 and 4 semifinals are on Thursdays and Division 1 and 2 semifinals are on Fridays, in advance of the Saturday finals played in a 4-3-2-1 order. The schedule adjustment will be re-evaluated following the 2017-18 school year.
The Board also approved recommendations to allow soccer teams to play scrimmages after three days of practice and to have higher-seeded teams wear white uniforms and be designated as the home team through sectional semifinals.
A large portion of Wednesday's meeting focused on conference realignment in southeast Wisconsin. Forty-five teams would be affected by the proposed changes, which will be discussed by the Board again in April. View the proposed plan (pdf)
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