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As we all know, when problems arise in a conference, they can snowball and become increasingly difficult to deal with. And too many times, member schools are busy trying to put out fires in their athletic programs and have a hard time focusing on issues developing within the conference. The following is designed to help you fine-tune your conference.

One way high school conferences might improve what they are doing is to complete a self-inspection. This can be done yearly or based on another time frame agreed upon by conference members. This simple tool, called the "Conference Barometer," is a survey which asks each member school to rate certain aspects of their conference.

This barometer can have questions adjusted by the conference, especially if there is an issue that needs to be settled. It should provide league and school officials insight on the conference's operational strengths and weaknesses in areas like media relations, facilities, fan support, decline in enrollment, operation of conference tournaments, selection of all-league teams, administration of the league, and conference loyalty.

Our barometer also allows you to rate their facilities and the quality of competition they provide. Do you consider all schools in your conference a rival or just a contest you need to play? Is there a school you would like to see leave the conference? These are sensitive questions best addressed in an anonymous survey.

One of the main goals of the Barometer is to help conferences avoid potentially embarrassing situations. Taking the time to fine-tune a conference gives member schools peace of mind and assures them they are participating in a league that gives their student-athletes a quality competitive experience.

Too many times, issues are not discussed in an open meeting because administrators don't want to offend another school or league administrator in front of their peers. Schools have left conferences due to issues that other members and league administrators were never aware of. This happened recently in Illinois when two members were blindsided and left looking for a new conference after four unhappy members left without discussing the issues that were bothering them.

The Barometer is also designed to help conference commissioners, the majority who are part-time, make adjustments to the conference operations. If you never change the oil in your car, it might run for a long time, but sooner or later it is going to have major problems. Changing it on a regular basis makes it run smooth for a longer period of time. The same holds true for your conference.

Who should complete the surveys? Actually, I recommend having two surveys--one for coaches and one for athletic and school administrators. I've found it works best for each respondent to complete the survey anonymously. This keeps the politics out of the equation, and creates an environment that welcomes more straightforward responses. Results of the surveys should be collected and reported on by a third party that is not associated with the conference or any of its members. The Senior Reports is more than happy to handle these surveys and keep them confidential.

We provide service free to any high school conference. This service also includes a short summary analysis of the responses and recommendations based on what we see.

To access our free "Conference Barometer" survey, click here.

Dave Schmidt is a consultant and owner of THE SENIOR REPORTS. He has worked with high school and college conferences on ways to improve their operations. He was a founder and the first commissioner of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association. Contact him at: www.theseniorreports.com.