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Arguably the biggest decision was actually a non-move in Ohio. The OHSAA unanimously rejected a proposal from some football coaches that would have allowed two weeks of spring practice in May. One of the major concerns about the proposal was the effect the move might have on spring sports participation.

"I'm ecstatic that it got voted down," Newark Catholic football coach Bill Franks told the Coshocton Tribune. "Anything we can do to keep kids playing multiple sports is important."

The OSHAA may still look to increase the number of coaching days available to teams during the summer period from June 1 to July 31. The current limit is 10 days. The Association also announced that attendance at 2010 football tournaments dropped by 83,000, causing a $500,000 decrease in revenue.

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Alabama is attempting to crack down on the practice of high school "recruiting" by toughening the penalties players and schools face for engaging in recruiting. Taking effect in the 2011-2012 school year, the rule states that if a player is deemed ineligible due to recruitment by a school, that player will never be eligible at that particular school. The previous penalty was a one-year loss of eligibility for the player and a fine for the school.

The AHSAA also modified its eligibility rule. Now, a student is limited to eight consecutive semesters of eligibility once they begin ninth grade. The old rule allowed players to withdraw or be expelled and lose no eligibility.

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Recruitment and transfer issues also topped the association meeting in Georgia earlier this month. According to rules that go into effect July 1, players who follow a coach to another school are deemed ineligible unless they prove the move is legitimate.

Additionally, the GHSA strengthened rules regarding who would be able to pay an athlete's tuition at a school, eliminating non-family members, churches, and businesses.

"Over the next year, I think we're going to see what will work and what won't work; I think it's a positive thing," Dr. Ralph Swearngin, GHSA executive director told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We're going to have to see after a year what kind of problems it may create for us and we may have to tweak a few things down the road. But we're going in the right direction."

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Pennsylvania hasn't had its state association meeting yet, but a proposed change by the PIAA has been met with resistance from coaches. The association, citing budget issues, wants to cut two games from the schedule for every sport, excluding football. It made a similar move three years ago, but coaches aren't terribly supportive of doing it again.

The PIAA proposed the idea at the recent WPIAL athletic directors meeting two weeks ago. Despite the opposition, the measure could still pass at the PIAA Board of Control meeting in May.

In another move aimed at cutting costs, the PIAA proposed a return to an East-West playoff bracket for all sports. Currently, some teams play in the opposite geographical bracket, which increases travel costs for many schools. The change needs to be approved by schools statewide before it can take effect.

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The main focus of North Carolina high school athletic directors remains finances. At the most recent NCADA meeting, athletic directors discussed various ways to increase revenue. One idea has been to continue a push toward local advertising.

"I think most of us are focused on the local mom-and-pop, the local people getting involved," Ashley High School athletic director Roy Turner told the Star News. "What we try to do is find out what we can do for these people and how they can help us."

Another possibility includes the live streaming of games, which was proposed by a company called PlayOn sports. It's an idea that had ADs interested, although a local columnist who was at the meeting questioned its viability.

"Every other media company has been trying to make money with online content since the Internet's inception," wrote the Star News' Powell Latimer. "Only ESPN has succeeded in doing so. It really is tough to make money on the internet, but we have never reached a point where people won't get excited about high school sports. So maybe it's something you'll be seeing in the coming years."

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South Dakota made changes in three sports at its recent athletic association meeting. It has lowered the number of teams that will qualify for the state football playoffs in Class 11AA from 16 to 12, and given the top four seeds first-round byes. The SDHSAA has also replaced district tournaments with region tournaments in Class B wrestling, and mandated that gymnastics teams need at least four competitors to be considered a "team" in any contest.

Patrick Bohn is an Assistant Editor at Athletic Management.