By Paige Orr, Fox23 News
TULSA, Okla. — The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) is beginning a comprehensive review of its core rules, some of which have governed student activities in the state for more than 60 years.
The organization, which oversees 27 different activities from marching band and debate to esports and football, is forming a committee of local school leaders to decide what the modern era of student competition should look like.
“Our 24 existing rules that help govern the membership have been in place, some of them dating back to 1960, 1965,” said OSSAA Associate Director Trinity Johnson. “And so as times change, we understand that we need to change to better serve student-athletes and better serve our schools.”
The OSSAA is currently accepting nominations from its 482 member schools to fill those committee seats.
Mick Wilson, Executive Director of Athletics for Tulsa Public Schools, says the “fresh look” is a necessary step given the evolving nature of high school sports.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction,” said Wilson. “It’s a great time to review some of the processes and rules that you have in place and to get input from your member schools.”
- Rule 15 (Classification): How the state groups public and private schools for competition.
- Rule 24 (The Link Rule): Regulations regarding students moving schools to follow a specific coach.
- Rule 5 (Amateurism): Updating rules to reflect the modern “Name, Image, and Likeness” (NIL) and social media era.
The review process is designed to be collaborative. As the committee proposes changes each month, those recommendations move to the OSSAA Board of Directors. If approved, the changes are sent to all 482 member schools for a vote, where a simple majority decides the outcome.
“We felt like this would be an important task to undertake to help better serve our school leaders and the student-athletes that participate in activities across the state,” said Johnson.
While the voting process will occur throughout the year, any approved changes are not expected to take effect until July 1, 2027.
You can read all 24 core rules here:
