January 15, 2026 at 9:00 AM - JANUARY BOARD OF CONTROL
| Regular Board | |
| Attendance Taken on 1/15/2026 at 8:27 AM | |
| Mark Dunn | Present |
| Dennis Goodwin | Present |
| Mark Price | Present |
| Mike Reed | Present |
| Stephen Sheaffer | Present |
| Patrick Spangler | Present |
| Dr. Jon Stencel | Present |
| Grant Swallows | Present |
| Bryan True | Present |
| Scott Vogel | Present |
| Dexter Williams | Absent |
| Jody Wright | Present |
| Present: 11, Absent: 1 | |
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Comments:
Ex officio members present were Dan Black, President of the Legislative Council; Dirk Ash, representing the Tennessee Association of Secondary School Principals; Mike Ellson, representing the Tennessee Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association; Bill Marbet, representing the Tennessee Athletic Coaches Association; and Dan Schlafer, representing the Tennessee School Boards Association. Rick Colbert, representing Thompson Burton, attorney for the association, was also present. Present from the state office staff were Mark Reeves, Matthew Gillespie, Richard McWhirter, Emily Crowell, Joe Blair, David Uyl, Bradley Lambert, Brenda Dwyer, Shonnie Speicher, Heather Carter, Halie Tunks, and Lauren Jones.
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| Regular Board | |
| Attendance Taken on 1/15/2026 at 2:28 PM | |
| Mark Dunn | Present |
| Dennis Goodwin | Present |
| Mark Price | Present |
| Mike Reed | Present |
| Stephen Sheaffer | Absent |
| Patrick Spangler | Present |
| Dr. Jon Stencel | Present |
| Grant Swallows | Present |
| Bryan True | Present |
| Scott Vogel | Present |
| Dexter Williams | Absent |
| Jody Wright | Present |
| Present: 10, Absent: 2 | |
| Minutes | ||||||||||||
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I. Call to Order
Speaker(s):
Grant Swallows
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II. Roll Call
Speaker(s):
Grant Swallows
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III. Approval of Minutes
Speaker(s):
Grant Swallows
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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IV. Financial Reports
Speaker(s):
Mark Reeves
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IV.A. Financial Report of the 2025 Boys and Girls Golf State Tournaments
Speaker(s):
Mark Reeves
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
No action was required.
Attachments:
()
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IV.B. Financial Report of the 2025 Girls Volleyball Tournaments
Speaker(s):
Mark Reeves
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
No action was required.
Attachments:
()
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IV.C. Financial Report of the 2025 Girls Soccer Tournaments
Speaker(s):
Mark Reeves
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
No action was required.
Attachments:
()
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IV.D. Financial Report of the 2025 Cross Country State Meet
Speaker(s):
Mark Reeves
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
No action was required.
Attachments:
()
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IV.E. Financial Report of the 2025 Cheer & Dance Competition
Speaker(s):
Mark Reeves
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
No action was required.
Attachments:
()
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IV.F. Financial Report of the 2025 Football Playoffs
Speaker(s):
Mark Reeves
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
No action was required.
Attachments:
()
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V. Reports & Updates
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V.A. Recap of NIAAA Conference and Preview of TIAAA Conference
Speaker(s):
Mark Reeves
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
Mike Ellson provided an update to the members of the Board. Athletic administrators are encouraged to pursue certification. The TIAAA conference will be held in Knoxville on April 10-13, 2026. The conference will move to Franklin in 2027.
Attachments:
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V.B. December 11, 2025, Legislative Council Meeting
Speaker(s):
Mark Reeves
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
Mark Reeves updated the members of the Board. The members of the Board requested that the Legislative Council clarify when the new rule will go into effect that will allow school coaches to coach their own children at times when they are not otherwise permitted to coach athletes at their school.
Attachments:
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V.C. TSSAA Office Building Update
Speaker(s):
Mark Reeves
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
Mark Reeves updated the Board of Control. The loan closed on December 18. Erosion control and site work has started. The staff will review rates again at the beginning of February to see if it is advantageous to lock in a lower rate.
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V.D. Update on Regional Basketball Sites
Speaker(s):
Mark Reeves
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
Schools need to send in Region basketball sites if they have not already been submitted.
Links:
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V.E. Enrollments for Classification 2027-2029
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
This item was brought to the Board for discussion. Enrollments will be gathered in the fall of the 2026-27 school year. The Board needs to determine if the most current year's enrollment data will be used or if an average of two years will be used for classification. This item will be placed on the March agenda for a first reading and the June agenda for a second reading and action. Board members are encouraged to get feedback from their schools.
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VI. Business Items
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VI.A. 2026-27 & 2027-28 TSSAA Calendars
Speaker(s):
Mark Reeves
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
The 2026-27 calendar was previously approved. Mark Reeves discussed changes to the Regional Meeting schedule. Both calendars were updated to allow basketball practice to begin three weeks prior to the Hall of Champions games.
Attachments:
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VI.B. Page High School Requests Change to Golf Classification
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Attachments:
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VI.C. Football Regulations
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
The Board asked the staff to communicate to schools that it would be in their interest to decide to play an independent schedule for the new classification if they are unsure if they will be able to participate fully.
Attachments:
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VI.D. DI Football Playoff Brackets
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
The Board of Control requested the staff to conduct a survey of all DI football coaches and administrators in advance of the new cycle.
Attachments:
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VI.E. DII Football Classification
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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VI.F. Officials Fees Recommendation 2026-2029
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
The Board would like to see the comparison to surrounding states. The staff can also provide an estimated increase per school per sport.
Attachments:
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VI.G. Request for Lacrosse Co-op Exception
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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VI.H. Webb School of Knoxville Proposes an Exception to the Sports Calendar for Boys Basketball During the NCAA Live Recruiting Periods
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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VI.I. Seeding for TSSAA Division I Basketball Tournament
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
No action was taken. The state office can take the 2026 March brackets, apply the RPI, and show the Board a hypothetical of what the bracket would have looked like at the June meeting. Basketball teams would need to get into the habit of reporting wins and losses to MaxPreps in order for the state office to have accurate data. This item will be placed back on the June agenda.
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VI.J. Hardship Requests
Speaker(s):
Mark Reeves
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VI.J.1. Grace Christian Academy, Knoxville, TN
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VI.J.2. Westwood High School, Memphis, TN
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VI.J.3. Memphis Business Academy, Memphis, TN
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VI.J.4. Evangelical Christian School, Cordova, TN
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VI.J.5. Briarcrest Christian School, Eads, TN (Not Appearing)
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VI.J.6. Briarcrest Christian School, Eads, TN (Not Appearing)
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VI.J.7. Westwood Middle School, Manchester, TN (Not Appearing)
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VI.J.8. East Ridge High School, Chattanooga, TN (Not Appearing)
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VII. Adjournment
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Discussion (Appears on Minutes Report):
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
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