Paying in cash will cost you more during the playoffs

Cash isn’t always king when it comes to future attendance at IHSA state series sporting events.

The IHSA Board approved a recommendation to change ticket prices for those paying in cash vs. using the GoFan ticketing app on their phone.

That means football playoff rounds that require GoFan, the cost of cash tickets will be one dollar more than the cost of the digital GoFan ticket.

This will also apply if a host school chooses to use GoFan in a State Series round when GoFan it is not required.

“A cash ticket option will always exist in some capacity for IHSA postseason events because we respect that there are portions of the audience that may not have access to a smart phone or a digital payment option,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson.

“However, as we continue to broaden the usage of digital ticketing across IHSA Sectional events and beyond, we have also heard frustrations from host administrators regarding fans with the ability to pay digitally who choose not to. This creates issues for host schools in event management, staffing, and financial reporting that can impact a school’s ability to run a successful event. Thus, we wanted to create an incentive for fans who are able to use the digital ticketing option to do so.”

In other action the Board approved a recommendation to discontinue the Three-Point Showdown contest as a part of the IHSA Girls & Boys Basketball State Series.

Anderson commented that the showdown enjoyed a great run, but changes in the State Series dates and format last year created challenges conducting it at multiple levels of the State Series.

“As a result, we recommended discontinuing it for the time being so we can focus on how we make these pivotal postseason contests the best experience possible for the student-athletes, coaches, and fans.”

The Board approved a recommendation to approve the experimental use of the shot clock during girls and boys basketball games for regular-season tournaments and shootouts this school year.

All tournaments seeking to use the shot clock for regular-season tournaments and shootouts must apply for approval from the IHSA. Information regarding the approval process will be distributed to member schools.

“The IHSA’s survey of administrators and coaches last year made it very clear that our membership wasn’t ready to implement the shot clock in basketball at this juncture. Our priority now shifts to gathering feedback and data on the impact that the shot clock creates on game play, game management, and school finances. We look forward to working with our schools to pilot usage of the shot clock in some tournaments and shootouts this winter,” Anderson said.