“I am thrilled to join the IHSA family and work on
modernizing the technology, website, and offerings that are
available to IHSA member schools,” said Jensen. “I believe that my
experiences working for nearly twenty years in school districts
throughout the state will create opportunities for growth and align
with the mission and vision of the Association.”
Jensen comes to the IHSA after leading the technology departments at
Illinois school districts in Farmington, Dunlap, and Washington.
“We are excited to welcome Matt to the IHSA staff,” said IHSA
Executive Director Craig Anderson. “His background working in
schools and passion for sports are going to serve our member schools
well. He is a dynamic programmer and we believe his past experiences
will help him hit the ground running at the IHSA.”
Jensen attended Peoria High and Peoria Heights High School and
continued his education at Illinois Central College. He was one of
the first area graduates of the Cisco Systems Network Academy and
has held certifications in VMWare and Citrix. He has led district
technology initiatives ranging from network redesigns, server farms,
website redesigns, student information systems, and many other
projects throughout his career. He has also designed and developed
data warehouses for data integrations across multiple systems with
business intelligence dashboards and analytics.
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Jensen has a true passion for sports and activities and has built
multiple applications for area tournaments and events throughout the
years for statistical tracking.
"Working at the IHSA has been a dream of mine for many years,” said
Jensen. “It's surreal to be a part of such a wonderful organization
and an amazing group of individuals."
Jensen resides in Mahomet. His son Tyler is studying biochemistry at
Loyola University in Chicago. Jensen enjoys cheering on his niece
Addyson, gaming with his nephew Wilson, fishing with his family in
the Northwoods of Wisconsin, and his dog, Ellie.
ACTION ITEMS
1. The Board approved a recommendation to extend the IHSA
Cheerleading season limitation by one week for Chicago Public
Schools.
2. The Board approved a recommendation to conduct the IHSA All-State
Academic Team banquet in April. The banquet was held virtually in
2021 due to the pandemic.
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APPEALS & ELIGIBILITY RULINGS
1. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Lombard
(Montini). The student was ruled ineligible for non-compliance with IHSA By-law
3.043.3.
2. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Chicago
(Marist). The student was ruled ineligible for non-compliance with IHSA By-law
3.043.3.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
At each meeting of the Board of Directors, there are certain items the Board
discusses, but upon which no action is taken, or that action may not be
required. The following is a report of those items from the January 12, 2022,
agenda:
1. The Board discussed COVID-19 testing and vaccination protocols for IHSA State
Series sites. The IHSA will follow host venue policies regarding testing and
vaccination for student-athletes, coaches, fans, officials, media, and any other
game personnel. More information will be provided by IHSA staff to participating
schools based upon the policies in place at venues as State Series tournaments
progress. The current policy for the State Farm Center, which will host the IHSA
Individual Wrestling State Finals in February and the IHSA Boys Basketball State
Finals in March, can be found
here.
2. The Board discussed protocols for replacing teams in the State Series who
withdraw due to COVID-19 issues after advancing. The Board has directed the IHSA
staff to develop guidelines by sport.
3. The Board heard a report from the Executive Director on the NFHS Winter
Meeting held from January 3-6, 2022.
4. The Board heard a report from the staff members on the Lets Connect meeting
held from January 6-7, 2022.
5. The Board welcomed David Rosengard, the Executive Director of Sports
Administration for Chicago Public Schools, to the Board. David will serve in the
newly created non-voting liaison position that the Board approved at their
meeting in December, 2021. The liaison role is reserved for representation from
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) when CPS is not officially represented on the IHSA
Board.
About the IHSA
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jan/21/images/ads/current/charrons_bch_2022.png)
Founded in 1900, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is a private,
not-for-profit organization with more than 800-member high school schools in the
Land of Lincoln. The IHSA’s mission is governing the equitable participation of
over 400,000 high school students competing in 40 sports and activities.
Headquartered in Bloomington, the IHSA strives to promote academics,
sportsmanship, safety, good citizenship, and the lifelong values that are the
foundation of interscholastic participation. The Association also oversees the
licensing and education of over 15,000 officials. Visit www.IHSA.org for more
information
[Matt Troha]
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