Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) Records, 1917-1980 | Eastern Kentucky University - Special Collections and Archives

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) was organized in Louisville in April 1917, when a small group of educational leaders met during the annual meeting of the Kentucky Educational Association to discuss the regulation of inter-high school athletic contests. The writing of a constitution and by-laws was left to the organization's governing body, to be known as the Board of Control. The Board's initial meeting on September 22, 1917, established the KHSAA's purpose--to purify athletics and codify basic rules of player eligibility and athletic conduct. Although the Association's Secretary, John H. Way, in his first letter to high school principals, declared that high schools had long felt the need for the influence of such an association, only eighteen schools were sufficiently interested to join it. Enthusiasm for membership in the Association was slow to develop, but from an initial membership of 21 schools, the organization has grown to a membership in excess of 290 schools.

The records on deposit with EKU have been divided into seven series: the Audio Visual Series (16mm films and video tapes of KHSAA sponsored championship athletic contests - mostly basketball and football); the Board of Control Series (consists of correspondence, meeting minutes, and subject files) - Note: the Board of Control Series is currently being reorganized; the Newspaper Clipping Series (original and photocopied clippings covering the years 1930-1994; the Photograph Series (contains the official photographs of the Boys State Basketball Tournament, 1952-1955, and photographs of KHSAA office staff and official functions, 1957-1970); the Publication Series (official publications of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association are included in this series - four main publications are The Athlete, the Constitution, By-laws and Tournament Rules, the Directory of Member Schools, and the State Tournament Programs); the Schools Series (contains team eligibility lists and correspondence between the KHSAA office and the member schools); and the Tournament Series (documents the history of district, regional and state tournaments and includes tournament results and score books.