MSHSAA Board Meeting Summary: Dec. 4, 2025
COLUMBIA – The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Board of Directors met for its regularly scheduled board meeting Dec. 4 in St. Joseph. The Board addressed a range of topics impacting member schools across the state.
The Board approved a restructuring of the championship venue bid process, shifting from individual, sport/activity-by-sport/activity Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for five-year terms to a unified, single RFP process for three-year cycles for all championship and festival events. The current system requires annual or near-annual RFP releases for multiple activities, placing a frequent heavy burden on sports commissions and convention and visitors bureaus preparing single-event bids. The updated approach reflects industry trends favoring comprehensive, multi-event packages and is designed to make the process more efficient and accessible for host communities.
Under the new structure, MSHSAA will phase in venue contract adjustments so that all activities align on the same three-year cycle by the 2031-32 school year. To achieve alignment, we will issue RFP’s for new three-year agreements starting in January 2026 and use short-term extensions where needed for certain sports and activities. The first full championship event RFP is scheduled for release in January 2029, giving communities the opportunity to submit bundled proposals across multiple championships.
“This revised model positions us to better serve our member schools and our host communities,” MSHSAA Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Rukstad said. “By moving to a three-year commitment and packaging all of our events, we believe more venues will be encouraged to participate due to the flexibility to bid when their facilities and local priorities are best aligned.”
In addition, the Board approved recommendations from the Athletic Director, Golf, Softball and Cross Country Advisory Committees. Specific information on those board actions will be available
here in the future.
The Board will meet again for a regularly scheduled meeting in January.