GSIAA officially running, opening school membership application soon

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - The Gulf State Independent Athletic Association officially debuted in a news conference Thursday morning in Montgomery.

The news comes weeks after the leaders with the Alabama Independent School Association announced plans to dissolve sports after the 2026-2027 school year. Many of those schools from AISA are expected to make the jump to the GSIAA. Member applications start Sunday, Nov. 1. Schools have until late April to be considered and the league opens in Fall of 2027.

Organizers for the GSIAA say a key element that makes the group unique is that governance will rest entirely in the hands of its member schools, rather than an executive committee or central director.

“It’s an association that’s being built by the schools for the schools. It is member-driven,” said Racheal Lott, a GSIAA official. “The schools will be the boss. They will decide that there will be nothing that can be done without a majority vote of two-thirds of the members.”

The legislative assembly will grant one vote to every member school, backed by classification safeguards to ensure larger programs cannot outvote smaller ones.

“The higher classes can’t vote to do stuff that affects the lower classes because it would have to pass within that lower class as well,” said Joseph Lee, who helped craft the bylaws after studying 16 state athletic associations across the country.

Officials are hoping to get up to 50 members. If they are successful, they could have classes range from 1A to 4A.

Unlike traditional systems that separate public and private schools or apply competitive balance multipliers, the association will organize competition strictly by enrollment without artificial modifiers.

Key highlights of the new bylaws include:

•Any public, private, or charter school can apply. Associate memberships will also be offered to homeschool groups.

•Fifty percent of surplus revenue will be distributed equally among all member schools, with the remaining 50% allocated proportionally by enrollment.

•Student-athletes transferring between member schools must sit out for one year unless their family moves at least 60 miles from their previous residence. Eligible movers will clear in three days without sitting out.

•A 17-member founding board composed equally of athletic directors and headmasters will govern through May 2028, at which point member schools will elect a permanent board.

While it’s believed many AISA schools will look to make the jump to the GSIAA, there’s been interest from private schools across the state. Officials say they’ve reached out to speak with private schools in both the AISA and AHSAA in Montgomery, Mobile, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Dothan, etc. Non-private schools are also welcome to join.

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