(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)

Colorado will use a 40-second play clock in football this season as it takes part in a three-state experiment of a new rule.

It means that an offensive team will have exactly 40 seconds to snap the ball after the end of the previous play, except for a few select circumstances. No official will give a signal to mark the ball ready for play.

This marks a change from the use of a 25-second play clock. Previously, an official would have to signal to start the play clock after marking the ball ready for play. That won’t happen with the 40-second clock, as it will run as soon as the previous play ends. Additionally, the ball will be ready for play as soon as it is placed, and no official will make a signal, nor blow a whistle.

A 25-second clock will still be used in a few instances, including, for example, after a penalty, a timeout, an injury, a measurement, change of possession, or a scoring play.

The aim is to provide a consistent interval between plays, said CHSAA associate commissioner Tom Robinson, who is in charge of officials.

“We try to work with referees in terms of when they mark and spot the ball,” Robinson said. “Teams are often waiting for the ready to play. There are a number of inconsistencies, and this will hopefully give teams the opportunity to dictate the pace of the game. We want the teams to dictate the pace, not the officials.”

Additionally, the play clock will not wait on a chain crew after a first down.

“They’re not going to wait for the chain crew, period,” Robinson said. “(The officials) might drop a bean bag to mark a first down” if the chain crew isn’t in position at the snap following a first down.

In a brief explaining the new rule, the Colorado Football Officials Association (CFOA) wrote:

With a 40-second play clock, the ball is ready for play when an official spots the ball and steps away to his position. The 40-second play clock has significantly standardized the time the offense has to put the ball into play.

Colorado is one of three states using the experimental rule, along with Indiana and Michigan. Indiana piloted the the rule last season, and Texas has been using it since 2014. It is also used by the NCAA.

The experimental rule could be in place for up to three seasons, Robinson said, but it is possible that it goes before the NFHS football rules committee in that period.

“If it’s a compelling presentation, then they could change the rule in a year,” Robinson said. “If they don’t, we’ll do (the experimental rule) again for the next two or three years with the hope that we can convince enough states that we should change it.”

Windsor’s Corte Tapia (31) committed to Colorado State University. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

After helping Windsor win the Class 4A state football championship, Corte Tapia has decided he will stay in northern Colorado.

The senior linebacker announced on Twitter Thursday that he has committed to play football at Colorado State University.

https://twitter.com/CorteTapia/status/758742955163131905

In his career at Windsor, Tapia has has amassed 332 tackles with 157 of them coming last year. He proved to be quite the defensive standout in 2015 as he forced five fumbles and recovered three.

He and the Wizards put on a show in the 4A title game last December en route to a 35-14 win over Loveland. Tapia and the defense held the Indians scoreless in the second half as they clinched the state title.

Tapia’s commitment has been reflected in the CHSAANow.com recruiting database for the class of 2017.

AURORA — The Colorado High School Activities Association and its 352 member schools open the 96th school year with Boys’ Golf official practice on August 8. All other sports start officially on August 15. Student athletes in Cross Country, Field Hockey, Boys’ Golf, Football, Girls’ Gymnastics, Boys’ Soccer, Softball, Boys’ Tennis, Volleyball and Spirit anxiously await that starting date.

Prior to the start of practice, though, the CHSAA will have participated in several meetings for coaches and school administrators, including the annual New AD/Principal’s and League Presidents/District Athletic Directors meetings, held in conjunction with CHSAA’s All-School Summit on August 1-2. The annual Colorado High School Coaches Association meeting is set for July 28-29 with all CHSAA administrators participating in the various events.

“Nelson Mandela once said that education is the most powerful weapon one can use to change the world. Each new school year begins the same way with great hope and desire that our next generation will surpass anything our generation left. High school athletics and activities, community-based and focused on the transformation of students have proven time and again to be a vehicle to accomplish change and build better people. Schools, as the hubs of their communities, remain the driving force behind all that is good in our world,” CHSAA Commissioner Paul Angelico said.

Teams may start playing tournaments on August 11 for Boys’ Golf, games on August 19 for Softball and August 18 for Boys’ Tennis. On August 20, all other sports start scrimmage competition, except for football which starts on August 25. Check out the CHSAA calendar for scrimmage dates at CHSAANow.com.

In May, 1921, a group of superintendents and principals met in Boulder and organized the Colorado High School Athletic Conference. The purpose of this organization was to better regulate and develop the interscholastic school athletic program.

There were nine leagues by the time the first constitution was published, including the Northern, North Central, Western Slope, Suburban, Southeastern, Arkansas Valley, South Central and San Juan Basin leagues.

The first champions crowned that school year were Colorado Springs in football, Greeley in basketball, and Fort Collins in track and field.

In 1924, the Colorado High School Athletic Conference joined the National Federation of State High School Associations and has remained an active member of that organization ever since.

Loveland’s R.W. Truscott was the Association’s first president and Eaton’s J.C. Casey its first secretary (commissioner). Truscott replaced Casey as secretary in December, 1926 and held that post until July, 1948 when Glenn T. Wilson became commissioner. Ray C. Ball took over the commissioner’s post in 1966 and remained in the office until August, 1986 when Ray Plutko assumed the duties. Bob Ottewill became the Association’s sixth commissioner in July, 1990, followed by Bill Reader who served as Commissioner from 2002 until 2010. Angelico assumed the position on July 1, 2010

The CHSAA has had 59 presidents dating back to 1921. Its current president, Boulder High School Athletic Director Eddie Hartnett is in the second year of a two-year term as president.

The Association enters the year with few changes on staff. Paul Angelico, in his 27th year at CHSAA, is Commissioner. Associate Commissioner Tom Robinson is in his 16th year on the CHSAA staff, while Assistant Commissioners Bert Borgmann, is in his 29th year, while Bethany Brookens and Harry Waterman are in their ninth year, respectively. Assistant Commissioners Bud Ozzello and Jenn Roberts-Uhlig are in their seventh and fourth years, respectively, with CHSAA. Ryan Casey is in his fourth year with CHSAA as Director of Digital Media.

Donna Coonts serves as executive administrative assistant to Commissioner Angelico, while Whitney Webermeier (Borgmann), Sandra Williamson) (Brookens), Theresa Muniz (Waterman), Audra Cathy (Ozzello), Kathryn McOmber (Roberts-Uhlig) and Monica Tillman (Robinson) are the executive administrative assistants to other administrators. Director of Financial Operations Kenzie Hewson and mail room coordinator Sharon Garcia round out the Association staff.

[divider]

CHSAA Administrative Staff and Major Assignments

• Paul Angelico, Commissioner (Classification and League Organization Committee, Board of Directors, Legislative Council, Budget, Hardship Waivers, Calendars, Handbook, Personnel)
• Tom Robinson, Associate Commissioner (Golf, Officials, Officials’ Fees Committee, Sportsmanship, Sportsmanship Seminars, Officials’ Organizations, Office Manager)
• Bert Borgmann, Assistant Commissioner (Baseball, Basketball, Gymnastics, Hall of Fame, Media Relations, Cooperative Programs, Legislative Relations, Programs, State Records/Championship Results, Trophies & Awards, Foreign Waivers)
• Bethany Brookens, Assistant Commissioner (Field Hockey, Tennis, Music, Skiing, Swimming, Volleyball, Title IX, Equity, New Schools, Participation Survey)
• Harry Waterman, Assistant Commissioner (Football, Wrestling, Lacrosse, Student Council, NFHS Section 6, Coaching Registration, Playoff Sites, Tournament Playoff & Finance, CADA Liaison)
• Bud Ozzello, Assistant Commissioner (Softball, Soccer, Speech, Ice Hockey, Sanctioned Events, Building Engineer, Out of State Travel)
• Jenn Roberts-Uhlig, Assistant Commissioner (Cross Country, Spirit, Track & Field, Corporate Relations, Recognition Programs, Academic Team/All-State, Sports Medicine, Junior High/Middle Schools, New Athletic Directors Meeting, T-Shirts/Merchandise)
• Ryan Casey, Director of Digital Media (CHSAANow.com; Technology Advancement, CHSAA.org, State Records/Championship Results)

[divider]

CHSAA Board of Directors

(Leagues Represented) [term expires]

• CHSAA President/ District 6 (Continental, Front Range, 5280): (Serving second year of two-year term): Eddie Hartnett, Athletic Director (Boulder High School) [2017]
• District 1 (San Juan Basin, Western Slope, Southwestern): Paul Cain, District Athletic Director (Grand Junction Schools) [2018]
• District 2 (Centennial, Northern, Frontier, Tri-Valley): Rick Logan, District Athletic Director (Thompson Valley Schools) [2020]
• District 3 (High Plains, Lower Platte, Mile High, North Central, Patriot, Union Pacific, YWKC): Doug Pfau, Superintendent (Weldon Valley Schools [2019]
• District 4 (Jefferson County, East Metro, Colorado 7): Jim Thyfault, District Athletic Director (Jefferson County Schools) [2017]
• District 5 (Denver, Metropolitan, Confluence): Loren Larrabee, Athletic Director (Lutheran High School) [2018]
• District 7 (CS Metro 4A, CS Metro 5A, Pikes Peak, Tri-Peaks, West Central): Troy Baker, Athletic Director (Buena Vista HS) [2019]
• District 8 (Black Forest, Fisher’s Peak, Intermountain, Southern Peaks): Joe Garcia, Athletic Director (Antonito High School) [2018]
• District 9 (Arkansas Valley, Santa Fe, South Central, Southeastern): Richard Macias, Dist. Athletic Dir. (Pueblo City Schools 60) [2017]
• At-Large Representative: Kathleen Leiding, Athletic Director (Lyons High School) [2017]
• At-Large Representative: Kelley Eichman, Athletic Director (Fountain-Fort Carson High School) [2019]
• Colorado Association of School Boards: Jon DeStefano, CASB (Platte Canyon Schools) [2020]
• Colorado Association of School Executives: Jim Lucas, Assistant Principal (Pine Creek High School) [2019]
• Colorado Association of School Executives: Rick Mondt, Superintendent (Briggsdale Schools) [2017]
• Colorado Department of Education: Wendy Dunaway, Colorado Department of Education [2019]
• Colorado State Assembly: Jim Wilson, Salida (State Representative, Salida) [2017]

With the 2016-17 season quickly approaching, the fall sports bulletins were posted on Tuesday.

They are available on the main bulletins page, or on individual sports pages. Here are direct links to the fall sports:

• Boys cross country
• Girls cross country
• Field hockey
• Football
• Boys golf
• Gymnastics
• Boys soccer
• Spirit
• Softball
• Boys tennis
• Volleyball

The first day of fall practice is Aug. 8 for boys golf, and Aug. 15 for all other fall sports.

Contests begin with boys golf on Aug. 11. Boys tennis begins competition on Aug. 18, softball starts on Aug. 19, and all other sports begin on Aug. 25. (That includes the annual Zero Week in football.)

Other important dates can be found in the 2016-17 calendar.

Now’s your chance to win free entry to all high school sports events for the 2016-17 school year.

We have just launched our yearly giveaway of Courtesy Cards on all of our social media platforms. Additionally, we are seeking donations to our Foundation — with a limited number of Courtesy Cards available to those who donate.

We’re giving one Courtesy Card away on Twitter:

Want a Courtesy Card? Now's your chance to win free entry to all events! RT/Like this to enter. Must follow #copreps pic.twitter.com/RlotRoUfSm

— CHSAA (@CHSAA) July 27, 2016

… one away on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/CHSAA/photos/a.10150241632445823.326400.126693060822/10153723491220823/?type=3&theater

… and another away on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIXyqaXBw4Q/?taken-by=chsaa

In order to be eligible to win, entrants must be following the account they are interacting with. Additionally, they must be at least 18 years old. The winners will be announced this Friday.

By the way, we’re also on Vine, Periscope, and probably Snapchat in the future.

In addition, we are soliciting donations to our Foundation for Colorado High School Student Activities in support of CHSAANow. A limited number of Courtesy Cards are available to those who donate $500 or more. As the Foundation (and CHSAA) are non-profit organizations, a portion of the donation is tax-deductible.

The Foundation supports activities that enhance athletics and activities, especially leadership and promotional programs.

If you are interested in donating to the Foundation, please include your information below:

[caspio method=”embed” subdomain=”true” url=”https://c0gaf245.caspio.com” appkey=”d2f23000b5898623554040468691″]

Cherry Creek’s Tanner O’Tremba (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

As MaxPreps continues to release its baseball All-American lists, Colorado players continue to rake in the honors.

Tuesday, the site released its list of 2016 Underclassman All-American teams and three Colorado players were included in the bunch.

Freshman Davis Heller (Valor Christian) and sophomores Jay Onken (Pine Creek) and Tanner O’Tremba (Cherry Creek) made the lists for their respective classes.

Heller set the tone for Valor Christian this year, proving to be a huge part of their run to the Class 4A state championship this spring. He went 10-0 for the Eagles with a 2.24 ERA. In his 50 innings pitched, he only surrendered 16 earned runs.

Pine Creek’s Jay Onken (Josh Watt/CHSAANow.com)

Onken proved to a be a threat for Pine Creek whether he was on the mound or at the plate. As a sophomore, he batted .538 with eight home runs and 36 RBIs. He also went 5-0 with a 1.91 ERA when pitching for the Eagles.

O’Tremba gained the attention of a lot of attention during the 5A state playoffs. During the first day of the tournament he wowed fans with a massive three-run home run against Grandview. Overall he batted .493 with six home runs and 34 RBIs for the Bruins.

River Valley Ranch Golf Club. (Bethany Brookens/CHSAANow.com)

AURORA — The Class 4A boys golf state tournament will be held at River Valley Ranch Golf Club in Carbondale this fall.

CHSAA associate commissioner Tom Robinson announced the course this summer. The site of golf’s state tournaments rotate throughout the state on a geographic basis.

River Valley Ranch has been used as a host site in the past, most recently for the Class 4A girls in 2015.

The 5A boys golf tournament will be in Grand Junction, at Bookcliff Country Club. The 3A tournament is at Saddle Rock Golf Course in Aurora.

Add two more schools to the list of programs with new football coaches this fall: Sierra Grande and Summit have both changed coaches this offseason.

Sierra Grande, a 6-man program, will be headed by Matt Lucero. Lucero sent an email to CHSAANow.com with news of the change. He is also the longtime and highly-successful coach of the school’s boys basketball team.

Lucero replaces Tomas Maestas, who was the head coach of the school for four seasons. The Panthers went 10-24 in his tenure, including 1-8 last season.

Summit, meanwhile, has turned to John Shirkey as its new football coach, according to the school’s website.

Shirkey replaces Landon Greve as the coach of the Class 3A team. Greve went 1-9 in one season.

Follow all of the movement this offseason in our coaching changes tracker.

Castle View’s Leanne Lowry. (Courtesy of the Lowry family)

Leanne Lowry hasn’t even played a varsity volleyball game for Castle View yet, but the soon-to-be freshman has already secured a spot at a Division I program.

On July 15, Lowry committed to the University of Iowa. The commitment was confirmed to CHSAANow.com via an email from her father.

Lowry will see her first action at the high school level this fall where she will play libero for the Sabercats.

She played for the Colorado Juniors club team, which is based in Monument. She was also receiving heavy interest from the University of Nebraska prior to her commitment to the Hawkeyes.

Her commitment has been updated to the CHSAANow recruiting database and is the first commitment for the class of 2020.

(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Mullen pitcher and infielder Allie Reynolds is headed to the Ivy League.

Thursday night, Reynolds announced on Twitter that she has committed to play softball at Princeton University.

Reynolds started 12 games for the Mustangs last season, earning a 5-3 record with a 3.59 ERA. She struck out 96 hitters and held her opponents to a .259 batting average.

Mullen fell just short of qualifying for last year’s Class 4A state tournament. They fell to Falcon in the first game of regionals, but bounced back to beat Montrose. In a game that would determine the second state qualifier from the region, the Mustangs fell to Frederick 11-1.

Mullen will open the 2016 season against 2015 state runner-up Wheat Ridge on Sept. 3.

Reynolds’ commitment has been added to the CHSAANow recruiting database for the class of 2017.