NEWS AND INFORMATION

2016-2017 DISTRICT III M&T BANK WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS TO GIANT CENTER

September 27, 2016 By District III

PIAA District III wrestling chairman Randy Umberger confirmed today the 2016-2017 District III M&T Bank Wrestling Championships will be held at Giant Center.

The move will give District III some distinct advantages in the operation of the wrestling championships and provide greater comfort for fans attending the event, which has been held at neighboring Hersheypark Arena since 2003.

This year’s District III M&T Bank Wrestling Championships will be conducted over a three-day period for the first time since 2004.  The Class 3A preliminaries and quarterfinals will be conducted on Thursday, Feb. 23 beginning at 3 p.m.  Only Class 3A will be wrestled on Thursday.

Class 2A will begin on Friday, Feb. 24, at 10 a.m. with preliminaries and quarterfinals.  Both classes will wrestle concurrent championship semifinals Friday beginning at roughly 5:30 p.m.

The championships and consolation finals be conducted on Saturday, Feb. 25, beginning with the Parade of Champions at 9:45 a.m.  The approximate time of finish will be 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., at which time Giant Center must be cleared for the Hershey Bears hockey game that evening.

District III will post a detailed time schedule at www.piaadistrict3.org ASAP.

Also, PIAA District III plans to lower the cost of each session ticket to the District III norm of $6 for adults and $4 for students.

The PIAA District III M&T Bank Team Wrestling Championships will be conducted on Tuesday, Jan. 31 (Class AAA 3A preliminaries and quarterfinals), Wednesday, Feb. 1 (Class 2A quarterfinals and semifinals), Thursday, Feb. 2 (Class 3A championship semifinals and consolation quarterfinals and semifinals at Spring Grove Area HS) and Saturday, Feb. 4 (Class 3A and 2A third-place matches and championships at Spartan Center, Milton Hershey School)

District III Committee Meeting Highlights (Sept. 7)

September 8, 2016 By District III

Highlights from the Sept. 7, 2016, PIAA District III Committee Meeting at PIAA Office:

• The District III Committee granted athletic eligibility to students from Carlisle Area High School and Kennard-Dale High School following hearings at the PIAA Office.
• The boys soccer game between Gettysburg and Biglerville high schools on Sat., Sept. 3, will be removed from the District III Boys Soccer Power Rankings because the overtime procedure was improperly conducted.  District III adopted policy in the 2015-2016 school that all tournament games must adhere strictly to the NFHS / PIAA overtime rules or the game will not count in power rankings.  Although Gettysburg and Biglerville did go to penalty kicks (Gettysburg won on PKs), they did not play the mandatory sudden victory period(s) as provided in the overtime rule on the advice of game officials.  Although the error was not the lack of diligence on the part of the schools, which had arranged a compliant OT setup, the policy makes no exception or waiver for an incorrect procedure.  District III schools are reminded to follow the soccer and field hockey overtime procedures that are explicitly described in the PIAA’s preseason bulletin for both sports.
• Presentations for a new District III website were conducted by Jen Motze of Big Teams / Schedule Star and Dave Meluni of SIDEARM Sports.  A decision on the new vendor will be made in the near future.

PIAA DISTRICT 3, M&T BANK RENEW PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

April 14, 2016 By District III

PIAA District 3 and M&T Bank are proud to announce the renewal of M&T Bank’s sponsorship of District 3 Championship events.

M&T Bank has agreed to sponsor all District 3 Championship events for the 2016-2017 school year with the bank given the option to renew on an annual basis through the 2020-2021 school year.

M&T Bank has agreed to pay PIAA District 3 a sum of $28,000 for each year the partnership is renewed.  In return, the bank will be the sponsor for all 85 District 3 championships across 16 sports and will be the exclusive sponsor of District 3 among all banking or financial institutions.  M&T Bank will also be promoted at the district’s sub-championship levels, the District 3 website and on District 3 social media.

The renewal comes following a highly successful four-year agreement between the district and the bank that was signed in April of 2012.  It was the first such sponsorship in District 3 history and remains the district’s only sponsorship agreement.

District 3 has been extremely pleased with its partnership with M&T Bank, an outstanding business that consistently delivers high-quality banking and financial services to the many communities within District 3’s geographical boundaries and beyond.  District 3 looks forward to its continued partnership with M&T Bank.