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ORDER GAME PHOTOS
On Wednesday, June 7th, the Idaho High School Activities Association held a meeting in Boise.
One of the biggest topics the IHSAA Board explored is reconfiguring Idaho’s six classifications based upon enrollment numbers. Here is what the IHSAA currently uses to determine which classification a school should compete at:
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CLASSIFICATION
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ENROLLMENT
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Class 5A
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1,280 and above
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Class 4A
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1,279 to 640
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Class 3A
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639 to 320
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Class 2A
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319 to 160
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Class 1AD1
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159 to 85
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Class 1AD2
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84 and below
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This has created a widening at each end of the spectrum. Classes 5A and 1A have grown in size, while Classes 3A and 2A have shrunk somewhat. The new proposal would create a new 6A classification, while eliminating the two divisions in Class 1A. Here’s what the proposed parameters would look like:
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CLASSIFICATION
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ENROLLMENT
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Class 6A
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1,400 and above
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Class 5A
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700 to 1,399
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Class 4A
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350 to 699
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Class 3A
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175 to 349
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Class 2A
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90 to 174
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Class 1A
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89 and below
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To see how the new enrollment parameters would affect Idaho's classifications, click here.
And to see how keeping things status quo would affect schools, click here.
The measure was passed on first reading, and the topic will be re-visited again for second reading at the IHSAA's next meeting.
EXPANDING STATE TOURNAMENTS
Two years ago, the IHSAA began seeding state tournaments according to MaxPreps ranking. And while that solved several problems, the issue of pre-determined representation based upon district size has reared its head several times.
Every classification outside of 5A currently has five districts throughout the state. Under a proposal put forth, the four highest-ranked district champions would automatically qualify for state.
The remaining four state tournament bids would then be decided by a Play-In Round on the Saturday before the state tournament. It would feature the fifth district champion, plus the seven highest ranked non-district champs.
This model originally was intended for soccer, volleyball, basketball and softball. As the conversation unfolded, the possibility of using only basketball as a trial run was discussed. No action was taken on the proposal, as it was only listed for discussion, but the board will visit the topic again at their December meeting.
ADDITIONAL TOPICS
Other items that officially passed included:
Adding the javelin as a field event starting with the 2024 track and field season.
Expanding the state volleyball tournament from two days to three days, beginning in 2024.
And potentially exploring other venues (such as Idaho Central Arena in downtown Boise, ICCU Arena in Moscow and the Mountain America Center in Idaho Falls) to host state tournament events, provided it makes fiscal sense.
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