During its final meeting of the 2022-23 school year on June 22, 2023, the IHSAA Executive Committee approved a rule that changes the way schools are classified in four-class sports.
The Executive Committee voted to amend the original rule proposal from the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (IIAAA) that would have changed how schools were classified in four-class sports by using fixed enrollment figures. Instead, by a 13-4-1 count, the Committee opted to maintain a percentage-based system and adjusted it to a 20-25-25-30 ratio.
Beginning with the next reclassification cycle, Class 4A will include the largest 20% of schools, Class 3A will be the next 25%, Class 2A the next 25% and Class A the smallest 30% of schools. Since 1997-98, the rule has required equally distributing schools (25%) among the four classes.
“The Board of Directors recognized the concerns brought to us by the (Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association), which were the enrollment gap in Class 4A and the smaller schools that were being moved up to a larger class without a significant enrollment change due to new member schools joining the Association,” IHSAA Commissioner Paul Neidig said. “This change also addresses a desire for schools to be in the same class in baseball, basketball, softball and volleyball, but it also give us an opportunity to adjust those percentages in the future if necessary.”
The next two-year reclassification cycle begins with the 2024-25 school year with the certified enrollment figures reported to the Indiana Department of Education from the upcoming school year being used. Those will be released in the winter of 2024. Additionally, classifying the four-class sports will be based on the entire membership total and not only those schools participating in a given sport effectively keeping sectional alignments similar across each sport.
The original proposal had been submitted by Neidig on behalf of the IIAAA, but it was tabled by the Board of Directors for further study at its May 1 meeting. It was brought back for action at the June 22 meeting.
Tournament Success Factor
One other proposal affecting the Tournament Success Factor (Rule 2-5) that had been tabled from the May meeting was passed on June 22 after it was amended in the June meeting.
Presented by Board member and Barr-Reeve principal Jeff Doyle, new language requires that a school’s performance and points accumulated in a two-year span will be looked at annually beginning in 2024-25.
Through 2023-24, points accumulated in a specific two-year window determine whether a team moves up or stays up one or more classes. Starting in 2024-25, data from the previous two years will be reviewed and considered annually before making a determination.
