Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Over 80 percent of Iowa High School Athletic Association member schools voted in favor of including a socioeconomic factor into football classifications.
Voting on an amendment to the IHSAA Articles of Incorporation closed on Dec. 20. The final tally was 211 in favor and 52 opposed. Fifty percent of the total membership or 60 percent of those voting was required for approval.
The vote was in response to a classification committee recommendation that the IHSAA adopt a classification model which reduces 40 percent of a school's free or reduced lunch count from its annual enrollment to determine final classification numbers for football.
Pending approval of the updated Articles of Incorporation by the State Board of Education, the IHSAA will implement the new football classification model for the 2023 and 2024 scheduling cycle.
Classifications in Iowa high school athletics have previously been determined solely by enrollment.
"The overwhelming majority of communication regarding concerns with competitive equity referenced football," said Executive Director Tom Keating in a news release. "Additionally, football is the only sport in which the regular season is scheduled by the IHSAA. In all other sports, individual schools, through conference affiliation or their non-conference opponents, determine their own regular season schedules. We will continue to study other sports to determine if this model should be applied."
IHSAA staff, board and the classification committee considered numerous models and possibilities for classification, including a two-year run as a joint committee alongside the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.
According to the release, the IHSAA will review, discus and consider recommendations concerning the 8-player football enrollment cap, currently at 120 or permitted by exception.
