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The N.C. High School Athletic Association could look very different after the next realignment in 2025. Later this year, all 432 member schools will vote on a proposal to expand the number of classifications within the high school athletic association from four to seven.
The proposal is supported by the N.C. Basketball Coaches & Football Coaches Association, according to HighSchoolOT, a site run by the WRAL television station in Raleigh.
How did they get from four to seven? Well, there would be no more than 64 schools in a classification. That means six full classifications would have 384 schools, and 48 left over for the seventh.
The playoffs would also be reduced from 64 teams to 32 teams. As someone who watched 1A football playoffs over the last two years, where every school still playing qualified, this is a welcome change. Other sports could see classes combined for state championships, which already happens for sports without as much participation.
To go into effect, 75 percent of school principals would have to vote yes, and any principal who doesn’t vote counts as a no. In 2020, when there was a proposal to expand to six classes and realign every two years, only 68 percent of schools voted yes.
The NCHSAA has about 25 percent of its member schools in each of the four classifications. The state puts schools in classifications using a score based on average daily membership, which is the number of students present rather than enrolled, state cup points and the percentage of students who are on government assistance.
While we don’t have the most up-to-date state cup scores or government assistance numbers, the athletic association released ADM numbers for this year. Using those numbers while trying to get an equal number of schools in each classification, Murphy would be a 2A school under the seven-classification model, while Andrews, Hiwassee Dam and Tri-County Early College would remain 1A.
Swain County would be the only other Smoky Mountain Conference school in 2A. There would be 38 non-traditional public schools in 1A and 15 in 2A. The non-traditional 1A schools have won a combined 18 state championships, compared to 77 from those in 2A.
The Smoky Mountain Conference could still exist in its current form under the proposal, though that might not be the same for other conferences given the way playoff seeding works. Right now, every conference gets represented in the playoffs, with split 1A/2A conferences getting a representative in both brackets.
There are 21 conferences that have 1A schools, and 10 are split conferences. In the seven classification model, 19 would be split conferences – with nine having teams ranging from 1A to 3A, and two having teams ranging from 1A to 4A.
It’s easy to see how split conferences could be a problem for the playoffs with more classes and a more exclusive bracket. The NCHSAA has talked about going to a region format, like is done in Georgia.
That would likely be fine for Andrews, Hiwassee Dam and Tri-County, but the only school in a hypothetical 2A West within 100 miles of Murphy is Swain County. That’s a lot of increased travel.
Despite some of the challenges that could come, this amendment has the right idea. The NCHSAA has fewer classifications than any surrounding state, which leads to disparities in each class that are more pronounced in 1A.
For example, Andrews football team was eliminated by Draughn, a school with three times as many students and a higher enrollment than 12 current 2A schools.
Yes, Andrews will always be on the small end of the totem pole, but more classes would lessen the difference between the top. If you go just by ADM, the biggest 1A school if there were seven classes would be Bradford Prep with 447 students.
The biggest high school in 1A today is Carver from Winston-Salem with 786 students. That would still be bigger than the biggest 2A school, Surry Central, under the seven-classification model. Bigger schools don’t always win, but having any depth is crucial at the smaller levels.
There are obviously concerns, like potential travel for games and non-traditional public schools, especially those that are competitive in nearly every sport, competing against schools from rural areas. Some sports may not be able to have championships in all seven classes, either. Of the 61 schools projected to be 1A by enrollment, only 23 will be playing football in 2023.
Seven classes could be too many, but that shouldn’t get in the way of something that’s needed in North Carolina. High school sports will never be on a completely equal playing field, but this helps limit one of the problems teams in Cherokee County and other parts of the state have faced for a while.
Justin Fitzgerald is the sports writer for the Cherokee Scout. Call him at 828-837-5122, Ext. 18; fax, 828-837-5832; or email sports@cherokeescout.com.