The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) has announced the new classifications for IHSAA member schools in the sports of boys and girls basketball, football, boys and girls soccer and girls volleyball for the next two school years.
The enrollment figures – the total of boys and girls in grades 9-12 – were submitted by the schools to the Indiana Department of Education last fall and are used to determine the classifications in all team sports.
The four-class sports of baseball, basketball, softball and volleyball are being classified using a new 20-25-25-30 ratio that was approved by the IHSAA Executive Committee last June. That plan places the largest 20% of schools in Class 4A, the next 25% in Class 3A, the next 25% in Class 2A and the smallest 30% in Class A.
Additionally, classifying the four-class sports will be based on the entire membership total and not only those schools participating in each sport effectively keeping sectional alignments across each sport.
Football (six classes) and soccer (three classes) are not affected and will continue as they have in previous years.
Tournament Success Factor points have been totaled over the last two years and specific teams placed in their appropriate class in each sport.
Sectional groupings for each sport (except for softball and baseball) will be announced later this spring following approval of the IHSAA Executive Committee. Softball and baseball sectional groupings will be released in August following the committee’s first meeting of the new school year.
The announcement officially drops Shelbyville down from Class 4A to Class 3A beginning in the fall of 2024.
Girls Volleyball
The first sport affected will be girls volleyball. The Golden Bears will be the 10th largest school in Class 3A.
Shelbyville is the 90th largest school in Indiana based on its enrollment of 1,093 students. East Central is now the smallest school in 4A at 1,241 students. Three smaller schools, Yorktown (812), Bellmont (610) and Providence (237) will be competing in 4A for the next two seasons based on Tournament Success Factor points.
Potential 3A sectional opponents for the Golden Bears for all affected sports will be Greenwood (1,211), New Palestine (1,209), Indianapolis Cathedral (1,172), Indianapolis Crispus Attucks (1,170), Roncalli (1,082), Connersville (930), Beech Grove (892), New Castle (824), Batesville (670), Greensburg (662) and Rushville (645).
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Boys basketball
East Central, the 80th largest school in Indiana, is again the cutoff for Class 4A based on enrollment. Scottsburg, enrollment level 726, will compete in 4A the next two seasons based off recent postseason success.
The smallest school in 3A based on enrollment is Tippecanoe Valley at 543. Brownstown Central (469) and Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian (270) also will compete in 3A the next two seasons.
Cascade, enrollment 546, moves up to 3A from 2A.
Girls basketball
A total of 21 schools move down from 4A to 3A. Shelbyville is again the 10th largest school in 3A.
Illiana Christian (544) is the only school moving up from 2A to 3A based on enrollment.
Baseball, Softball
The enrollment classifications have not yet been released for the two spring sports. Shelbyville is expected to follow suit with the other four-class sports and drop to 3A.
Shelby County
The IHSAA’s new classification system does not affect Triton Central (468) as a 2A school nor Morristown (169), Southwestern (183) and Waldron (175) as Class A schools.
Regional schools dropping from 2A to Class A based on enrollment figures are Knightstown (316), Milan (315), North Decatur (314) and Hauser (272).
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