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Apr. 8—MORGANTOWN — In what has been nothing short of a whirlwind regarding high school athletics in West Virginia in recent years, the WVSSAC Board of Control passed a new classification proposal on Tuesday morning at Stonewall Resort.
A unanimous vote approved a classification structure for high school athletics across the state. The measure passed by a vote of 150-0 among those present and voting.
"I'm glad to see that 150 principles in our state came together and came out of there with a clear purpose and decision, " Clay-Battelle athletic director JR Krafft said. "It isn't easy for that many people to come together and all come to an agreement. I think it was inspiring, to say the least."
The Board of Control includes varying principals from secondary schools in the state.
The approved proposal states that each member high school shall be classified as AAAA, AAA, AA, or A based on the total enrollment figures of grades 9-12, which are based on enrollment figures from the West Virginia Department of Education. The enrollment figure will be calculated at the start of the second school month of the year preceding classification.
Proposal 34, recommended by the principals of Cameron, George Washington, Fairmont Senior, Greenbrier East, John Marshall, Lincoln, Oak Hill, Weir, and Williamstown, draws the classification cut lines at 1, 050 (Class AAAA), 625 (Class AAA), and 351 (Class AA). The proposal is strictly enrollment-based.
Under the new proposal, schools also have the option to play in any class above their current one. For example, some of the private schools in the state have lower numbers and compete in higher classes than their enrollment suggests. For instance, Charleston Catholic is included in Class A under the new proposal but can choose to play in Class AA if it decides to do so.
"I respect that those schools are open to continuing to compete in the class they were in before, " Krafft said. "That goes back to everyone working together and being open to discussing things instead of everyone coming into the week thinking whatever happens is going to happen."
Preston High School, the last school listed in Class AAAA under the new proposal, with 1, 056 students, six above the threshold, would return to Class AAAA competition after spending the 2024-2025 season in Class AAA.
Preston athletic director Ryan Justus did not respond to a request for his thoughts or comments.
Morgantown and University would remain classified as Class AAAA, unchanged from the previous year. The change would be felt the most for MHS and UHS in the sports that add a class, such as soccer and wrestling.
"It will be a really exciting time for many AAA teams and will add more balance to the tournament, " MHS head boys soccer coach Sam Snyder said. "As for us at MHS, the road doesn't change much. You must be playing your best at the end of the season to beat the best teams. We haven't had a playoff change since I became a head coach, so in many ways, I think it's a good thing for our sport in the state."
The Board of Control determined which sports would utilize four or three-class systems in a separate vote.
Volleyball, football, cheerleading, girls' basketball, boys' basketball, baseball, and softball will utilize the four-class structure.
Golf, cross country, soccer, wrestling, tennis, and track will utilize a three-class system (Class AAAA, Class AAA, and Class AA /A).
"My thoughts are, why do we need so many classes in this state ?" UHS wrestling head coach Ken Maisel asked. "For example, our class will have around 20 schools at the state tournament. We wrestle tournaments during the season that have triple that amount. Pennsylvania has two classes in wrestling, with hundreds of schools in each. When I wrestled growing up in New York, there was only one division in a huge state. I understand that some of these smaller schools can't compete with the larger ones, but someone will always be the biggest and smallest in each division, and the smallest ones won't be happy."
Participants in swimming will compete without a designated classification.
Trinity Christian and Clay-Battelle would also remain unchanged regarding classification as members of Class A.
The proposal will now undergo a public comment period, after which the State Board of Education will vote to approve or reject it.
Continue reading...
A unanimous vote approved a classification structure for high school athletics across the state. The measure passed by a vote of 150-0 among those present and voting.
"I'm glad to see that 150 principles in our state came together and came out of there with a clear purpose and decision, " Clay-Battelle athletic director JR Krafft said. "It isn't easy for that many people to come together and all come to an agreement. I think it was inspiring, to say the least."
The Board of Control includes varying principals from secondary schools in the state.
The approved proposal states that each member high school shall be classified as AAAA, AAA, AA, or A based on the total enrollment figures of grades 9-12, which are based on enrollment figures from the West Virginia Department of Education. The enrollment figure will be calculated at the start of the second school month of the year preceding classification.
Proposal 34, recommended by the principals of Cameron, George Washington, Fairmont Senior, Greenbrier East, John Marshall, Lincoln, Oak Hill, Weir, and Williamstown, draws the classification cut lines at 1, 050 (Class AAAA), 625 (Class AAA), and 351 (Class AA). The proposal is strictly enrollment-based.
Under the new proposal, schools also have the option to play in any class above their current one. For example, some of the private schools in the state have lower numbers and compete in higher classes than their enrollment suggests. For instance, Charleston Catholic is included in Class A under the new proposal but can choose to play in Class AA if it decides to do so.
"I respect that those schools are open to continuing to compete in the class they were in before, " Krafft said. "That goes back to everyone working together and being open to discussing things instead of everyone coming into the week thinking whatever happens is going to happen."
Preston High School, the last school listed in Class AAAA under the new proposal, with 1, 056 students, six above the threshold, would return to Class AAAA competition after spending the 2024-2025 season in Class AAA.
Preston athletic director Ryan Justus did not respond to a request for his thoughts or comments.
Morgantown and University would remain classified as Class AAAA, unchanged from the previous year. The change would be felt the most for MHS and UHS in the sports that add a class, such as soccer and wrestling.
"It will be a really exciting time for many AAA teams and will add more balance to the tournament, " MHS head boys soccer coach Sam Snyder said. "As for us at MHS, the road doesn't change much. You must be playing your best at the end of the season to beat the best teams. We haven't had a playoff change since I became a head coach, so in many ways, I think it's a good thing for our sport in the state."
The Board of Control determined which sports would utilize four or three-class systems in a separate vote.
Volleyball, football, cheerleading, girls' basketball, boys' basketball, baseball, and softball will utilize the four-class structure.
Golf, cross country, soccer, wrestling, tennis, and track will utilize a three-class system (Class AAAA, Class AAA, and Class AA /A).
"My thoughts are, why do we need so many classes in this state ?" UHS wrestling head coach Ken Maisel asked. "For example, our class will have around 20 schools at the state tournament. We wrestle tournaments during the season that have triple that amount. Pennsylvania has two classes in wrestling, with hundreds of schools in each. When I wrestled growing up in New York, there was only one division in a huge state. I understand that some of these smaller schools can't compete with the larger ones, but someone will always be the biggest and smallest in each division, and the smallest ones won't be happy."
Participants in swimming will compete without a designated classification.
Trinity Christian and Clay-Battelle would also remain unchanged regarding classification as members of Class A.
The proposal will now undergo a public comment period, after which the State Board of Education will vote to approve or reject it.
Continue reading...
