For Central athletic director Suzanne Crump, Tuesday’s news wasn’t unexpected. The IHSAA announced its classifications for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years, and Central will be competing in Class 4A (the largest class) in most sports.
Tuesday’s announcement was the first time the IHSAA released classifications that reflect enrollment numbers after Central’s consolidation with Southside. With a listed enrollment of 1,698 students, that ranks Central as the 52nd-largest high school in the state and puts it squarely in the top class.
Crump said she was expecting the bump and it’s a challenge for which she believes the Bearcats are ready. Central last competed in Class 4A in the 2010-11 school year before declining enrollment sent the school down to Class 3A.
“We know it’s coming,” Crump said. “We just try to work hard every day. We play a pretty good schedule, I think, in all of our sports. Our schedule really didn’t change much when we dropped to 3A, so I think our kids will be ready for the test as well as our coaches.”
Central will be in Class 4A in baseball, boys and girls basketball, softball and volleyball.
While most sports use a four-class system, football uses a six-class arrangement. Central will compete in Class 5A on the gridiron in the fall after competing in Class 4A in recent years. Soccer uses a two-class system, and Central is already in the larger class in that sport. No East Central Indiana school saw a class change in soccer Tuesday.
The IHSAA announced classes for each sport, but it did not announce sectionals, which will be announced no earlier than May 4. So while Central knows it will be headed up to Class 4A, it doesn’t yet know its sectional opponents.
Blackford was one of the other East Central Indiana schools most affected by Tuesday’s announcement. The Bruins’ enrollment of 532 students puts them near the border of Classes 3A and 2A in most sports, though they competed in Class 3A in all four-class sports (and football) this year. Beginning in the fall, Blackford will be in Class 2A in baseball, girls basketball, football and softball. It will remain in Class 3A in volleyball and boys basketball.
The IHSAA’s tournament success factor leads to varied number of schools being moved up in different sports, and the moves can also affect schools like Blackford that did not have any teams earn enough points to move up a class. Schools like Blackford that hover near the border between two classes can play in one of the classes in some sports and another class in others.
In boys basketball, Park Tudor bumped up to Class 3A from 2A based on success the last two seasons. With the Panthers being the only team moving up to 3A, Blackford checks in as the smallest Class 3A boys basketball school other than Park Tudor.
But in girls basketball, both Heritage Christian and Fort Wayne Canterbury made the jump to Class 3A based on the success factor. With two schools moving up in that sport, Blackford instead becomes the largest school in Class 2A, so its boys and girls basketball teams will compete at different levels.
With some of his teams in Class 3A and others in Class 2A, Blackford athletic director Tony Uggen said he believes Class 2A is a better competitive fit for his school’s teams.
“The lower you go, the more equal it seems to be,” Uggen said. “There’s not as big a(n) (enrollment) gap between the bottom school and the top school.”
Because several of the state’s smaller schools do not field baseball or softball teams, each class is a bit smaller in those sports and the border lines are slightly different. Blackford falls into Class 2A in both sports based on Tuesday’s numbers, and the Bruins aren’t as close to the edge as they are in other sports. Football also has a different structure with six classes and some smaller schools not participating. Blackford will be the third-largest 2A football school.
The slightly different structure for diamond sports will also affect Jay County. At 1,108 students, the Patriots will be the largest school in Class 3A in baseball and softball. Jay County will remain in Class 4A in boys and girls basketball, volleyball and football. The Patriots competed in Class 4A in all of those sports in the current cycle.
Tuesday’s announcement also brings changes for Monroe Central. At 338 students, the Golden Bears will be moving up to Class 2A in every sport except football, where they will remain in Class A. The Golden Bears had been in Class A in all classed sports.
Delta will be making a different move, going up in football while staying the same in other sports. The Eagles will compete in Class 4A in football this fall, while remaining in Class 3A in other sports. The Eagles played Class 4A football as recently as 2012, but were then bumped down in the last cycle.
Wes-Del will be making a move up to Class 2A in volleyball, though that move was based on the tournament success factor and not enrollment numbers, and was sealed when the Warriors won the Class A state title last fall.
Yorktown and Wapahani will also be making moves in volleyball based on the tournament success factor. The Tigers played in Class 4A the last two years after prior success in Class 3A, but will be moving back down to Class 3A for the next two years. Wapahani was in Class 3A the last two seasons after successes in Class 2A, but the Raiders will be back in Class 2A in the falls of 2015 and 2016.
The tournament success factor awards one point for a sectional title, two points for a regional title, three points for a semistate championship and four points for a state title. Any team that accumulates six points in a two-year cycle moves up for the next two years. Once a team has moved up a class, it can accumulate six points again and go up another class. If it nets four or five points in two years, it will remain in the class to which it bumped. And teams that have gone up but net fewer than four points head back down to their original class.
Contact prep sports reporter Sam Wilson at (765) 213-5807. Follow him on Twitter @SamWilsonTSP.
IHSAA 2015-17 Classifications
Changes for ECI schools
• Central: To Class 4A (from 3A) in boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball; to Class 5A (from 4A) in football
• Monroe Central: To Class 2A (from A) in boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball
• Blackford: To Class 2A (from 3A) in girls basketball, baseball, softball, football
• Jay County: To Class 3A (from 4A) in baseball, softball
• Delta: To Class 4A (from 3A) in football
• Wes-Del: To Class 2A (from A) in volleyball
• Yorktown: To Class 3A (from 4A) in volleyball
• Wapahani: To Class 2A (from 3A) in volleyball