4 Treasure Valley schools will change classifications next fall after IHSAA’s vote
After months of posturing and appeals, Idaho’s high school sports governing body finalized the classifications that schools will compete in starting in the fall of 2020.
Thirteen schools across the state will change classifications, including four in the Treasure Valley, after the board of directors for the Idaho High School Activities Association ruled on final petitions at its meeting Tuesday in Lewiston.
Movers in the Treasure Valley are Kuna (4A to 5A), McCall-Donnelly (2A to 3A), and Compass Charter and Ambrose (both 1A Division I to 2A).
Other changes across the state feature Idaho Falls (4A to 5A), Valley (1A Division I to 2A), and a host of 1A Division II schools moving up to 1A Division I, as the IHSAA dropped the dividing line between the classifications from 100 to 85 students.
Those schools are Genesis Prep, Logos, Lakeside, Clark Fork, Murtaugh, Castleford and Lighthouse Christian.
Tuesday’s votes comes amid a new way the IHSAA classifies its schools. It no longer relies solely on enrollment numbers, giving the IHSAA board the flexibility to consider past success, participation rates, socioeconomic factors and an advisory vote from the state’s superintendents when making decisions.
Nampa (1,475 students), Caldwell (1,453) and Canyon Ridge (1,285) all used that route to remain in the 4A classification despite enrollments that previously would have forced them to join the 5A ranks.
The IHSAA’s guidelines place any school with 1,280 or more students in 5A, but schools can make a case to the IHSAA board why they should play down.
“It’s a lot more complicated than people who look at it and say, ‘You shouldn’t let them down. They are that big,’ ” said Ty Jones, the executive director of the IHSAA. “Our board actually spent a lot of time vetting those schools, making phone calls and trying to figure out where they felt the best fit for those schools would be.”
The board also rejected the potential changes for six schools: Skyview (5A to 4A), Idaho Falls (remain 4A), Emmett and Shelley (4A to 3A), Compass Charter (stay 1A Division I) and Murtaugh (stay 1A Division II).
Skyview has fewer students (1,336.5) than both 4A Nampa and Caldwell, but the IHSAA board unanimously rejected Skyview’s appeal, as 16 of 22 4A superintendents voted against allowing the previous powerhouse to rejoin their ranks.
The state’s 3A superintendents also unanimously rejected Emmett’s return to the division after the school dominated 3A competition in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years.
“That’s where the past success factor comes in,” Jones said. “... People are going to take a look at that and remember they’ve had success at those levels.”
Skyview Athletic Director Eric Bonds pointed out that the Hawks lost $20,000 in their first year in 5A, as they lost traditional rivals and received smaller gate receipts. He also said the school’s girls programs have struggled — outside of volleyball — and the football team’s concussions skyrocketed from nine in its last season in 4A to 31 last year and 14 so far this year.
“The hard part was we didn’t get a vote,” Bonds said. “We have a stigma, and I would like to know what that is. But we had an opportunity and I’m thankful they gave us the opportunity to present our case.”
Tuesday’s vote creates an 11-team 5A Southern Idaho Conference next fall, with Kuna joining the existing 10-team league. That will grow to 12 teams in the fall of 2021, when West Ada’s new high school, Owyhee, opens.
Meanwhile, the 4A SIC will drop from nine teams to eight.
The IHSAA first allowed schools to move down a classification based on their competitive history in the fall of 2017. The plan was to let schools that historically struggle to have a chance to compete.
But the results created howls across the state, as programs with 5A enrollments won five of the 19 4A state titles in 2018-19, the first school year under the plan. Those schools also won four more second-place trophies.
Idaho Falls cleaned up last year in 4A with 5A enrollment numbers, winning state titles in boys basketball, boys cross country and girls swimming. It also finished second in baseball and softball.
Treasure Valley schools had more limited success. Kuna won a state wrestling title and finished fourth in volleyball, but did not earn a trophy in any other sport.
Caldwell was a state champion in boys soccer and runner-up in girls basketball. But it didn’t qualify for state in any other team sport or finish in the top 10 in any individual sports.
Meanwhile, Nampa reached the state football semifinals, but had only one other team (girls cross country) qualify for state.
Idaho’s schools place their entire athletic programs in a single classification. The IHSAA has no path for individual sports to move down due to a lack of success.
The IHSAA toughened its standards to petition down in June, requiring a vote of the state’s superintendents, letters from the new and previous leagues, and the four-year history of a school’s varsity, junior varsity and freshman programs.
But ultimately, the final decision comes down to the IHSAA board of directors, which must make subjective votes weighing a variety of factors instead of looking solely at enrollment numbers.
“Think of a basketball score — 51-52, 52 wins,” Jones said. “As compared to 51-51, who do you think is the better team? Then you have to have that subjection to it.”
This story was originally published September 24, 2019 at 5:13 PM.
