New Idaho high school classifications set. They will shake up the 5A, 4A SIC again.
Get ready for another reshuffle of the Treasure Valley’s largest high schools next year.
Middleton and Nampa will move up to 5A, Skyview will drop to 4A, and Caldwell and Ridgevue will remain in 4A for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.
The Idaho High School Activities Association set the new classifications at its September board meeting Tuesday, ruling on petitions from schools seeking to move up or down.
The IHSAA rejected petitions from Middleton (average 1,285.5 students) and Nampa (1,463) to remain in the 4A classification with 5A enrollment numbers. But it approved Caldwell (1,425) and Ridgevue (1,411.5) to remain at the lower level with 5A numbers.
Schools with more than 1,279 students need IHSAA approval to play in the 4A classification. Skyview (1,150) fell under that mark and did not need to petition Tuesday.
The reshuffle will create a 13-team 5A Southern Idaho Conference. It will include the four Boise high schools (Boise, Borah, Capital, Timberline), the six West Ada high schools (Centennial, Eagle, Meridian, Mountain View, Owyhee, Rocky Mountain), and Kuna, Nampa and Middleton.
That leaves seven teams in the 4A Southern Idaho Conference: Bishop Kelly, Caldwell, Columbia, Emmett, Ridgevue, Skyview and Vallivue.
MIDDLETON UNANIMOUSLY REJECTED
The IHSAA board sent its strongest signal to Middleton, unanimously voting against the Vikings’ petition to remain in 4A. That followed a 21-7 advisory vote against the Vikings from the state’s 5A and 4A superintendents.
Middleton fought to remain in 4A, noting that it surpassed the 4A maximum only by an average of 6.5 students in two enrollment counts and questioning the accuracy of the enrollment figures during the coronavirus pandemic.
The school has won state titles in boys basketball, girls basketball, baseball, softball (three times) and boys tennis in the past six years. It also won state tournament trophies in football, volleyball, boys soccer, girls soccer, girls track, girls tennis and girls golf in those six years.
“We’re excited for the challenge,” Middleton Athletic Director Andy Ankeny said. “We’re excited for the opportunity to play against some different schools, start some new rivalries. We, without question, are going to embrace it and get after it.”
NAMPA’S RUN IN 4A WILL END
The IHSAA twice previously approved Nampa to play in the 4A classification with 5A enrollment numbers. But Nampa will return to 5A next fall after an 11-3 vote from the IHSAA board.
The Bulldogs no longer qualify for the IHSAA’s competitive equity route, which allows schools to point to their win-loss records as a reason to play in a lower classification. So it pursued a vote of the state’s superintendents.
The 5A and 4A superintendents voted 18-14 to approve Nampa to remain in 4A, including 9-8 for the 4A superintendents. But the IHSAA board makes the final decision.
The Bulldogs have won at least one state football playoff game in three years as a 4A, making the semifinals twice. They also finished second at last year’s state wrestling meet. Their girls cross country team has qualified for state two years in a row, and their volleyball team made state last year, too.
“Yes, we’ve had success,” Nampa Athletic Director Greg Carpenter said. “But looking into the future and building programs, it makes it harder.
“We’ve already had discussions with several coaches about let’s roll up our sleeves, let’s talk about strategy, let’s find a way to be competitive. That’s what we have to do. We can cry about it, or we can get after it.”
RIDGEVUE STAYS IN 4A
The Warhawks can remain in the 4A SIC for at least another two years after an 8-4 vote from the IHSAA board. That followed a 19-11 advisory vote in favor from the 5A and 4A superintendents, including 9-7 from the 4A leaders, numbers narrowly better than Nampa’s.
Since opening in 2016-17, Ridgevue has yet to win more than one-third of its varsity games in any season in football, boys basketball or girls basketball. But the Warhawks have excelled in other sports.
Their softball program remains one of the state’s most successful, finishing second three times out of four opportunities. Ridgevue has also won state tournament trophies in boys soccer, baseball, boys golf, girls golf, boys tennis and girls tennis.
Ridgevue Athletic Director Ted Reynolds said the school has about 1,600 students this year, adding that he wouldn’t petition down again in two years. But he asked for more time to get the athletic program on track.
“We’re a growing school. I can’t lie to anybody about that,” Reynolds said during the meeting. “That area out there is booming. But the numbers don’t always indicate what you get out for sports.”
CALDWELL AGAIN APPROVED FOR 4A
The Cougars were the only 4A SIC team to qualify for and pursue the competitive equity route. Caldwell comfortably met the standards for individual sports, finishing in the bottom half of its varsity and sub-varsity district tournaments 90% of the time.
It narrowly missed it for team sports, failing to win one-third of its games 71% of the time.
“The data we provided to you shows we don’t belong in 4A. We belong in 3A,” Caldwell Athletic Director Jon Hallock told the IHSAA board. “But we’re not asking to go to 3A.”
The IHSAA approved Caldwell’s petition via an 11-2 vote.
The Cougars have created plenty of grumbles across the state as a 4A program. They’ve won two state soccer titles and a consolation title in three years with 5A enrollment numbers. Their girls basketball team has also won second- and third-place trophies.
CANYON RIDGE REMAINS 4A
The Twin Falls school received its second straight approval to stay in the 4A classification with 5A enrollment numbers (1,349), with a unanimous vote from the IHSAA board.
Canyon Ridge noted that it would become the only 5A program in the Twin Falls area, meaning it would need to join the Idaho Falls- and Pocatello-based High Country Conference. That would create an average round trip of 318 miles for conference games.
The 5A and 4A superintendents approved the Riverhawks staying in 4A by a 20-10 vote, including 9-4 among 4A superintendents.
WOOD RIVER DROPPING TO 3A FOOTBALL
The Wolverines received unanimous IHSAA approval to take advantage of a new route to petition down in football only.
Wood River is 4-20 at the varsity level the previous four years, with a single win against a 4A opponent. It hasn’t fielded teams at all three levels in 14 years. And it recently lost to 3A programs Filer and Buhl, Athletic Director Kevin Stilling told the board.
The IHSAA also approved Castleford, Lakeside, Lewis County, Wallace and Shoshone to play 1A Division II football next year with 1A Division I enrollments.
GROWING 2A WIC
Despite Vision Charter’s successful petition down to 1A Division I, the 2A Western Idaho Conference will grow from eight to 10 teams next year.
Liberty Charter (185.5), North Star Charter (175) and Victory Charter (168) will join the league after surpassing the 1A Division I enrollment maximum (159). None appealed to the IHSAA.
None of those schools has a football program, leaving the league with five teams in that sport.
MORE PETITIONS
The IHSAA rejected Sun Valley Community School (179) and its request to remain in 1A Division II. It will need to move up to 2A in volleyball, boys basketball and track.
Hansen (96) and Clark Fork (90) successfully petitioned to remain in 1A Division II.
This story was originally published September 28, 2021 at 2:26 PM.
