New IHSAA enrollment numbers are out. What they mean for future of Idaho high school sports
The Idaho High School Activities Association published its first of two statewide enrollment counts this week, taking the first step for the next round of reclassification.
No schools will change classifications until the fall of 2024. But who plays in what division remains one of the mostly closely watched, and hotly debated, topics in Idaho.
So here are six takeaways from the first look at the numbers.
ENROLLMENT NUMBERS MEAN LESS NOW
First, a caveat: The days of Idaho setting its classifications solely by enrollment figures are long gone, making any predictions difficult. And a new rule change makes it even less clear.
Starting in the fall of 2024, schools can no longer petition their entire athletic program into a lower classification because they’ve struggled in the win-loss column. Instead, they must make the case for each sport — meaning a school could have different sports playing in different classifications.
Take Caldwell, for example. The IHSAA has approved all of Caldwell’s sports to play in 4A with 5A enrollment numbers three times. But that’s no longer an option.
The Cougars’ boys soccer team would not meet any definition of a struggling program on its own and would move up to 5A. However, the football program, which has lost 34 in a row, would have little trouble making the case to remain in 4A.
Idaho has never tried this before. So how many schools will pursue this path, and what the aftermath looks like, remains a wildcard.
GROWING 5A RANKS
Seven 4A schools are projected to move up to 5A in 2024, the enrollment numbers show.
Ridgevue (1,583 students), Caldwell (1,475), Canyon Ridge (1,455), Pocatello (1,350), Idaho Falls (1,336), Skyline (1,322) and Twin Falls (1,313) all sit comfortably above the 1,279-student maximum to remain in 4A.
Blackfoot (1,286) also stands just above the cutoff. But it will likely fall under when averaged with the traditionally lower spring enrollment count.
That would leave the 5A classification with 28 schools — the most since the creation of the 4A division in 2000-01. Meanwhile, the 4A division would have 19.
IHSAA Executive Director Ty Jones said he expects the state governing body will receive several proposals to tweak its classification system this spring.
15 TEAMS IN 5A SIC
The 5A Southern Idaho Conference would grow to another record size in 2024-25, with Ridgevue and Caldwell projected to join its ranks. That would leave the 4A SIC with just five teams: Bishop Kelly, Columbia, Emmett, Skyview and Vallivue.
Ridgevue and Caldwell may try to petition certain sports back down to 4A, creating an uneven structure. But the baseline remains 15. And individual sports like track, wrestling and cross country cannot petition down under the new IHSAA rule, meaning the 5A SIC would remain at 15 teams in those sports.
NEW 5A LEAGUE IN EAST IDAHO
Eastern Idaho plans to join forces to form a nine-team 5A league across Districts Four, Five and Six, Thunder Ridge Athletic Director Travis Hobson said.
The league would include Canyon Ridge, Twin Falls, Highland, Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Skyline, Thunder Ridge, Rigby and Madison, pitting several of the state’s top football programs against each other.
Rigby has won three of the past four 5A state football championships. Skyline has won three in a row at the 4A level. And Highland ranks as Idaho’s all-time leader with 11 state titles.
SURPRISE HOLDOVERS IN 4A
Smaller than expected growth kept several Canyon County schools under the 4A maximum.
Ridgevue absorbed nearly all of the growth in the Vallivue School District, adding 168 students from the fall 2020 count. That meant Vallivue (1,235) added only 27 students and sits comfortably under the 4A limit.
Two former 5A members in the Nampa School District also remain in the 4A range. Columbia (1,239) added only 48 students from two years ago. And Skyview (1,172) shrunk by 16 students.
COLE VALLEY CHRISTIAN TO 3A
The Chargers are preparing to join the 3A SRV in 2024-25, Cole Valley Christian Athletic Director Connor Jackson confirmed.
The fast-growing Meridian private school swelled to 356 students in the fall of 2022, well above the 319 limit for 2A. It added 61 students in the past two years, a growth of 21%.
Jackson said the Chargers expect to remain in 3A permanently. Cole Valley Christian plans to open a new campus for the 2025-26 school year that can hold up to 600 high school students.
The new K-12 facility near Owyhee High will include the Chargers’ own baseball and football stadiums. And the school plans to add soccer and wrestling once it moves to its new campus, Jackson said.
This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 4:27 PM.
