22 Idaho high schools want to change classifications next year. These are their reasons
A new world in Idaho high school sports kicks off Tuesday in Pocatello.
The state’s governing body will rule on 22 schools’ requests to change classifications starting next fall. For the first time, schools may ask to move down in specific sports instead of as an entire athletic program.
That rule change means a school can have different teams competing in different classifications. For example, Caldwell’s boys soccer team could play in 6A while its girls soccer program plays in 5A.
Combined with the state’s new enrollment-figure parameters and classification names — 5A is now 6A, 4A is now 5A, etc. — it creates a head-spinning host of possibilities.
What classification a team plays in remains one of the state’s most debated issues. The Idaho Statesman broke down each school’s requests to the Idaho High School Activities Association and examined their cases.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT NEW RULES
The IHSAA board makes the final decision on any requests to move up or down. But it has toughened the guidelines it uses.
Schools must show that their teams have a combined winning percentage near or below .250 the past two years across the varsity, junior varsity and freshman levels. That includes only regular-season games against teams in their classification.
The state superintendents and a coaches’ committee for each sport will provide the IHSAA with advisory votes. And the board will look for letters of support from schools in the affected leagues.
So-called individual sports, such as track, wrestling and cross country, may not move down.
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CALDWELL
Request: Stay in 5A
Sports: Football, girls soccer, volleyball, boys basketball, girls basketball, baseball, softball
Enrollment: 1,441 (5A max 1,399)
Their case: The Cougars will not fight their powerhouse boys soccer team’s move to 6A. Instead, Caldwell asked to keep all of its other team sports in the new 5A.
Caldwell’s football (.029), volleyball (.157), boys basketball (.217), girls basketball (.174), baseball (.171) and softball (.096) programs all have winning percentages that meet the IHSAA’s guidelines to play down a level.
The girls soccer program is close at .279, but IHSAA rules provide leeway to consider programs near the .250 mark.
Caldwell is not asking to move down to the 4A Snake River Valley conference, an option under Idaho rules, Caldwell Athletic Director Jon Hallock wrote in his letter to the IHSAA. It wants to remain in what’s now the 4A SIC for the fourth straight time.
All current league members supported the Cougars’ petition.
“We are doing what we can to get our student body involved in sports, but we are struggling to get them out,” Hallock wrote. “Our coaches work tirelessly to promote their programs and we have started to see some progress, but it is a lengthy process. Moving up to the 6As would likely completely halt the growth that we are starting to see.”
NAMPA
Request: Drop to 5A
Sports: Football, boys soccer, girls soccer, volleyball, boys basketball, girls basketball, baseball, softball
Enrollment: 1,473 (5A max is 1,399)
Their case: The IHSAA rejected the Bulldogs’ plea to stay in 4A two years ago. After just one season at 5A, Nampa returns asking to drop again.
Nampa’s boys soccer (.128), girls soccer (.176), volleyball (.155), girls basketball (.153), baseball (.182) and softball (.071) teams all easily meet the guidelines to move down. Those records all include one season at the 4A level, further boosting Nampa’s case.
The Bulldogs’ boys basketball team (.326) seeks leniency from the state board. But Nampa will have a hard time proving its football program (.595) needs to drop down after its varsity team went 7-3 last fall and hosted a first-round playoff game.
“Our freshmen group last year was pretty special, and our varsity (football) group last year was pretty surprising with (Daniel) Carrillo,” Nampa Athletic Director Greg Carpenter said in a phone interview. “But those kids are gone. We’re young. We’re really, really young. We have a lot of freshmen that are now sophomores playing varsity football.”
BISHOP KELLY
Request: Move up to 6A
Sports: Boys soccer, girls soccer, boys swimming, girls swimming
Enrollment: 932 (5A max is 1,399)
Their case: The state’s new rules allow the Knights to test the waters in Idaho’s largest classification. The private Catholic school will start with some of its most dominant programs.
Bishop Kelly girls soccer has won 14 straight district championships, and it has captured 10 state titles since the IHSAA began sponsoring a state tournament in 2000, the most for any boys or girls program in Idaho. That includes a 5A state title in 2001, when Bishop Kelly also played up a level.
The Knights’ boys soccer team has not dominated so thoroughly, but it was the state runner-up last year and won a state title in 2021, its first since 1996.
Bishop Kelly has racked up loads of trophies in swimming, too. Its boys and girls teams have finished either first or second every year since the IHSAA took over the state meet in 2018.
“A lot of it has to do with what’s going on with our own (4A) SIC conference,” Bishop Kelly Athletic Director Tom Shanahan said in a phone interview. “It looks like there’s going to be six schools.
“We just felt like this was the time, if we’re going to try it out. With the success we’ve had, it felt like it was a good time to do it.”
All other Bishop Kelly sports would remain in the new 5A.
MIDDLETON
Request: Stay in 6A
Sports: Football, baseball
Enrollment: 1,358.5 (5A max is 1,399)
Their case: Idaho’s new enrollment numbers would allow the Vikings to drop down a level, but Middleton asked to keep its football and baseball programs in the state’s largest division.
Middleton football went 7-4 last fall during its first season at the 5A level, qualifying for the state playoffs and winning a first-round road game. Meanwhile, the Vikings’ baseball team went 23-7, won the 5A District Three championship and reached the state semifinals last spring.
Middleton Athletic Director Andy Ankeny pointed to the Vikings’ success in those two sports and the ease of building a football schedule in the 6A SIC as the reasons for staying up.
“After lots of discussion with administrators and coaches and some community members along the way, we felt like it’s where we are currently, and it was a good move for those programs,” Ankeny said in a phone interview.
All other Middleton sports would drop to the new 5A level.
RIDGEVUE
Request: Stay in 5A
Sport: Football
Enrollment: 1,571 (5A max is 1,399)
Their case: The Warhawks’ entire football program went 9-30 (.231) across three levels in the past two years, including one season where it did not field a junior varsity team. That meets the IHSAA’s standards to play down a classification.
Ridgevue posted that record in the league it wants to join, not at a higher level. All current members of the 4A SIC support the Warhawks’ petition, despite the school swelling to 1,640 students this fall.
Ridgevue Athletic Director John Hartz also pointed to his school’s place in a poorer school district, one where sideline video and other expensive additions are hard to fund.
“Quite honestly, Ridgevue is not even close at this time,” wrote Hartz, the former Eagle football coach. “It will lead to noncompetitive games and possible injuries.
“… I am not requesting to stay because we want a chance to get to state tournaments in the next two years. I am requesting this so we can build our program to a competitive level.”
All other Ridgevue programs would move up to 6A next fall.
POST FALLS
Request: Drop to 5A
Sports: Boys soccer, girls soccer
Enrollment: 1,572 (5A max is 1,399)
Their case: The Trojans excel in many sports. But Post Falls’ record against their classification in boys soccer (.154) and girls soccer (.000) easily meets the IHSAA guidelines to move.
Post Falls’ girls soccer team went a combined 0-22-2 against all opponents the past two seasons. The school has not fielded a junior varsity girls soccer team in at least five years.
CANYON RIDGE
Request: Stay in 5A
Sports: Football, girls basketball, softball
Enrollment: 1,436.5 (5A max is 1,399)
Their case: The Riverhawks twice received IHSAA exemptions to play down a level, and it helped their football team qualify for the state playoffs as the final at-large team last fall.
Neither football (.324), girls basketball (.444) or softball (.307) meet the state guidelines of a .250 or lower winning percentage.
The Riverhawks’ girls basketball and softball teams have not made it to state under an IHSAA exemption. And Canyon Ridge Athletic Director Ted Reynolds wrote that the school struggles to consistently field junior varsity teams in all three sports.
EMMETT
Request: Drop to 4A
Sports: Football, volleyball, boys soccer, girls soccer, boys basketball, girls basketball
Enrollment: 746 (4A max is 699)
Their case: The smallest member of the current 4A classification wants to drop down a level in every team sport except baseball and softball. Emmett Athletic Director Ashley Holt cited the Huskies’ limited resources and facilities, and a small eighth-grade class.
The Huskies’ boys soccer (.000) and girls soccer (.018) programs clearly meet the state guidelines to move down. Emmett’s volleyball (.288), boys basketball (.320) and girls basketball (.366) will need a friendly ear from the IHSAA board.
Emmett’s football team, on the other hand, will face a much tougher audience. The Huskies posted a .696 winning percentage across all levels the past two years, and their varsity team has won the 4A SIC league title twice in the past three years. But Holt wrote that safety and depth remain concerns against the conference’s larger schools.
“We simply cannot match the depth, position for position, that our opponents can,” Holt wrote.
No members of the 3A Snake River Valley wrote in support of Emmett’s request. Homedale football coach Matt Holtry, also the school’s principal, said the league previously decided it would remain neutral on any requests.
PRESTON
Request: Drop to 4A
Sports: Football, volleyball, girls basketball, softball
Enrollment: 760.5 (4A max is 699)
Their case: The Indians point to shrinking enrollment, the decline of multisport athletes and their remote location as factors hurting their athletic programs.
Preston’s volleyball (.171) and softball (.212) teams meet the state guidelines to play in a lower classification. The school’s football (.267) and girls basketball (.288) teams are close.
Preston noted its football team has had only five winning seasons since moving up to 4A in 2004. Its girls basketball team made the state semifinals two years ago, but it went 2-18 the next season.
Preston did not submit any letters of support from the smaller conference it wants to join.
MOSCOW
Request: Drop to 4A
Sports: Football
Enrollment: 773.5 (4A max is 699)
Their case: The Bears have not won any games against teams in their classification the past two seasons, going a combined 5-25 (.167) at the varsity and junior varsity levels.
Moscow’s only win against an Idaho opponent the past two years was vs. Grangeville, a 2A program. The Bears also asked the state to lift its rules on the number of quarters an athlete can play to field both varsity and JV squads.
But the Bears’ petition did not include any support from Bonners Ferry and Timberlake, the only two current members of the 3A Intermountain League.
WOOD RIVER
Request: Drop to 4A
Sports: Football, girls basketball
Enrollment: 985.5 (4A max is 699)
Their case: The Wolverines received an exemption to play 3A football last year and made the playoffs. But Wood River still meets the guideline to play down with a combined varsity and junior varsity record of 3-22 (.120) in its classification the past two seasons.
The Wolverines have also received a state quarters exemption five times already this fall to keep its junior varsity program afloat, Athletic Director Kevin Stilling said. The school has not had enough players to field three football teams in 16 years.
Wood River’s girls basketball also clears the bar at a combined 1-61 (.016) against current 4A teams the past two years. That one win snapped a 51-game varsity losing streak in January.
The school did not include any letters of support from the 3A Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference.
COMPASS CHARTER
Request: Drop to 2A
Sports: Volleyball, boys basketball, girls basketball
Enrollment: 239.5 (2A max is 174)
Their case: The Aviators have found little success since joining the current 2A WIC three years ago, going a combined 9-92 (.089) in all three sports. That includes two seasons where Compass Charter only played a junior varsity girls basketball schedule.
Its volleyball team is the only program to win a single district tournament game in three years.
VISION CHARTER
Request: Stay in 2A
Sports: Volleyball, boys basketball, girls basketball, baseball, softball
Enrollment: 205.5 (2A max is 174)
Their case: The Golden Eagles dropped down to what is now 1A Division I last year and started to turn their programs around. Vision Charter’s girls basketball team (.190) still meets the state guidelines to play down, and its volleyball (.278) and boys basketball (.292) programs are close.
But Vision Charter excelled in spring sports. Its baseball team (.522) won the 1A district title and the state consolation trophy. The Golden Eagles’ softball team (.538) finished second at district and also went to state.
Victory Charter and Riverstone were the only two members of the league to write letters supporting Vision Charter.
COUNCIL
Request: Stay in 1A
Sports: Football, volleyball, boys basketball, girls basketball
Enrollment: 104 (1A max is 89)
Their case: Wilder and Notus represent Council’s closest opponents at the new 2A level. Both are nearly 100 miles away, increasing the school’s travel costs and leading to more time out of class.
Council Athletic Director Paula Tucker wrote that the Lumberjacks’ enrollment is artificially high due to the pandemic. She added that enrollment dropped to 77 this year after the district lost its superintendent, high school principal and elementary school principal.
Council has qualified for state in all four sports each of the past two years, winning a combined six of eight league or district titles. Its girls basketball team won the first state title in program history last winter.
RIMROCK
Request: Stay in 2A
Sports: All
Enrollment: 86.5 (1A max is 89)
Their case: The Raiders filed their traditional request to play up a division to reduce travel costs and missed class time. Rimrock’s spot in the new 2A Western Idaho Conference allows it to play most of its games in Ada and Canyon counties. The 1A Long Pin Conference would require road trips to Garden Valley, New Meadows and Riggins.
Rimrock’s petition added that the school’s enrollment is 91, and it projects growth in the next three years.
HANSEN
Request: Drop to 1A
Sports: Football, volleyball, boys basketball, girls basketball
Enrollment: 102 (1A max is 89)
Their case: The Huskies meet the state guidelines to drop down in volleyball (.210) and girls basketball (.115), and their football (.267) and boys basketball (.288) programs are close. One of those football victories was via a forfeit. Remove it, and the Huskies qualify.
Hansen Athletic Director Jim Hansen said the school’s current enrollment of 87 would make it a 1A school. Two of the Sawtooth Conference’s four regular members supported the Huskies’ request.
SHOSHONE
Request: Stay in 1A
Sports: Football
Enrollment: 119 (1A max is 89)
Their case: The Indians have not fielded a full varsity team since 2017, playing a combined varsity/junior varsity schedule for the past five years. Shoshone received an exemption to play in Idaho’s smallest classification two years ago, and it went 0-6 against varsity teams last fall.
WALLACE
Request: Stay in 1A
Sports: Football
Enrollment: 131.5 (1A max is 89)
Their case: The Miners’ remote location would force them to play in a two-team league or pursue an independent schedule at the 2A level. Wallace went 4-4 last fall after the state allowed the school to play down a division, and it is 8-9 (.471) the past two seasons.
Wallace Athletic Director Corey Miller wrote that the school has the full support of 1A North Star League. But his petition did not include their letters.
CLEARWATER VALLEY
Request: Drop to 1A
Sports: Boys basketball
Enrollment: 119 (1A max is 89)
Their case: The Rams are 7-21 (.250) against teams at the 1A Division I level, meeting the state guidelines to move down. Looking back further, Clearwater Valley is 11-43 (.204) against 1A Division I teams in the past four years, and it has not won a district tournament game in that time.
Note: Centennial Baptist and Gem State also filed their traditional request to play up at the new 2A level. Neither shared their petitions with the Idaho Statesman, and the private schools are not subject to the state’s public record laws.
