High School Football- The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) approved a football classification amendment that will take in a socioeconomic factor to figure out football classification starting in the 2023-2024 academic year. The amendment was first approved by the IHSAA’s Board of Control, then 80 percent of the voting schools agreed to the change.
The IHSAA will be using a school’s free and reduced lunch percentages along with their enrollment to figure out the final classification numbers. IHSAA executive director Tom Keating believes this will help with parity in the sport of football. The way free and reduced lunch percentages will adjust the classification is 40 percent of the school’s free or reduced lunch count will be reduced from their annual enrollment. An example would be if a school annual enrollment is 200 students and 100 students are on free or reduced lunch, then that school will have a count of 160 for final classification.
Keating added that they are hoping to fix the competitive imbalance.
“The State Board recognized the historical competitive challenges, supported by the data our staff assembled, which some of our schools have experienced.”
The IHSAA will also be redistricting football this offseason, then releasing new schedules for the two-year cycle before the 2023-2024 season begins.