Here are the classification ranges approved by the IHSA Board of Directors for the 2017-18 school term:
|
Sport or Activity
|
Classes
|
Classification Ranges
|
Fraction of
Team Entries
Per Class
(approx.)
|
|
Boys Basketball &
Girls Basketball
|
4
|
1A: up to 268.00
2A: 268.01 to 554.00
3A: 554.01 to 1357.00
4A: 1357.01 and over
|
1⁄4, 1⁄4, 1⁄4, 1⁄4
|
|
Boys Baseball &
Girls Softball
|
4
|
1A: up to 283.00
2A: 283.01 to 569.00
3A: 569.01 to 1457.00
4A: 1457.01 and over
|
1⁄4, 1⁄4, 1⁄4, 1⁄4
|
|
Girls Volleyball
|
4
|
1A: up to 234.00
2A: 234.01 to 514.00
3A: 514.01 to 1324.00
4A: 1324.01 and over
|
1⁄4, 1⁄4, 1⁄4, 1⁄4
|
|
Boys Soccer
|
3
|
1A: up to 661.00
2A: 661.01 to 1508.00
3A: 1508.01 and over
|
1⁄3, 1⁄3, 1⁄3
|
|
Girls Soccer
|
3
|
1A: up to 724.00
2A: 724.01 to 1649.00
3A: 1649.01 and over
|
1⁄3, 1⁄3, 1⁄3
|
|
Boys Wrestling
|
3
|
1A: up to 639.00
2A: 639.01 to 1588.00
3A: 1588.01 and over
|
1⁄3, 1⁄3, 1⁄3
|
|
Competitive Cheerleading
|
3
|
S: up to 647.00
M: 647.01 to 1632.00
L: 1632.01 and over
C: by choice
|
1⁄3, 1⁄3, 1⁄3
|
|
Competitive Dance
|
3
|
1A: up to 1100.00
2A: 1100.01 to 1984.00
3A: 1984.01 and over
|
1⁄3, 1⁄3, 1⁄3
|
|
Boys Cross Country &
Girls Cross Country
|
3
|
1A: up to 707.00
2A: 707.01 to 1656.00
3A: 1656.01 and over
|
4⁄10, 3⁄10, 3⁄10
|
|
Boys Track & Field &
Girls Track & Field
|
3
|
1A: up to 471.00
2A: 471.01 to 1301.00
3A: 1301.01 and over
|
4⁄10, 3⁄10, 3⁄10
|
|
Boys Golf
|
3
|
1A: up to 516.00
2A: 516.01 to 1487.00
3A: 1487.01 and over
|
4⁄10, 3⁄10, 3⁄10
|
|
Girls Golf
|
2
|
1A: up to 988.00
2A: 988.01 and over
|
1⁄2, 1⁄2
|
| Boys Tennis |
2 |
1A: up to 1507.00
2A: 1507.01 and over
|
1⁄2, 1⁄2
|
| Girls Tennis |
2 |
1A: up to 1381.00
2A: 1381.01 and over
|
1⁄2, 1⁄2
|
|
Scholastic Bowl
|
2
|
1A: up to 505.00
2A: 505.01 and over
|
1⁄2, 1⁄2
|
|
Music
|
5
|
D: up to 185.00
C: 185.01 to 333.00
B: 333.01 to 630.00
A: 630.01 to 1361.00
AA: 1361.01 and over
|
1⁄5, 1⁄5, 1⁄5, 1⁄5, 1⁄5
|
|
Boys Football
|
8
|
determined at the end of the regular season
|
|
In four pairs of boys and girls sports that take place in the same sport season, the enrollment cutoffs, which were similar, were made identical. In most cases this policy changed the cutoff by only a few students and often moved only one or two schools to a lower class in one of the sports. The pairs of sports involved were boys/girls cross country, boys/girls basketball, boys/girls track and field, and boys baseball/girls softball.
Success Adjustment
A non-boundaried school that has won two trophies in the same class over the past four school terms, and at least one trophy in the past two school terms, is subject to the success adjustment. The following sport programs were moved up one class (indicated in parentheses). Schools that would have been placed in the highest class even without the success adjustment are not shown.
Boys Basketball: Belleville (Althoff Catholic) (4A), Westchester (St. Joseph) (4A)
Girls Basketball: Bloomington (Central Catholic) (3A), Lombard (Montini) (4A)
Boys Baseball: Arlington Heights (St. Viator) (4A)
Girls Softball: Springfield (Sacred Heart-Griffin) (4A)
Girls Volleyball: Bloomington (Central Catholic) (3A), Joliet (Catholic Academy) (4A), Wheaton (St. Francis) (4A), Woodstock (Marian) (4A)
Boys Soccer: Elmhurst (Timothy Christian) (2A), Waterloo (Gibault Catholic) (2A), Westchester (St. Joseph) (2A)
Girls Soccer: West Chicago (Wheaton Academy) (2A).
Boys Wrestling: Lombard (Montini) (3A)
Girls Cross Country: Urbana (University) (2A)
Scholastic Bowl: Urbana (University) (2A)
Boys Football: LaGrange Park (Nazareth Academy) (6A), Lombard (Montini) (6A), Springfield (Sacred Heart-Griffin) (6A)
Classification, Multiplier, and Waiver Timeline
Here is a summary of recent events involving classification:
1971-72 – Boys basketball becomes the first IHSA sport to be split into two classes. (Classes already existed in certain non-athletic activities such as music.) Over the ensuing years, many IHSA sports adopt the two-class format.
2005-06 – The IHSA Board implements a policy establishing a 1.65 enrollment multiplier on non-boundaried schools over 400 students and gives the Executive Director the ability to waive the multiplier for specific programs, upon application by a school, in all sports except football.
October 2005 – In response to a lawsuit filed by 32 member schools, the parties agree to put the multiplier issue to a vote of the general membership.
January 2006 – By a vote of 450-143, the IHSA membership approves a by-law proposal imposing a 1.65 enrollment multiplier on all non-boundaried schools. The new by-law does not provide for any waiver of the multiplier.
2007-08 – The first three- and four-class tournaments are held. The cutoffs for all two-, three-, and four-class tournaments are the same across all sports and activities.
January 2009 – By a vote of 197-218, the IHSA membership rejects a by-law proposal that would have allowed the Board of Directors to create a policy for granting waivers of the 1.65 multiplier.
January 2010 – By a vote of 255-175, the IHSA membership approves a by-law proposal allowing the Board of Directors to create a policy for granting waivers of the 1.65 multiplier.
2010-11 – The policy approved by the Board of Directors allows the Executive Director to waive the 1.65 multiplier, on application by a school, if a sport or activity program, over the past six years, has not met certain benchmarks indicating success in the IHSA state series.
2011-12 – The waiver policy is changed to automatically grant a waiver to any sport or activity program that, over the past six years, has not met certain benchmarks indicating success in the IHSA state series. At the same time, the classification policy is changed to determine cutoffs in each sport and activity independently.
2015-16 – The waiver policy is changed to automatically grant a waiver to any sport or activity program that, over the past four years, has not met a more restrictive set of benchmarks indicating success in the IHSA state series. In addition, a success adjustment is implemented that moves a program that has shown sustained success (at least two trophies over the past four years, one of which is in the last two years) up one class.
Links
Official enrollments, sorted alphabetically
Official enrollments, sorted numerically
Waiver status of non-boundaried schools
Classifications in each sport and activity