PIAA expands to 6 classes in football

Basketball, baseball, softball go to 6 classifications, too; soccer, field hockey, lacrosse also expand

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association voted Wednesday to expand from four to six classifications in football.

The measure passed 26-4 in a vote held at the PIAA Board of Directors’ Meeting in Mechanicsburg.

Basketball, baseball, softball will also expand to six classifications beginning in 2016, a move passed in a 23-7 vote.

In other votes to pass Wednesday, boys and girls soccer will expand to four classes, as will girls volleyball. Field hockey will expand to three classifications. Boys and girls lacrosse expands to two classifications.

Last month, representatives from the PIAA Strategic Planning and Football Steering Committee recommended amove to six classifications with an even distribution of roughly 96 football teams per classification.

According to PennLive, there are currently 576 high school football teams statewide. The change will take effect for the 2016-2017 season.

In December, a proposal was introduced by District 9 representative Bob Tonkin to expand Pennsylvania football.

Enrollment figures for the next cycle (2016-2018) will become official later this

month. Classifications will be made official by December after schools have been given the option to play up in classification.

Based on current enrollment numbers for football and extrapolating the approximate 96 schools per classifications, the Pioneer Athletic Conference would have five schools in Class AAAAAA, one in Class AAAAA and four in Class AAAA.

Spring-Ford (935 male enrollment), Boyertown (919), Perkiomen Valley (740), Owen J. Roberts (659) andMethacton (624) would fall into Class AAAAAA, as would future PAC member Norristown (818).

Phoenixvi l le (446) would be included in Class AAAAA, as would Berks Football League member Daniel Boone (450) and future PAC member Upper Merion (487).

The four schools in Class AAAA would be Pottsgrove (398), Upper Perkiomen (368), Pottstown (352) and Pope John Paul II (330).