The OHSAA is considering expanding divisions in several sports
The Ohio High School Athletic Association board of directors and staff are discussing expanding championship divisions in multiple sports, Executive Director Doug Otte announced in a press release earlier this week.
Sports currently being discussed include volleyball, girls and boys soccer, girls and boys basketball, softball and baseball.
The OHSAA will hold statewide meetings in January to present data and gather feedback on the topic, which seeks to address wide discrepancies in scoring from the top to the bottom of the current sectional structure.
The changes could reverse the OHSAA’s current football model, which places fewer of the state’s largest schools in Division I.
The OHSAA says the proposal does not add any additional championship games and is expected to be a revenue-neutral expansion.
The board could make a decision on the proposal as soon as early 2024.
Currently, more than 200 schools enter the postseason tournament in some division to compete for the state championship.
“Almost from day one when I became CEO (in September 2020), numerous administrators and coaches have expressed interest in expanding championship divisions in many of our sports,” Otte said. “As everyone knows, we have seven championship divisions in the sport of football, so why not give our student-athletes, schools and their communities the same, or at least comparable, opportunities to compete for a state championship in some of our other sports.
“The board has been very supportive when discussing this, and I’m glad we seem to be on the same page and may have a proposal before the board in the very near future,” Otte said.
He added that the OHSAA will discuss adding championship divisions in other sports in the future.
While the OHSAA Board of Directors has not recently been asked to act on formal proposals specifically related to expansion, the Board has heard proposals that addressed enrollment disparities between schools from the top to the bottom in Division I in both 2006 and 2019.
The only adjustment the OHSAA has currently made to address this issue is in football, where Division I is made up of the top 10% of schools based on enrollment — and the other six divisions are divided as evenly as possible.
Currently in the girls’ sports of baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball, the enrollment teams from top to bottom at Division I schools average 939 students, with a high of 955 in boys’ soccer (enrollment range 346 to 1,301); 954 in boys basketball (346 to 1,300); 944 in baseball (356 to 1,300) and 940 in girls volleyball (319 to 1,249).
The OHSAA has studied the number and formats of tournament divisions in other states and found that many states, including many with fewer schools, have more tournament divisions than Ohio State.
Unlike football, the OHSAA has not expanded its collegiate sports divisions since the 1980s.
Ute also said that because many schools around the state have lost enrollment, the trend has been for those schools to leave their conferences or leagues — and join schools that are more similar to them from an enrollment standpoint.
Placing schools in tournament divisions with those with similar enrollments is one of the key elements that will be addressed through expansion.
“Our number one goal is to do what is best for the student-athletes,” Otte said. “We believe our member schools and their participants will support this. Financially, we will not be playing more competitions overall, we will simply put the same number of teams in more divisions. So our initial thought is that this will have no impact on the OHSAA financially In a way or another.
Information will be sent to school administrators about the statewide meets in January, and the OHSAA will also continue to gather input from the various state coaches’ associations.
Any proposed changes in the number of tournament divisions will need to be approved by the OHSAA Board of Directors, as these guidelines are part of the OHSAA’s General Athletic Bylaws, not the OHSAA Constitution or Bylaws.
Any changes to the OHSAA Constitution or Bylaws require a vote of the membership.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) is currently contemplating the possibility of expanding divisions in several sports. This potential expansion could have a significant impact on high school athletic programs across the state. As discussions and deliberations continue, it is important to consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of such a change, as well as the potential implications for student-athletes, coaches, and schools. The OHSAA’s decision on this matter could shape the landscape of high school sports in Ohio for years to come.