The landscape of Arkansas high school football undergoes routine changes every two years as some schools will move up or down with every new reclassification cycle.
How much the 2024-26 reclassification cycle will reshape the state’s football classifications and conference alignments will depend on if Proposals No. 7 and 8 are passed during the Arkansas Activities Association’s annual meeting Monday in Little Rock.
“I don’t think there will be a whole lot of schools changing,” AAA Executive Director Lance Taylor said. “But there will be a few.” Proposal No. 7 will put a limit on how many teams each classification can have in most instances, while Proposal No. 8 will address changes in the Classification and Competitive Equity Factor used to determine if non-public schools will move up or down in class because of the success they have or haven’t enjoyed. Both proposals require a two-thirds majority to pass.
SEARCH FOR BALANCE
The purpose of Proposal No. 7 reads “to allow for an even number in each football conference in addition to reevaluating classification limits by enrollment.” It would limit Class 7A and Class 6A to 16 teams each, Class 5A to 32 teams, Class 4A and Class 3A to 48 teams each, then place the remaining teams in Class 2A.
In the current cycle, public schools were placed in their respective classifications based on enrollment, then the eight non-public schools that play 11-man football were added. The result was 16 teams in 7A, 19 in 6A, 33 in 5A, 47 in 4A, 43 in 3A and 29 in 2A, and the odd numbers led to some conferences having an odd number of teams, leading to open dates during conference play and schools having to search for nonconference opponents to complete their schedules.
Proposal No. 7 would allow a public school to fall one classification if a non-public school is placed in a classification in order to keep an even number of teams in classes and conferences.
“I think you’ll see the same number affected that were in the 2020-22 cycle,” Taylor said. “We had the same rule then — if a school moves up, then another moves down to keep that equal number. I think that was because people can find nonconference games, especially their rivalries that they can play early.” It would be beneficial for Class 2A schools, which would have only 26 teams — 24 public schools, along with non-public schools Conway Christian and Baptist Prep — under the current classification guidelines. Those teams are then split into four conferences, which meant two conferences would have only six schools and they would have only five conference games to play.
Magazine, for instance, will likely face lengthy trips to Baptist Prep, located in Little Rock, and Poyen under the new classification guidelines. The passing of Proposal No. 7, however, would not only give the Rattlers more conference games, but two closer conference foes as Mountainburg and Hector are among the seven schools that would move down from Class 3A to 2A.
“For us, it wouldn’t be a bad thing as far as travel for our conference,” Magazine Coach Ryan Chambers said. “It might even push Bigelow back to us. It would give us our conference back, and those teams have been good to us the last six to seven years. It’s not like they are dominating 2A or anything like that, but it will be good for us.
“It makes our travel hard. We’re playing some local teams this year, but I’m trying to branch out some in our next cycle. We’ve played bigger schools for our non-conference games, then we come out of nonconference play and haven’t even won a game. It’s good getting us ready for conference, but it’s not good for confidence.” Many conferences will see some sort of change if just Proposal No. 7 passes, and it would cause the 5A-West to undergo an overhaul. The current guidelines would make the conference heavy with Northwest Arkansas teams as Huntsville and Gravette — both of which move up from 4A — join Farmington, Shiloh Christian, Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove and Harrison in the league, along with Alma and possibly Clarksville.
I f P ro p o sa l No. 7 i s passed, however, it would c a u s e H u n t sv i l l e a n d Gravette, as well as Prairie Grove, to fall back to Class 4A status. That means the 5A-West would have to pick up Morrilton and Greenbrier to fill its eight-team quota.
“ P utt i n g t h e p r ivate schools in first would be the right thing so that you don’t end up with a nine-team conference,” Farmington Coach J.R. Eldridge said. “But as for me, for the most part I am indifferent. Give me the schedule and let’s play.” In an unusual twist, the AAA board of directors decided not to give a recommendation to Proposal No. 7 by an 18-0 vote, opting to “letting the schools decide.” “It works both ways,” Taylor said. “That’s why the board just didn’t feel comfortable with putting a recommendation on it. They think it affects every school differently. The schools just need to vote on what’s best for them on this rule.”
PINPOINTING NON-PUBLICS
Proposal No. 8, meanwhile, focuses on the state’s non-public schools and the Classification and Competition Equity Factor, which is used with student enrollment to determine where the non-public schools’ athletic teams are placed in classification. Schools gain equity points each season based on success in each sport.
In football’s case, a team can gain one point each season for a winning conference record, two points for a state playoff victory, three for reaching the state championship game and four for winning a state title. Under the current guidelines, a team that compiles 10 or more points over four years is considered “dominant” and must move up a class.
Meanwhile, a team that has three to nine points is ruled “competitive” and stays in its current class, and a team with less than three points is ruled “non-competitive” and can drop one class as long as it doesn’t fall below the class where its current enrollment lies.
Proposal No. 8, however, will cut the time to compile points to two years and the points needed to be considered “dominant” and move up a class to five points. Teams with one to four points are “competitive,” while teams with no points could be eligible to fall one class.
“It puts all the schools on the same reclassification cycle — public, non-public and charter schools,” Taylor said. “So all of our schools would now reclassify every two years.” What Proposal No. 8 doesn’t cut is the points a team could get each year, as well as the points those schools earned last season. So Pulaski Academy earned four points for its Class 6A state championship last season, and the Bruins only need a winning conference record to earn the fifth point and move up to Class 7A for the next cycle.
Two state runners-up last season — Shiloh Christian in 5A and Harding Academy in 4A — have three points apiece and could move up to 6A and 5A, respectively, if they win a state playoff game this fall. Meanwhile, Little Rock Christian and Little Rock Catholic — both of whom won 6A state playoff games last season — would need to reach the state championship game to move to 7A.
“Obviously, I think there are some potential things about it that I don’t love,” Harding Academy Coach Neil Evans said.
“I think when you’re on this side of it, at least for me, I don’t get consumed in it because I’m putting my head down and trying to do what I do here. I really don’t know what worrying about it is going to do.
“I think it is one of those things that, when we get to next offseason, we need to re-evaluate our structuring in terms of staffing and things internally. When you look at the blueprint into transitioning to that level, we’ve got to look and see if what we have in place is conducive to making that kind of move.” On the other side, Central Arkansas Christian has no equity points and could fall from 4A to 3A if it doesn’t get at least a winning conference record or a playoff win this fall. Episcopal Collegiate moves to 3A because of its enrollment, and Conway Christian needs a state title to move up from 2A to 3A. Baptist Prep will remain in 2A since it has zero points.
SEPARATION ISSUES?
Some people in Fort Smith weren’t thrilled when the decision was made four years ago to split its two high schools into different conferences. Fort Smith Northside remained in the 7A-Central, while Fort Smith Southside moved to the 6A-West. The move was necessary to keep eight teams in both conferences.
There is a possibility Northside could move into the 7A-West during the 2024-26 cycle. It would be the first time the Grizzlies would be in the conference since 2015, but it could also come at Southside’s expense under one of the scenarios with these proposals.
Nothing will change if neither proposal passes or just Proposal No. 7 passes, which means Northside will remain in the 7A-Central and Southside will stay in the 7A-West. If only Proposal No. 8 passes and a non-public school — either Pulaski Academy, Little Rock Christian or Little Rock Catholic — would move up to become the 17th team, it would allow Northside to move to the West as the conference’s ninth team.
If all three non-public schools move up to Class 7A, it would give that classification 19 schools and the need to have one conference with 10 teams and one with nine teams. That’s the situation Class 6A dealt with last year and this year as well.
“I think a lot of my colleagues at this level want to keep things eight-and-eight,” Fort Smith Athletic Director Mike Beaumont said. “They like that.
“If I could make everything work out perfect, it would be to cap 7A at 18 teams. We would go nine-and-nine. You wouldn’t have to find near as many nonconference games, and it’s hard enough to find non-conference games as it is. I would love that.” However, if both proposals pass and any of the three mentioned non-public schools make the move to 7A, they would cause Jonesboro and Southside to fall to Class 6A status while Northside would take South-side’s spot in the 7A-West. It would mark the first time since 1980 that the two Fort Smith schools would be in different classifications.
“Personally, I’m a little concerned if the private schools are moved up after two years,” Beaumont said. “You thought things were bad for our community when you have one of our schools in the Central and one in the West, I think it will be terrible for our community to have one in a whole separate level.
“I appreciate the AAA allowing Northside to play all the other sports in the West, but to have both schools in the West would be ideal for every sport. That’s all I want — for all my kids to play in the same conference in every sport.”