AHSAA reclassification coming
One of the more anticipated sporting events takes place in about a week and it’s not on a field or court, it is in a boardroom in Montgomery. The biannual reclassification of schools in the state of Alabama will be released soon.
The reclassification will determine what level high school sports teams will participate in for area, region and state championships in the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years. Many Franklin County schools are on the edge of changing classifications and could go either way depending on a number of factors.
Schools will be classified based on the average daily enrollment numbers in grades nine, 10 and 11 through the end of the first week of September. All private school numbers are counted as 1.35. For example, if a private school has an average daily enrollment of 100, their official count will be 135.
The last reclassification period came two years ago. At that time, here’s how Franklin County schools were classified with their daily enrollment numbers:
• Class 5A — Russellville (563.5),
• Class 3A — Phil Campbell (216.6),
• Class 2A — Tharptown (203.2), Red Bay (155.95), and Belgreen (140.7)
• Class 1A — Vina (62.15) The smallest school in the last classification period was Ameila Love Johnson High School (37). The largest school in the state was Auburn High School (2,717.15) Russellville, Red Bay and Vina should remain in their current classifications barring big surprises. The biggest questions are what will happen with Tharptown, Phil Campbell and Belgreen.
Tharptown’s enrollment numbers continue to climb, and the Wildcats are creeping closer and closer to Class 3A.
Phil Campbell has trended closer to Class 2A, and Belgreen remains on the border of Class 2A and 1A.
The thing to watch when the numbers are released is how many schools have lost students to the CHOOSE Act. Many schools have also lost students who have chosen to be homeschooled or participate in virtual school. These factors can dictate what the cutoff numbers are for each classification.
Along with the reclassification numbers being released next week, the new regions for football and areas for volleyball will be released. Winter sports such as basketball will be released in March 2026. Spring sports will be released in June 2026.
Why are they released this way? Again, private schools. Each private school has a competitive balance formula applied to it based on how successful they have been in the most recent two-year classification period. An example would be Mars Hill. The Panthers are in Class 2A in volleyball, Class 3A basketball and football. Mars Hill will likely jump to Class 4A in football in the upcoming classification because they have been so dominant.
Private schools say the 1.35 enrollment multiplier and competitive balance formula is unfair. Most public schools think private schools should compete in their own division separate from the public schools.
