7 high school sports to move to six classifications next school year
Boys and girls basketball are two of the seven sports moving to six classifications in the 2023-24 school year in New York. Credit: Dawn McCormick
The New York State Public High School Athletic Association is going from a five-classification format to six classifications in seven different sports – boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball, girls volleyball, baseball and softball – beginning in the 2023-24 school year.
The NYSPHSAA Central Committee voted to approve the move at its 2022 annual summer meeting.
For Long Island high schools, it means more county champions, more Long Island championship games and more teams competing in state tournaments.
In boys and girls basketball for example, Nassau will potentially go from having three entries for state play to five and Suffolk could go from five entries to six.
“I see this change giving more opportunities to kids, to win a title or be in state tournament play,” Section XI executive director Tom Combs said. “I really like the change.”
The NYSPHSAA has sought to create approximately equal numbers across the state in each enrollment classification. Suffolk currently has 59 boys and girls basketball programs with 25 competing in Class AA, 22 in Class A and four in Class B. If the same number of schools are playing next season, there would be 18 in Class AAA, 18 in Class AA and 13 in Class A.
“The [cut-off] numbers between classifications will be different in each of those [seven] sports, but we are not going to be so top heavy anymore,” Combs said. “A school could be AAA in one sport and AA in another.”
This boys and girls basketball season in Nassau, there are 58 schools competing; 15 in Class AA, 34 in Class A and nine in Class B. If all of those schools are competing again next season, there will be 15 in Class AAA, 21 in Class AA, 16 in Class A and seven in Class B.
Nassau also may have a Class C school if Evergreen Charter School is competing.
Potentially next season there could be five schools crowned Long Island champions in boys and girls basketball whereas right now there are only three.
“In Class A right now we have a ton of schools competing for one championship and in the new system there will be two champions from that group,” Section VIII executive director Pat Pizzarelli said. “Nothing but a positive there.”
The only real perceived negative is that the sections will have to take on the extra expense of securing more postseason venues and the cost of sending more teams to state competitions.
“It’s a very acceptable trade off,” Combs said.
There could be a handful of intriguing matchups created by reclassifying. Smithtown East and Smithtown West will likely become division foes. So will Half Hollow Hills East and West.
“Parents and students will probably love the competition of our schools playing in the same division,” Half Hollow Hills district athletic director Deb Ferry said. “And I am sure the coaches and players will enjoy competing for bragging rights. I’ve never been crazy about a rivalry inside the district, especially if there is a championship at stake. It’s nice when the teams at the two schools are in a position to support each other.”
The re-ordering of schools may also create some interesting new matchups. For example, two of the traditional Class B powers, Malverne in Nassau and Southampton in Suffolk, could present challenges for the bigger schools they will meet in Class A. Or vice versa.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.