The IHSA held its August Board meeting on Monday and from it came a change in how some schools will be classified by enrollment just two years after the IHSA Classification Policy was last changed in 2024. As it currently stands for the 2026-2027 school year, member schools are divided into classes based on a one-year cycle and the cutoffs for the classes are set by a fixed number cutoff. That is a change from the previous policy of a two-year cycle where the classes where divided based on a percentage cutoff. The current one-year cycle began last year with the 2025-2026 school year and is in place again this school year with the IHSA board approving for the newest policy change resetting the fixed number cutoff. The cutoffs are currently rounded to the nearest 50th or 100th numeral. For example baseball, softball, boys and girls basketball and girls volleyball all run four class systems and the enrollment cutoff for Class 1A schools is 300 while the three-class system for boys and girls track and field and wrestling have a Class 1A cutoff of 450 and 750 respectively. With the current fixed cutoff figures, some Class 3A schools in basketball such as Effingham and Olney (Richland County) were able to drop down to Class 2A and played in the Vandalia 2A Regional in 2026 and Altamont’s Boys Basketball 2026 Sectional Championship opponent Lawrenceville had dropped from 2A to 1A. In the IHSA’s board meeting release, it says they will now set the cutoffs to the nearest 25th numeral and classification cutoffs will change for several sports beginning with the 2027-2028 school year. The cutoff in the four class sports will change by 25 between Class 1A and Class 2A but the Class 2A/Class 3A cutoff will change by 100. With the new changes, a large number of the schools who dropped a class starting with the 2025-2026 school year should go back up to their previous class starting in 2027-2028.
2027-28 CLASSIFICATION CHANGES BY SPORT
Four Class Sports | Baseball, Boys/Girls Basketball, Softball, Girls Volleyball
Class 1A: 1-275
Class 2A: 275.01-600
Class 3A: 600.01-1600
Class 4A: 1600.01 or greater
Boys Golf
Class 1A: 1-450
Class 2A: 450.01-1400
Class 3A: 1400.01 or greater
Boys Soccer
Class 1A: 1-675
Class 2A: 675.01-1650
Class 3A: 1650.01 or greater
Girls Tennis
Class 1A: 1-1400
Class 2A: 1400.01 or greater
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