Just over two weeks from the start of the high school football regular season, the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission has announced major changes involving the reclassification of 11 schools for football in the new four-classification system
The WVSSAC received an opinion from the Review Board, a group composed of seven members appointed by the West Virginia Superintendents of Schools, reversing the decision of the Board of Directors and upholding the appeals of 11 schools for football reclassification in 2024.
Among schools to be reclassified for the 2024 football season are: John Marshall, Oak Hill, Preston, St. Albans, Spring Valley, Frankfort, Sissonville, Wayne, Petersburg, St. Marys and Tyler Consolidated.
The decision means each of those 11 schools drops down a classification than where they had originally been classified. Reclassifying is only in place for the 2024 football season and will be fully reexamined in the future.
“We received notification of the Review Board’s decision on Monday and are working through the implications at this time,” said David Price, WVSSAC Executive Director. “We respect the governance process in place and will do our best to work through the logistics of these changes so close to the start of competition.”
Moving from Class AAAA to Class AAA are John Marshall, Oak Hill, Preston, St. Albans and Spring Valley.
“This decision was a huge step in the right direction and something that many schools have fought for throughout the state,” said Tim George, Athletic Director at Spring Valley. ”I hope that all parties involved can get in ‘fix mode’ in order to find a long term solution that is fair for everyone.
“I hope the public understands that the people that work for the WVSSAC are great people that I genuinely respect. We need to support them and help them navigate through this unprecedented situation.
“Although, there are layers of issues to unpack from our months long battle, now is the time for everyone to come together to focus on fairness for our student-athletes all over West Virginia. We will continue to fight for our ultimate goal of participating in AAA for all sports with four classes.”
The move leaves Class AAAA with only 20 football schools, meaning all but four would qualify for the postseason without a tweak to the playoff format.
Frankfort, Sissonville and Wayne go from Class AAA to Class AA, while Petersburg, St. Marys and Tyler Consolidated shift from Class AA to Class A.
Following a pilot period of four classifications in boys and girls basketball, the WVSSAC Board of Control voted 117-16 to extend expansion to a four-class system in additional sports.
Each of the 11 schools to file an appeal with the Board of Directors previously voted for the expansion of classifications. Following a review, the Board of Directors upheld an original decision on reclassification, before the Review Board reversed the decision.
The high school football regular season begins August 29.