NCHSAA reclassification by the numbers: How does N.C. compare to the rest of the country?
North Carolina high schools are deciding this month whether to overhaul the state's high school sports classification system, which has been in place for more than 60 years.
Since at least 1960, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association has divided its schools into four classifications, therefore handing out four state championships in a given sport.
The NCHSAA has added more than 100 schools in the years since but has stayed at four classifications.
Votes on a Buncombe County-led proposal to overhaul that system, capping the number of schools in a classification at 64 and therefore moving from four to seven classifications beginning in 2025-26, are due April 14. Three-fourths of the NCHSAA member schools must vote yes on the proposal in order for it to pass — though a bill introduced Wednesday in the state senate has the potential to override the vote and preserve the four-class system.
Here's a look at NCHSAA classifications and the reclassification proposal by the numbers, compared to comparable high school sports governing organizations in the 49 other states and Washington, D.C.
2021 RECLASSIFICATION: How WNC athletics programs fared in the first year without football subdivisions
NEW YEAR, NEW CLASSES: Reynolds, Polk County win realignment appeals for 2023-24
How many schools are in the NCHSAA?
As of 2022-23, there are 432 member schools in the NCHSAA, ranking No. 16 in the country. Of those 432 schools, 380 played 11-player football in 2022, ranking No. 10 in the country.
How many state championships does the NCHSAA currently have?
The NCHSAA awards four state championships in most sports, and no more than four in any sport. From 2001-2020, the NCHSAA held eight state championships in football, splitting each of the four classifications into two subdivisions, but has returned to a four-class system in the years since.
How many state championships will the NCHSAA have if the proposal passes?
The exact answer will vary by sport, but with no more than 64 teams in any one classification, there will be as many as seven state championships in some of the most popular sports in the state, such as basketball.
In football, there are currently enough teams for six classifications under the 64-team cap.
How do the NCHSAA's numbers compare to the rest of the country?
Most states have more classifications and state championships than North Carolina does under the NCHSAA, both by raw numbers and when adjusting for the number of schools.
Just 17 states award four or fewer state championships in (11-player) football. Of those 17, all but four have fewer than 100 football teams, and only North Carolina (380) has more than 150 teams.
North Carolina awards one football state championship for every 95 teams, the third-lowest ratio in the country, trailing only Texas and Ohio. The new proposal would award one state championship for every 63.3 teams, which would be the seventh-lowest in the country. Six football state championships would tie for 15th-most in the country.
The NCHSAA's football state championships would still be less "watered down" than any other state in the region. South Carolina awards one title for every 40.2 football teams, one in every 51.8 Georgia football teams wins a state championship and Tennessee has one state championship for every 37.6 teams.
In basketball, the NCHSAA is a bit less stingy compared to the rest of the country. Four basketball state championships for 432 member schools equals one title for every 108 schools, ranking No. 11 in the country.
Moving to seven basketball state championships would change the ratio to one for every 61.7 schools, ranking No. 23 in the country.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NCHSAA reclassification proposal: How does NC compare to other states?
