The West Virginia Secondary Schools Activity Commission released the latest school classifications to take effect beginning next July 1st and running the following four years to 2020.
There were several significant changes in the three classes. Class AAA saw a reduction in schools to 29. Eight schools moved down from AAA to AA including Lincoln County, Logan, Winfield, Oak Hill, Shady Spring, Elkins, Nitro and Point Pleasant. No schools moved up from AA to AAA.
Class AA witnessed six schools drop to Class A including Webster Springs, Ravenswood, Ritchie County, Tolsia, Summers County, and Mount View.
Only Man High School moved upward from class A to AA.
The moves may affect the class AA Cardinal Conference the most. One of it’s members, Tolsia, will drop to class A. Meanwhile several surrounding schools have moved to AA including Winfield, Nitro, Point Pleasant, Lincoln County, Logan and Man.
There is a substantial shift in AAA schools geographical footprint. 18 schools lie at Ripley or northward with only 11 south of that.
The state’s largest AAA conference will be affected with current members Winfield and Nitro moving down to AA.
As in the past, reclassification creates talking points for fans and media along with scheduling shifts for athletic directors.
Below are the new classifications along with school enrollment numbers.
