IHSA updates sports classification rules for schools in Illinois

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) has updated its sports classification rules for schools in Illinois, effective for the 2027-28 school year. The changes were approved at the board of directors' meeting this month. The IHSA announced that the new policy provides schools with one year's notice before any class cutoff changes, as part of an effort to help them prepare accordingly.

IHSA executive director Craig Anderson stated, "When revamping the Classification Policy in 2024, one of our goals was to provide member schools with one year notice in advance of any class cutoff changes to help them prepare accordingly."

The board also revised the policy to set the classification at the nearest 25 students instead of the previous nearest 50 or 100. This change is due to a declining enrollment trend in the IHSA membership, according to Anderson. The revised classification cutoffs for 2027-28 are as follows:

For four-class sports, including baseball, boys and girls basketball, softball, girls volleyball, boys soccer, and girls tennis, the Class 1A classification has been lowered from 1-300 to 1-275, while Class 2A and Class 3A classifications have also been adjusted accordingly.

Girls soccer Class 1A has been updated from 1-800 to 1-750, while Class 2A has been changed from 800.01 to 1,800.00 to 750.01 to 1,750. Similarly, Boys golf Class 1A has been lowered from 1-500 to 1-450, and Class 2A from 500.01 to 1,450 to 450.01 to 1,400.