The Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Directors has unanimously approved a proposal to expand the number of divisions offered for postseason tournaments in seven Sports. The decision, officially approved on Thursday, will affect OHSAA General Sports Regulation 17 and will impact girls and boys soccer, girls volleyball, girls and boys basketball, softball, and baseball.
Under the new proposal, girls and boys soccer will now have five divisions, while girls volleyball, girls and boys basketball, softball, and baseball will move to seven divisions. In these sports, Division I and Division II will include only 64 schools. The change will not affect football, which already has seven divisions.
Doug Ute, OHSAA Executive Director, expressed that the decision is aimed at leveling the playing field for student-athletes who have been competing at a disadvantage for too long. He explained that the largest schools in their divisions have historically been much larger than the smaller schools, resulting in many schools accepting that they have little chance at making a run in the tournament. The change is set to take effect this fall.
The OHSAA’s decision comes as a response to the significant disparities in school sizes within divisions, where some sports have seen over 200 schools competing for a state title in a single division. The new system will place the largest 64 schools into Division I, the next largest 64 into Division II, and evenly divide the remaining schools, similar to how football divisions are organized.
The proposal aims to address the imbalance and provide a fair opportunity for all schools to compete at a level playing field. This historic change will impact high school sports in Ohio and is anticipated to create a more competitive and equitable tournament experience for student-athletes across the state. For more information on the proposal, click here.
