There was obviously a lot of support from schools statewide to change the current classification model for Idaho high school athletics, beginning in 2024.

Very little of that support, however, came from North Idaho.

On Tuesday, a majority vote of superintendents statewide overturned an earlier vote by the Idaho High School Activities Association board of control, changing the enrollment numbers in the six classifications, and affecting a few leagues in North Idaho.

There will still be six classifications, just identified a little differently.

Next year, the biggest schools will be in 6A, followed by 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A.

That replaces the current classifications, which are 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, 1A Division I and 1A Division II. So basically, 1A Division I turns into 2A, 2A into 3A, and so on.

The bigger change is, the enrollment numbers for each classification are a little bigger.

In the new 6A, the range is 1,400 students and up in grades 9-12. In the current 5A, it’s 1,280 and up.

In 5A, the range is 700-1,399 students. In the current 4A, it’s 640-1,279.

In 4A, the range is 350-699 students. In the current 3A, it’s 320-639.

In 3A, the range is 175-349 students. In the current 2A, it’s 160-319.

In 2A, the range is 90-174 students. In the current 1A Division I, it’s 85-159.

In 1A, the range is 89 students and below. In the current 1A Division II, it’s 84 and below.

THE BIG effect — Lewiston (enrollment 1,365, based on two reporting periods during the 2022-23 school year), in the state’s biggest division for a quarter century, would drop down one division, from 6A to 5A, and join Sandpoint (1,086.5), Lakeland (863) and Moscow (773.5) in what will be a four-team league.

That would leave Post Falls (1,572), Coeur d’Alene (1,541.5) and Lake City (1,536.5) in a three-team league, and likely in the same boat as the current 4A Inland Empire League, where Sandpoint, Lakeland and Moscow battle for just one berth to state. Under the current system, the 5A IEL sometimes got two of its four teams to state, and in the years it didn’t, the regional runner-up at least advanced to a state play-in game.

District representation to state has yet to be determined, but the fear from the bigger schools is that Post Falls, Coeur d’Alene and Lake City will scrap for one berth to state (in most sports), while the runner-up between Lewiston, Sandpoint, Lakeland and Moscow will at least be in a play-in game.

(In football, 12 teams make the current 5A playoffs, and 16 qualify in 4A.)

Dena Naccarato, Post Falls schools superintendent, is also an IHSAA board member. In August, she was one of the “no” votes when the IHSAA voted 8-6 to reject the new proposal — a result that was overturned by the state’s superintendents on Tuesday.

“I am the regional representative for District 1 and voted the way my constituents wanted me to,” Naccarato said. “Concerns are varied. The 5A schools are concerned about representation from the north for state competitions. At the 4A (level), there are concerns about a school of 750 (Moscow) competing with a school nearly twice their size (Lewiston). The schools in region 1 did not have an issue with our ‘old’ classification system. The old adage ‘if it isn't broken, don't fix it’ may apply in this case.”

ELSEWHERE IN North Idaho, Timberlake (572.5) and Bonners Ferry (447.5) will remain a two-team league, albeit now in 4A instead of 3A.

Kellogg (324) and Priest River (321) will remain in the Central Idaho League with St. Maries (282), Orofino (255.5) and Grangeville (230), in the new 3A division.

Under the current system, after two years in 2A, Kellogg and Priest River would have moved back up to join Timberlake and Bonners Ferry, barring a petition to stay down.

Now, it makes the Central Idaho League a better league and keeps the Intermountain League as somewhat of a high school version of what will soon be the Pac-2.

And Clark Fork (89.5), unless it petitions down, would move up to 2A, joining Genesis Prep (143.5), Wallace (131.5) and Lakeside (113.5).

That would leave Kootenai (56) and Mullan (41) in 1A.

ALL TOLD, 100 of the 152 member schools voted to adopt the new classification and alignment numbers.

But in District 1, only two schools voted in favor, and 11 were against.

(Superintendents voted on behalf of the schools in their district, so in the case of the Coeur d’Alene School District, Coeur d’Alene High had one vote, Lake City High had one vote.)

Strange how all this happened.

Usually what the IHSAA says goes. But one of the schools noticed in the IHSAA bylaws (Article XI, Section 5, Action by Members, if you’re curious) that rules and regulations can be “adopted, amended or repealed by a majority vote.”

A survey earlier this year showed a majority of schools were in favor of adjusting the classification numbers.

But the IHSAA voted against it.

Hence, Tuesday’s action.

Statewide, current 4A schools Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Skyline and Twin Falls were spared having to move up, with the low end of the highest classification rising from 1,280 to 1,400 students.

A total of 14 of the 22 6A teams next year will be in District 3 (Boise area). Canyon Ridge of Twin Falls will be the only District 4 team in 6A. Highland, Madison, Rigby and Thunder Ridge will be 6A from eastern Idaho.

So under the current system, the numbers aren’t going to favor Coeur d’Alene, Lake City and Post Falls getting even an additional half-berth to state, even if their level of play might warrant it.

The best bet for those three teams would be expanding the other (non-football) state tournaments from 8 to 12 teams, or at least creating some sort of expanded play-in round prior to state for the second-place team.

If not …

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.