IHSAA adds sixth class for football

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Starting in the 2013 school year, Indiana high school football will have a sixth class.

The current 5A class will be split in two, with 32 schools in each. The remaining schools will be evenly distributed among the other four classes. The measure – proposed by the Indiana Football Coaches Association, was approved Friday by the IHSAA Executive Committee. The new classifications will be announced in the winter.

In addition, the committee also approved what they call a two-year tournament success factor in each team sport. Schools that accumulate a certain number of points in any two-year span will be bumped up to the next-higher class in that sport for two seasons.

On a sport-by-sport basis, schools will earn one point for a sectional championship, two points for a regional championship, three points for a semi-state title and four points for a state title. If a school earns six points or more in a two-year period, that team would then compete in the next-higher class.