NCHSAA Announces Historic Shift to Eight-Class Football System for 2025-2026 School Year

In Charlotte, North Carolina, big changes are coming to high school athletics. The N.C. High School Athletic Association has announced that it has finalized the average daily membership (ADM) numbers, which will be used for the upcoming school year realignment. This announcement was made public on Tuesday, and it marks a significant shift in how schools will be grouped for competitions.

The ADM numbers reflect the average attendance for schools over the first 20 days of the school year. These figures are critical as they help determine which classifications schools will fall under. Starting next year, the NCHSAA will break away from its traditional four-class system and introduce a new structure with eight classifications. This decision was reached after member schools voted in favor of a bylaw amendment that limits the number of schools per classification to 64.

Under the new structure that begins with the 2025-2026 school year, the largest classification, known as 8A, will include the largest 32 schools in North Carolina, which is being referred to as the “Big 32” model. The other seven classifications will be evenly distributed based on the ADM size of each school. As a result, larger schools will be categorized into the higher classifications, while smaller schools will be assigned to the lower ones, with the smallest schools being classified as 1A.

This shift to eight classes is unprecedented and marks the first time the NCHSAA has expanded beyond four classifications. According to NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker, the staff will soon draft a proposed conference alignment that will be reviewed by the Realignment Committee, which will then create a first draft for membership approval. “We look forward to entering a new era of interscholastic athletics in North Carolina under the eight-classification model,” Tucker stated.

For the last few weeks, the NCHSAA has been gathering ADM data independently, after having previously relied on the Department of Public Instruction. This change was necessary due to shifts in data management and issues related to Hurricane Helene. Different analysis of this data will continue to be shared within the community as everyone prepares for these exciting changes.