Classifiying the Classifications ....

[Ralph Damren]

Several years ago an Ohio newspaper published an article comparing states on topics such as classification labels. In Maine, 11 man football has four labeled :A, B, C, and D. As I recall, most other states were labeled AAAAA, AAAA, AAA, AA, A and the like. What's yours?

Never fear , the new rules will be published soon 

[hef333]

Pa has 1A thru 6A,  had 1A thru 4A until 2015, then they moved to 6 classes in 2016.

[dammitbobby]

Texas has 6 classifications, with 2 two divisions (D1, and D2)  within each, based on enrollment.  1A is six-man, 2A-6A is 11 man (with two divisions in each) and there will likely be a 7A classification with the next few years.  There are already some districts in 5A (I think, maybe one in 6A) that have 10 teams in a district, they are limited by bracket size for playoffs, so are going to have to do something soon.

[Patrick E.]

NY is AA, A, B, C, D.

[BetweenTheLines]

SC has A THRU AAAAA. Five classifications for a state with a little over 5 million residents and NY has 6 with over 19 million???

[Badger1]

Wisconsin has, in 11 man football, Divisions 1 thru 7 with Division 1 being the largest and gradually decreasing in size until Division 7 which are the smallest schools.  We also have schools that participate in 8 man football which have their own playoff system.  There were 57 programs sponsoring 8-player football in 2021.

[BIG DON]

Arkansas 7A, 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A

[bama_stripes]

Alabama has 1A-7A.  7A is the largest 32 schools, then 64 schools in each of the other classes.  1A may have more or less than 64 in a given year.

[HLinNC]

NC is 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A.  1A is the smallest and more skewed to the rural eastern and western ends of the state.

About 20'ish years ago, the 1A schools lobbied to split their football playoffs to 1A (little) and 1AA (big) which was approved.  FB coaches in the other classes saw the opportunity to double their chance at a state final and voted to make it across the board so we had 8 champions until last season.

The state athletic association proposed a change to 5 classes last year which was voted down by the membership.  In what some view as a fit of pique, the state returned to only having 4 class playoffs/4 state champs this past fall.  Had the 5th class passed, it was fairly certain they were going to eliminate split classes anyway and would have only had 5 state champs.  We are likely to see some variation proposed again in the future.

[Matt]

In Michigan for 11 man there are 256 teams that qualify for playoffs and are then divided by enrollment into 8 equal divisions. These are one through eight with one being the highest. It is possible for some schools to participate in one division and then a different one the following year.
Same set up for 8 man which has 2 divisions of 16 teams for the playoffs.

[toma]

Massachusetts has 8 division,
D1 has 28 schools they have the largest male enrollment.
D2 32; D3 36; D4 33; D5 38; D6 35; D7 38; D8 42;
Playoff are 16 team brackets for each division. Power rankings set the division seeding. 
Non-playoff schools are matched up for 2 more weeks of football.
Loser in the first round are rolled into the non-playoff brackets. 
It’s an 8 week regular season with 2 additional games (first 2 rounds in playoff & loser brackets, plus our traditional thanks giving games in Mass. 
Every school get the chance to play 11 game season
Only the semi & final schools will play additional 1 or 2 games.
Semi & finals are played after thanks giving.
Super Bowl is at Gillett Stadium, home of the 6 time Super Bowl New England Patriots Champions   

[dammitbobby]

This is so interesting, seeing how other states do this.  Great thread idea, Ralph.

[Ralph Damren]

Never fear, Bobby, our new rules will be released

- shortly...WHOOPS, I forgot... you're a Texan  . Other possible riveting topics :

MASCOTS : Tigers are the most popular in Maine, how about yours 
                  In Maine, there are 6 mascots that don't end in 'S', how about yours 
                  Do any of your schools have live, non human mascots 
                  In you state, if a mascot bites an official, is it a USC on the head coach 

Last-level tie breaker for post-season seating, in lieu of coin-toss. Iowa has alphabetical order, what's yours  .

[ElvisLives]

Never fear, Bobby, our new rules will be released

- shortly...WHOOPS, I forgot... you're a Texan  . Other possible riveting topics :

MASCOTS : Tigers are the most popular in Maine, how about yours 
                  In Maine, there are 6 mascots that don't end in 'S', how about yours 
                  Do any of your schools have live, non human mascots 
                  In you state, if a mascot bites an official, is it a USC on the head coach 

Last-level tie breaker for post-season seating, in lieu of coin-toss. Iowa has alphabetical order, what's yours  .

Well, in Texas, there are 3,240 high schools (public and private). The mascot for only three (3) of those schools is the Antelope, and the farthest any two of those are apart is only 77 miles (as the crow flies). Up here in the great South Plains.

[dammitbobby]

We certainly have some unusual mascots:

Hutto Hippos
Groesbeck Goats
Amarillo Hgh Golden Sandies
Grandview Zebras
Robston Cotton Pickers
Brazosport Exporters (I've no idea what that actually is, )
Springtown Porcupines
New Braunfels Unicorns
Winters Blizzards
Farmersville Fighting Farmers
Coleman Bluecats
Hamlin Pied Pipers
Roscoe Plowboys
Mesquite Skeeters
Central Catholic Buttons
Randolph Rohawks
Frisco Trash Pandas, oops... I meant Raccoons

No idea what the most popular mascot is, I'd guess Tigers, Lions, or Bulldogs

Mascots that don't end in S?  Hmm... none that I can think of
 
Live mascots?  also, none that I know of?  Might be a school or two with a bulldog maybe

It would be UNS for what the coach would do to the mascot and probably an immediate ejection and possibly charges filed

For seeding tiebreakers, a district can choose to use a system called positive points but I've no idea how it works.  I do know if the districts has adopted positive points, they are required to inform the white hat because it can potentially alter overtime rules, I think.  No districts in this area use it (that I know of).  Outside of that, I think they just do a coin toss. 

[ElvisLives]

We certainly have some unusual mascots:

Hutto Hippos
Groesbeck Goats
Amarillo Hgh Golden Sandies
Grandview Zebras
Robston Cotton Pickers
Brazosport Exporters (I've no idea what that actually is, )
Springtown Porcupines
New Braunfels Unicorns
Winters Blizzards
Farmersville Fighting Farmers
Coleman Bluecats
Hamlin Pied Pipers
Roscoe Plowboys
Mesquite Skeeters
Central Catholic Buttons
Randolph Rohawks
Frisco Trash Pandas, oops... I meant Raccoons

No idea what the most popular mascot is, I'd guess Tigers, Lions, or Bulldogs

Mascots that don't end in S?  Hmm... none that I can think of
 
Live mascots?  also, none that I know of?  Might be a school or two with a bulldog maybe

It would be UNS for what the coach would do to the mascot and probably an immediate ejection and possibly charges filed

For seeding tiebreakers, a district can choose to use a system called positive points but I've no idea how it works.  I do know if the districts has adopted positive points, they are required to inform the white hat because it can potentially alter overtime rules, I think.  No districts in this area use it (that I know of).  Outside of that, I think they just do a coin toss.

Monterey Plainsmen

[Etref]

Port Lavaca Fighting Sandcrabs!

Only one with no s I can think of is Deer Park Deer.

[oklahomaRef]

In Oklahoma we have 1A, 2A, 3A. 4A, 5A, 6A1 and 6A2 these are 11 man football  with 1A being the smallest and 6A being the largest, then they split 6A into two different classes based on school enrollment with 6A1 being the largest enrollment and 6A2 being the lower.

Then we have 2 classes for 8 man football these being B and C.

[ncwingman]

Proposal - If your state uses written out strings of As, such as AAAAAA, they must be pronounced as such with increasing volume of the scream to denote more As.

"East County High is the AAAAAA!!!!! State Champions"

Seriously though, if you're in 4A or Quad-A, you're in Division 4. What the purpose of the A if there is no B? I kind of understood NC's 1A/AA system as there were different letters and numbers, but still, why not just 1-8 or A and B?

[Ralph Damren]

About mascots :
 
We have six that don't end in 's'....
Stearns Minutemen
Madanorcook Acad. Lynx
Scarborough Red Storm
Spruce Mtn. Phoenix
Yarmouth Yachtsman
Pine Tree Acad. Ocean

Some unusual ones : Brewer HS Witches (am told only other HS in US with same mascot is in Salem, Mass)
                               Bowdoin College Polar Bears (plenty of bears but none polar)
                               UMaine-Augusta Moose

About coin toss as last level tie breaker :

Ours, like most, is a coin-toss. Several years ago there was a debate about this. I suggested the then Big Ten's last tie-breaker which was the last team to go to the Rose Bowl was eliminated. The schools with poor teams thought it was a great idea. The schools with good teams thought that it wasn't. Still have the coin-toss ,a silver dollar is used.

About classes:

It appears so far that only Maine and New York use all the alphabet, Mass numerical, while the rest seem stuck on A's. While the educational experience stresses that A's are better than B's, C's and D's ; I've never heard anyone complain. Seems easier than counting the A's with blurry eyes (such as the morning after the Super Bowl) 

[/GO BENGALS !!b]

[Etref]

Ralph
Believe it or not, a Texas HS team has a mascot of Polar Bears! Frost, TX

[Ralph Damren]

Ralph
Believe it or not, a Texas HS team has a mascot of Polar Bears! Frost, TX

SO MUCH for that Bowdoin legend  ! They do have in their  alumni base both a US president in Franklin Pierce and a Civil War (War of Northern Aggression) hero (zero) Joshua Chamberlin (depending on which side of Mason-Dixon)  one lives on  .

[SDR]

Back in the day, there was a high school in a small town in north central South Dakota.  The school is gone now in Polo, South Dakota.  The mascot for the school's athletic teams was . . . you guessed it - the Bears.

[HLinNC]

Seriously though, if you're in 4A or Quad-A, you're in Division 4. What the purpose of the A if there is no B? I kind of understood NC's 1A/AA system as there were different letters and numbers, but still, why not just 1-8 or A and B?

Ah but it wasn't always so ncwing- http://www.carolinagridiron.com/2010/08/nchsaa-champs.html .  We used to have A and B, then A, AA, and B.  All the A's got added in 1950.

Cary HS (outside of Raleigh) is the Imps.  Washington HS down on the east coast of NC is the Pam-Pack (Pamlico Sound).  Greensboro Grimsley HS is the Whirlies.  Robbinsville HS is the Black Knights.  Lejeune HS is the Devil Pups (Camp Lejeune, USMC "Devil Dogs").  S. Stokes is the Sauras (Cheraw Native American tribe).

The most popular mascot in NC is Eagles at 34.

[Ralph Damren]

Ah but it wasn't always so ncwing- http://www.carolinagridiron.com/2010/08/nchsaa-champs.html .  We used to have A and B, then A, AA, and B.  All the A's got added in 1950.

Cary HS (outside of Raleigh) is the Imps.  Washington HS down on the east coast of NC is the Pam-Pack (Pamlico Sound).  Greensboro Grimsley HS is the Whirlies.  Robbinsville HS is the Black Knights.  Lejeune HS is the Devil Pups (Camp Lejeune, USMC "Devil Dogs").  S. Stokes is the Sauras (Cheraw Native American tribe).

The most popular mascot in NC is Eagles at 34.

Eagles are close to Tigers in Maine ,too. The only non-human mascots I've seen at games have been huskies and bulldogs.The Bangor Rams used to have a real one at games but the problem arose that the ram often dragged his....er ,you know, on the ground and embarrassing the faint of heart  . Choosing the human class clown to be the mascot is probably more wholesome. .