IHSAA to add new Class 5A for football
Lang
1/21/21
The Iowa High School Athletic Association is adding a new class for football for the 2021 season.
The group’s Board of Control approved the move on Thursday. The new classification will be Class 5A, adding an 11-player group to reduce the disparity in enrollment in the IHSAA’s largest class of football, and to increase the number of participating teams and student-athletes in the postseason.
Under the new plan, Classes 5A, 4A and 3A will include 36 teams each who will play nine regular season games with 16 playoff qualifiers.
The remaining classes, including eight-player, will play eight-game regular season schedules with 32 playoff qualifiers. Teams can add a ninth regular season game if they fail to make the postseason.
Additional information regarding playoff qualification and district assignments will be released at a later date. The new designations mean City High, West High and Liberty could be designated to different classes after all three spent the 2020 season in Class 4A.