The Iowa High School Athletic Association Classification Committee will meet this fall for the first time in two years to discuss proposals to change the Iowa classification system. 

According to a release from the IHSAA, they received a form resolution from 26 schools to “convene a committee to seriously evaluate the competitive needs of students and schools to experience success and the inequities inherent in a system based solely on enrollment size without consideration of family and community capacity for support and make a recommendation to a joint board of both associations to resolve this issue in the 2019-2020 school year.”

The Des Moines school board was one of those to ask  the IHSAA to use factors like socioeconomic status in classification. 

According to the Des Moines Register, Des Moines Public Schools are 0-102 since 2009 against other large Polk County schools. 

In a Cedar Rapids Gazette article, former Iowa City High football coach Dan Sabers laid out a plan to move Iowa to eight classes of football, with the largest having only 16 teams.

His example would use enrollment, socioeconomincs and recent success to create classes. 

Iowa currently uses a six-class system with 42 teams in Class 4A, 54 in Class 3A, 54 in Class 2A, 54 in Class 1A and the rest of the schools in Class A. Schools under 120 students have the option of playing 8-player football. 

During the meeting, the committee will decide whether to propose any potential changes to the eight person board of control. 

Ken Crawford, superintendent of Lone Tree and Highland, is on the larger 25-member IHSAA Representative Council for the Southeast District. Lone Tree plays 8-player football and Highland is in Class A.  

Mid-Prairie is currently a Class 2A football school.