Sports News

In the latest plan to overhaul North Dakota high school basketball and volleyball, Hillsboro will remain a Class B school.
But the landscape for the two winter sports played in the Red River Valley and across the state will most certainly be changed if the latest proposal by the state’s Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association is given the stamp of approval at a NDIAAA spring meeting and in a vote of all North Dakota High School Activities Association member schools this fall.
If accepted by a majority of schools in the state, the plan for a three-class system in basketball and volleyball will be implemented at the start of the 2009-2010 school year.
In the three class format proposed by the NDIAAA board of directors, the state’s 15 largest schools, enrollments of 450 and above, will compete in Class AA.
Class A will include the 32 schools with enrollments between 150 and 449.
All schools with enrollments of 149 and lower will make up Class B.
Hillsboro, with an enrollment of fewer than 140 students in its top four grades, is firmly entrenched in Class B. However, schools can choose to play in the division above their assigned class. That decision will be made by the school’s board of education.
The state’s Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association has its reasons for proposing the three-class system.
“As the landscape of high school athletics and the enrollment shift changes in North Dakota so does the need to change the configuration of volleyball and basketball in the state.”
The prepared statement continues: “How do we best serve student athletes who play basketball and volleyball and balance the interests of parents, schools and other stakeholders in the state?”
Common rivals of Hillsboro’s included in Class A are: MayPort-CG, Hatton-Northwood, Larimore, Northern Cass, Central Cass, Cavalier, Fargo Oak Grove, Kindred, Midway-Minto and Langdon.
Fargo Shanley, St. Mary’s of Bismarck, Dickinson Trinity and Valley City are also in Class A.
The new proposal has post-season regional and state tournaments planned for the three classes.
Schools in Class B will be divided into eight regions.
Representatives in Class AA and A will recommend to the NDHSAA the number of teams it wants to play at state, opening the door for two teams from each of the four regions to reach state.
The state last voted on the three-class system in 2004, when the proposal was soundly defeated in a 120-49 vote. The three-classes in basketball has been voted on and defeated four times since 1963, the year Class C was dropped.
NDIAAA board members met Wednesday to discuss the three-class plan and reaction to the proposal since it was released three weeks ago.
If approved by the general membership of the NDIAAA, the plan will be presented to NDHSAA schools for a vote in October.
If approved then, the three classes in basketball and volleyball will go into effect during the 2009-2010 school year.