Football classifications: Washington, Fairfield, Mt. Pleasant stay in 3A

The Iowa High School Athletic Association released its latest Iowa high school football classifications last week.

There’s not a lot of movement as it pertains to Union area teams as Mt. Pleasant just narrowly stays in Class 3A. The Panthers wind up as the classes largest school.

Washington and Fairfield both join Mt. Pleasant in 3A, which means there’s a good chance the trio could end up in the same district by playoff time.

Meanwhile, New London makes a jump. The Tigers will no longer play in 8-Player, at least this next season. They move up into Class A. New London is the third smallest in the Class.

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New London joins, Highland, Pekin, Columbus and Van Buren County.

Winfield-Mt. Union and WACO are the only 8-Player teams.

Mid-Prairie is in Class 2A. Cardinal and Sigourney-Keota are in 1A.

There are seven total classes including 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, 1A, A and 8-Player.

The IHSAA says, “School enrollment numbers from each year inform the following school year’s classifications for IHSAA sanctioned sports. For football only, these numbers are used for two-year cycles. Enrollment numbers are provided by the Basic Educational Data Survey (BEDS) from the Iowa Department of Education. Whole grade and cooperative sharing agreements listed as available. To view other sports or overall BEDS numbers, view the Classifications page.”

“New for football since 2023 is a formula for free and reduced lunch percentages and school enrollments to determine new final classification numbers. This change to the IHSAA’s Articles of Incorporation was approved by the Board of Control, a vote of the IHSAA’s member schools, and the Iowa State Board of Education. The classification adjustment will reduce 40 percent of a school’s free or reduced lunch (FRL) count from their annual enrollment to determine their final classification number.“