PENNSYLVANIA, USA — At its meeting for July of 2023, the PIAA Board of Directors voted to expand its competition formula which is used currently in the sports of football and basketball, to be used in all sanctioned sports except golf.
The following is a question & answer explainer on the PIAA website regarding the competition formula.
Basic Formula:
In the previous two-year classification cycle, if a school receives six points in the previous classification cycle and accepts transfer students by sport and gender that are equal to or exceeds one less than half of the starting squad size of that sport, the school will move up one classification.
In the previous two-year classification cycle, if a school receives six points in the previous classification cycle and accepts transfer students by sport and gender that are equal to or exceeds one less than half of the starting squad size of that sport, the school will move up one classification.
Example:
1 transfer in basketball = up 1 classification.
3 transfers in football = up 1 classification.
If a school accumulates 6 points or greater in the previous cycle and does not receive transfer students, it will remain in the same enrollment classification for the next two-year cycle.
A school that has moved up in class does not obtain 3, 4, 5 or 6 success points in a cycle, but has transfer students equal to or exceeding the number by sport, will remain up in the higher classification cycle for the next two-year cycle.
If a school accumulates six or more success points in a classification cycle – do they automatically move up in classification?
Answer: No. They do not go up automatically, but if they equal or exceed the number of success points and equal or exceed the minimum number of transfer students, they will move up in classification for two years. If a school has more than the listed number of transfers and no success points do they move up in classification? Answer: No. They will not move up based only upon the number of transfer students they host. They also have to obtain the minimum number of success points to move up in classification.
If a school moves up in classification for two years can they move back down?
Answer: Yes. If they do not achieve any success points that would keep them up (minimally three points), then they may be able to move back down. However, they also must have less than the minimum number of transfer students to move back down.
If a school moves up in classification in one cycle can they move up another in the next cycle?
Answer: Yes. If a school moves up in class and achieves six or more success points and equals or exceeds the minimum number of transfers per sport, they could move up another classification based upon their success and number of transfers.
What keeps a school from moving up or down after the first cycle; success or transfers or both?
Answer: If a school moves up after the first cycle and does not equal or exceed the minimum number of success points (3), they may move down if they do not equal or exceed the minimum number of transfers.
If a school moves up in classification can transfers only keep them up in that classification?
Answer: Yes. If they have 1 or more success points and transfers that equal or exceed the minimum number of transfers, then they stay up in classification. If they have no success points and have transfers they may move down in classification.
The PIAA Board of Directors is expected to meet again on Sep. 13, 2023.