A little over a week ago the Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors voted 9-4 to get rid of the Suburban-Metro playoff system and go back to an eight-classification format, 1A-7A, plus rural, which is based on enrollment.
It was met with mixed reviews.
On Friday, the FHSAA released its new classifications (1A-7A, plus Rural) and districts for the next two years, leaving many coaches frustrated with the results.
“Smallest county in the state, definition of rural, in a class of 62 teams with 56 being private schools and mostly metro,” Union County football coach and Athletics Director Andrew Thomas tweeted after learning his Tigers were moving out of the rural division.
It marked a huge change for Newberry, Fort White, Williston and Union County, which were all moved out of the rural division.
“I think it’s crazy,” Fort White coach Demetric Jackson told the Lake City Reporter. “I think it’s not fair. I don’t know how they came up with this. This is about as far outstretched as anything I could imagine.”
The Indians will compete in 1A-District 4 with P.K. Yonge, Williston, and Union County.
The Rural division will be made up of the 32 smallest schools.
Among the other changes was Newberry moving up from Class 1R to Class 2A, where it will join Class 2S state runner-up Bradford (Starke) and Keystone Heights in 2A-District 5.
These classifications are tentative pending the appeals process per FHSAA Policy 12. The deadline to appeal is January 12, 2024.
Classifications, enrollment numbers & number of teams
- 1R: 111-558 (32 teams)
- 1A: 61-643 (61 teams)
- 2A: 644-1,166 (61 teams)
- 3A: 1,167-1,542 (63 teams)
- 4A: 1,543-1,822 (65 teams)
- 5A: 1,823-2,135 (66 teams)
- 6A: 2,136-2,512 (67 teams)
- 7A: 2,512-4,627 (69 teams)
New classification and district assignments for teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area:
Class 6A-District 3
- Buchholz
- Bartram Trail (St. Johns)
- Nease (Ponte Vedra)
- Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine)
Class 4A-District 3
- Clay (Green Cove Springs)
- Columbia (Lake City)
- Ridgeview (Orange Park)
- St. Augustine
Class 4A-District 5
- Gainesville
- Lecanto
- Leesburg
- Vanguard (Ocala)
Class 3A-District 5
- Dunnellon
- Eastside
- North Marion (Citra)
- Santa Fe (Alachua)
Class 2A-District 3
- Florida High (Tallahassee)
- Gadsden County (Havana)
- Suwannee (Live Oak)
- Taylor County (Perry)
Class 2A-District 5
- Bradford (Starke)
- Crescent City
- Keystone Heights
- Newberry
- Palatka
Class 1A-District 4
- Fort White
- P.K. Yonge
- Union County (Lake Butler)
- Williston
Class 1R-Region 3
- Aucilla Christian (Monticello)
- Branford
- Dixie County (Cross City)
- Hamilton County (Jasper)
- Hilliard
- Jefferson County (Monticello)
- Lafayette (Mayo)
- Madison County
Class 1R-Region 4
- Chiefland
- Fort Meade
- Hawthorne
- Marathon
- Moore Haven
- Pahokee
- Trenton
- Wildwood
Independent
- Bell
- Bronson
- St. Francis Catholic Academy