SCHSL’s five-classification realignment proposal released
The realignment proposal that would see the South Carolina High School League shift from four to five classifications was released Monday morning.
Five local schools would play in the new 5A classification: Clover, Fort Mill, Nation Ford, Northwestern and Rock Hill. York would stay in 4A, joining Lancaster and South Pointe in a region with Westwood, Richland Northeast and Ridge View. With 1,572 students, York would be the third-biggest school in the new-look 4A, behind Colleton County and Lugoff-Elgin.
Chester would remain in 3A, but Indian Land, one of the fastest growing schools in the state, would bump up to join the Cyclones in a region including Camden, Columbia and Fairfield Central. Indian Land is now the 108th-biggest school in the state, recently passing Chester, which is now 111th.
In just six years, Indian Land athletics director and football coach Michael Mayer has seen his school jump from 1A to now 3A, regardless of whether the SCHSL moves to five classifications or stays with four.
“Yeah, we knew that was coming. Wish we could have got a little better deal on the travel,” said Mayer, whose school is about an hour from each of its potential region foes under the new proposal.
Much of the debate around a five-classification realignment centered on where to place private schools that have dominated the 1A and 2A divisions. Lewisville and Great Falls would be relieved to see that schools like Christ Church and St. Joseph’s would join the 2A classification; the Lions and Red Devils’ athletic teams would remain in 1A in a region with Lamar, McBee, Timmonsville and the Governor’s School, which doesn’t have a football team.
That region underscores the difficulty of grouping 1A schools together, though. Lewisville’s trips to Timmonsville will be nearly 90 miles, a tough haul for midweek athletic events. With 365 students, Lewisville is the biggest school in the 1A class.
South Carolina first awarded a high school football state title in 1916. The SCHSL created its largest classification, 4A, in 1968. The organization has never had five classifications.
The SCHSL Executive Committee will hear appeals from schools on Sept. 17. Once approved, the proposal would go into effect ahead of the 2016-17 school year.
Five-classification realignment proposal
5A (42 schools)
Region 1: Easley, J.L. Mann, T.L. Hanna, Westside, Woodmont.
Region 2: Greenwood, Hillcrest, Laurens, Mauldin, Riverside, Wade Hampton (G).
Region 3: Boiling Springs, Byrnes, Dorman, Gaffney, Spartanburg.
Region 4: Clover, Fort Mill, Nation Ford, Northwestern, Rock Hill.
Region 5: Blythewood, Dutch Fork, Irmo, Lexington, River Bluff, Spring Valley, White Knoll.
Region 6: Carolina Forest, Conway, Socastee, South Florence, Sumter, West Florence.
Region 7: Ashley Ridge, Fort Dorchester, Goose Creek, James Island, Stratford, Summerville, Wando, West Ashley.
4A (42 schools)
Region 1: Belton-Honea Path, Daniel, Greenville, Pickens, Wren.
Region 2: Blue Ridge, Eastside, Greer, Travelers Rest, Union County.
Region 3: Lancaster, Ridge View, Richland Northeast, South Pointe, Westwood, York.
Region 4: Aiken, Airport, Midland Valley, North Augusta, South Aiken.
Region 5: A.C. Flora, Chapin, Dreher, Lower Richland, Orangeburg-Wilkinson.
Region 6: Crestwood, Darlington, Hartsville, Lakewood, Lugoff-Elgin.
Region 7: Marlboro County, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, St. James, Wilson.
Region 8: Beaufort, Berkeley, Cane Bay, Colleton County, Hilton Head, Stall.
3A (44 schools)
Region 1: Crescent, Pendleton, Seneca, Walhalla, West-Oak.
Region 2: Berea, Carolina, Emerald, Palmetto, Powdersville, Southside.
Region 3: Broome, Chapman, Clinton, Mid-Carolina, Newberry, Woodruff.
Region 4: Brookland-Cayce, Edisto, Gilbert, Pelion, Strom Thurmond, Swansea.
Region 5: Camden, Chester, Columbia, Fairfield Central, Indian Land.
Region 6: Aynor, Dillon, Lake City, Loris, Waccamaw.
Region 7: Bishop England, Georgetown, Hanahan, Lake Marion, Manning, Timberland.
Region 8: Battery Creek, Bluffton, May River, Ridgeland-Hardeeville, Wade Hampton (H).
2A (44 schools)
Region 1: Blacksburg, Chesnee, Christ Church, Greer Middle College*, Landrum, St. Joseph’s.
Region 2: Abbeville, Brashier Middle College*, Greenville Tech Charter*, Liberty, Ninety-Six, Southside Christian.
Region 3: C.A. Johnson, Eau Claire, Fox Creek, Gray Collegiate, Keenan, Saluda.
Region 4: Andrew Jackson, Buford, Central, Cheraw, Chesterfield, Lee Central, North Central.
Region 5: Allendale-Fairfax, Bamberg-Ehrhardt, Barnwell, Batesburg-Leesville, Calhoun County, Silver Bluff.
Region 6: Academic Magnet, Burke, Garrett, North Charleston, Whale Branch, Woodland.
Region 7: Andrews, Carvers Bay, Johnsonville, Kingstree, Latta, Marion, Mullins.
1A (41 schools)
Region 1: Calhoun Falls, Dixie, High Point Academy*, McCormick, South Carolina School for Deaf and Blind*, Tamassee-Salem*, Ware Shoals, Whitmire.
Region 2: Governor’s School*, Great Falls, Lamar, Lewisville, McBee, Timmonsville.
Region 3: Blackville-Hilda, Denmark-Olar, Estill, Hunter-Kinard-Tyler, North, Ridge Spring-Monetta, Wagener-Salley, Williston-Elko.
Region 4: Baptist Hill, Charleston Charter, Lincoln, Low Country Leadership*, Military Magnet, Palmetto Scholars*, Royal Live Oaks*, St. Johns.
Region 5: Bethune-Bowman, Branchville, C.E. Murray, Cross, Scott’s Branch.
Region 6: Creek Bridge, East Clarendon, Green Sea-Floyds, Hannah-Pamplico, Hemingway, Lake View.
*doesn’t have football program
This story was originally published August 3, 2015 at 11:12 AM with the headline "SCHSL’s five-classification realignment proposal released."