Competitive balance has officially come to Ohio. The Ohio High School Athletic Association has realigned its seven football divisions under a new format that takes enrollments and adds a multiplier formula based on roster data schools submitted last year to the state governing body.
Of the 718 schools that play football in Ohio, 75 schools move-up to a higher division due to competitive balance and/or a higher base enrollment number. Competitive balance began to be discussed throughout the state in 2011, because of the large number of private schools winning state championships. Multiple referendums were voted down by OHSAA members schools until 2014 when competitive balance was approved. Last year, six of the state’s seven state football championships were won by private schools.
Related: All Seven Division Alignments for 2017
“This is a journey that we have been on for more than eight years to get to this point,” Dr. Dan Ross, OHSAA Commissioner, said. “Approval of the fall sports divisional breakdowns is the result of countless hours of work by our staff and our member schools. For the first time in OHSAA history, enrollment isn’t the only factor in determining a school’s division in certain sports. But the journey isn’t over. We will study the results of this first go-around and discuss with the Competitive Balance Committee and the board.”
Under the new alignment, Division II looks very interesting for 2017 with three-time defending Division II champ La Salle will be joined by three-time Division II champ Archbishop Hoban, which moves-up a division under the new competitive balance formula. Last year, La Salle finished No. 21 in the High School Football America Top 50, while Hoban finished No. 35 in our national rankings that are created with our proprietary algorithm.
