2025-2027 MHSAA Reclassification

[Rebel Bert]

Just now, Rebel Bert said:

I don't see any changes in 6A. I will not be surprised if NW Rankin is put in R2 and Harrison Central in R3. 

My bad 7A not 6A.

[Mississippi Queen]

30 minutes ago, Rebel Bert said:

I don't see any changes in 6A. I will not be surprised if NW Rankin is put in R2 and Harrison Central in R3. 

Not that the MHSAA doesn't do some crazy stuff...

But from a travel standpoint, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But curious as to what you think the MHSAA would use as reasoning to see that as a better option that leaving Harrison Central in R4 with the other coast teams.

[Rebel Bert]

2 hours ago, Mississippi Queen said:

Not that the MHSAA doesn't do some crazy stuff...

But from a travel standpoint, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But curious as to what you think the MHSAA would use as reasoning to see that as a better option that leaving Harrison Central in R4 with the other coast teams.

You don't have George County or Hancock to send north as in previous years. All 7 schools are South of I-10 except Harrison Central. That's why I see a 7 school region on the coast or Harrison Central going North to R3.

[JACKTOWN91]

One source tells me that 7A will look like this

 

R1

Desoto

Southhaven

Hernando

Tupelo

Horn Lake

Lewisberg

 

R2

Madison Central

Clinton

Starkville

Germantown

Murrah

Oxford

Meridian

 

R3

Oak Grove

Brandon

Rankin

Petal

Pearl

Harrison Central

 

R4

St. Martins

Biloxi

Dibervile

Gulfport

West Harrison

Ocean Springs

[Hash_Marks]

1 minute ago, JACKTOWN91 said:

One source tells me that 7A will look like this

 

R1

Desoto

Southhaven

Hernando

Tupelo

Horn Lake

Lewisberg

 

R2

Madison Central

Clinton

Starkville

Germantown

Murrah

Oxford

Meridian

 

R3

Oak Grove

Brandon

Rankin

Petal

Pearl

Harrison Central

 

R4

St. Martins

Biloxi

Dibervile

Gulfport

West Harrison

Ocean Springs

The unnecessary and forced extra logistics of this is typical of the MHSAA.  Meridian should be in 3.  Let HC stay in 4 with 7 teams there.  

[JagsFan77]

39 minutes ago, Hash_Marks said:

The unnecessary and forced extra logistics of this is typical of the MHSAA.  Meridian should be in 3.  Let HC stay in 4 with 7 teams there.  

Thats the arrangement I heard of.. 

[Guntriple]

I may end up suprised but just can't see them doing this, makes no sense logistically. Originally had heard they would make the northern region the 7 team and put Oxford and Tupelo in it with the Desoto schools. This would make more sense than just one of them.

[Mississippi Queen]

2 hours ago, JACKTOWN91 said:

One source tells me that 7A will look like this

 

R1

Desoto

Southhaven

Hernando

Tupelo

Horn Lake

Lewisberg

 

R2

Madison Central

Clinton

Starkville

Germantown

Murrah

Oxford

Meridian

 

R3

Oak Grove

Brandon

Rankin

Petal

Pearl

Harrison Central

 

R4

St. Martins

Biloxi

Dibervile

Gulfport

West Harrison

Ocean Springs

That's insane.

Pulling Meridian into the North instead of Brandon, NWR and Pearl? No way. There's no reality in which the MHSAA can make this make sense.

And then Tupelo switching out with Oxford in R1/R2?? That's ridiculous too.

 

The easy fix here is leaving R1 and R3 alone. Leave all coast teams on the coast. Simple. That's your 7 team region, and honestly it's most legit because those teams typically struggle the most. Then Murrah joins R2 and rounds out their region to an even 6. Done.

[Mississippi Queen]

19 minutes ago, Guntriple said:

I may end up suprised but just can't see them doing this, makes no sense logistically. Originally had heard they would make the northern region the 7 team and put Oxford and Tupelo in it with the Desoto schools. This would make more sense than just one of them.

The new teams coming in are Murrah - easy add to the 5 team R2 and West Harrison - an easy add to R4.

I don't see the logic in messing with R1 and R3 that are just fine as they stand.

[Rebel Bert]

In the past they would switch up Tupelo and Oxford every 2 years. Back then they had South Panola in the mix as well. Meridian has never been in the north that I can recall. Pearl and NW Rankin both have been in R2. Sending Harrison Central  to R3 i will not be surprised at all. Always expect the unexpected. If Meridian goes north then I expect Union to go north in 3A. 

[Mississippi Queen]

1 hour ago, Rebel Bert said:

In the past they would switch up Tupelo and Oxford every 2 years. Back then they had South Panola in the mix as well. Meridian has never been in the north that I can recall. Pearl and NW Rankin both have been in R2. Sending Harrison Central  to R3 i will not be surprised at all. Always expect the unexpected. If Meridian goes north then I expect Union to go north in 3A. 

This is fascinating to me.

The difference between Meridian & Pearl/Brandon/NWR on a latitudinal line is virutally nil.

However, the Jackson schools are much closer on a longitudinal line to the rest of the R2 competition. So if distance between competing schools is the consideration here, then pulling Meridian away from R3 and into R2 makes no sense.

 

Following the same line of thought regarding distance between competitors, having West Harrison go north to R3 instead of south to R4 is a no-brainer. It's much closer to every single one of the coast schools than it is to even the closest R3 school. By 50%!

 

So if these predictions are accurate and Meridian really does go R2 and West Harrision to R3, you can bet there's a reason beyond what is stated. Someone in the R4 doesn't want West Harrison there. And someone in Brandon/NWR/Pearl doesn't want to be shoved north to compete against Madison Central, Tupelo, Starkville, etc. for North State each year. THAT is the real story here. Who is pulling these strings inside MHSAA?

[Rebel Bert]

5 minutes ago, Mississippi Queen said:

This is fascinating to me.

The difference between Meridian & Pearl/Brandon/NWR on a latitudinal line is virutally nil.

However, the Jackson schools are much closer on a longitudinal line to the rest of the R2 competition. So if distance between competing schools is the consideration here, then pulling Meridian away from R3 and into R2 makes no sense.

 

Following the same line of thought regarding distance between competitors, having West Harrison go north to R3 instead of south to R4 is a no-brainer. It's much closer to every single one of the coast schools than it is to even the closest R3 school. By 50%!

 

So if these predictions are accurate and Meridian really does go R2 and West Harrision to R3, you can bet there's a reason beyond what is stated. Someone in the R4 doesn't want West Harrison there. And someone in Brandon/NWR/Pearl doesn't want to be shoved north to compete against Madison Central, Tupelo, Starkville, etc. for North State each year. THAT is the real story here. Who is pulling these strings inside MHSAA?

The director has final say. The coaches/ADs can request a certain region. The possibility of a coach requesting a region and not being the coach the next season is a possibility. The board ultimately votes on what the director presents on paper. If I am guessing correctly Tupelo stays north in R1 creating 7 schools. To keep the non region games between MC/NWR, Clinton/NWR, etc u send Meridian north to R6 requiring MC/Germantown still traveling just east this time vs northeast. Then either W Harrison or Harrison Central move to R3. The director said regions divided by mileage doesn't necessarily mean what one might think but rather someone will be traveling. 

[Mississippi Queen]

3 minutes ago, Rebel Bert said:

The director has final say. The coaches/ADs can request a certain region. The possibility of a coach requesting a region and not being the coach the next season is a possibility. The board ultimately votes on what the director presents on paper. If I am guessing correctly Tupelo stays north in R1 creating 7 schools. To keep the non region games between MC/NWR, Clinton/NWR, etc u send Meridian north to R6 requiring MC/Germantown still traveling just east this time vs northeast. Then either W Harrison or Harrison Central move to R3. The director said regions divided by mileage doesn't necessarily mean what one might think but rather someone will be traveling. 

Yeah, there's definitely some string pulling going on if that's the way it shakes out.

It'll be pretty obvious who has the director's ear (or pockets) once these decisions are released.

[Rebel Bert]

Anyone can see Oxford and Tupelo requesting R1. Harrison Central and West Harrision requesting region 4. Noxubee County requesting north Ms. Philadelphia, Union, West Lauderdale, etc requesting to be back in the south. 

[ccbulldog]

If that winds up what happens then that's about the stupidest thing I've ever heard of.  None of it would make any sense logically. If you got to have a 7 team region then region 4 would make the most sense, however a case could be made for region 1 to be 7 teams with Oxford up there. But it would make ZERO sense for region 2 or 3 to be 7 teams. 

 

Whatever happens, this will be the last 2 years Meridian will be in 7A. It's shrinking fast and the 9th grade number is much lower than the 11th grade number.

Edited November 12, 2024 by ccbulldog
spelling

[Rebel Bert]

Anyone hearing anything on 2A/3A regions

[Mississippi Queen]

17 minutes ago, ccbulldog said:

If that winds up what happens then that's about the stupidest thing I've ever heard of.  None of it would make any sense logically. If you got to have a 7 team region then region 4 would make the most sense, however a case could be made for region 1 to be 7 teams with Oxford up there. But it would make ZERO sense for region 2 or 3 to be 7 teams. 

 

Whatever happens, this will be the last 2 years Meridian will be in 7A. It's shrinking fast and the 9th grade number is much lower than the 11th grade number.

AGREE! Meridian won't be 7A in 2027.

And if they're forced now to go into R2 with Murrah and Murrah leaves at the same time as Meridian in 2027, then you're back to 5 teams in R2. Combine that with the fact that Pearl is also on the edge for dropping out of 7A and Hancock is on the brink of moving up to 7A, and you end up with lopsided geographical clusters in R4 & R1 which would require some significant massaging. So why create a mess now that will only get worse in 2027? 

MHSAA needs to learn how to KISS.

[Rebel Bert]

33 minutes ago, Mississippi Queen said:

AGREE! Meridian won't be 7A in 2027.

And if they're forced now to go into R2 with Murrah and Murrah leaves at the same time as Meridian in 2027, then you're back to 5 teams in R2. Combine that with the fact that Pearl is also on the edge for dropping out of 7A and Hancock is on the brink of moving up to 7A, and you end up with lopsided geographical clusters in R4 & R1 which would require some significant massaging. So why create a mess now that will only get worse in 2027? 

MHSAA needs to learn how to KISS.

Kiss the coaches to a certain degree already.

[Mississippi Queen]

10 minutes ago, Rebel Bert said:

Kiss the coaches to a certain degree already.

Don't disagree there.

[MSSportsGuy]

I've posted earlier in this thread and before the association has often been too inflexible on region and classifications where it would make sense from a travel perspective to let schools play up or down if the enrollment difference is miniscule while also letting a region have maybe one more school. 

 

Based on the numbers we just saw, what would be the harm in letting Murrah play 6A or if not, keeping HC down on the coast rather than drive to Jackson or Hattiesburg for game? Football may only make one trip a year but there are sports beyond that. 

 

They should go ahead and let 3A have 41schools with OLA and 2A as well with New Site who don't play football. At least that makes every region have 5 teams and it's not as though the 1 school will greatly impact the level of competition in other sports. Of course we usually don't do things that make sense in Mississippi. 

[Rebel Bert]

17 minutes ago, MSSportsGuy said:

I've posted earlier in this thread and before the association has often been too inflexible on region and classifications where it would make sense from a travel perspective to let schools play up or down if the enrollment difference is miniscule while also letting a region have maybe one more school. 

 

Based on the numbers we just saw, what would be the harm in letting Murrah play 6A or if not, keeping HC down on the coast rather than drive to Jackson or Hattiesburg for game? Football may only make one trip a year but there are sports beyond that. 

 

They should go ahead and let 3A have 41schools with OLA and 2A as well with New Site who don't play football. At least that makes every region have 5 teams and it's not as though the 1 school will greatly impact the level of competition in other sports. Of course we usually don't do things that make sense in Mississippi. 

If they send Meridian north then Union and Noxubee will go north in 3A. And yes a long ride to Nettleton i believe. The justification is the current Region 4-4A will be the new Region 5-4A. Then Meridian area has someone going north. Kemper and Philadelphia in 2A are going North. The tradeoff is 5 for 5. Nothing will surprise me.

On 11/11/2024 at 3:38 PM, Rebel Bert said:

My bad 7A not 6A.

 

[coastfootballfanman]

If it stays 25 teams in 7A, Harrison Central stays Region 4 and they have 7 team region. Everything else should stay the same. It is an easy fix in my opinion. 

[slicklizard]

Is it true that the schools actually voted the  to expand classifications two years ago or was it just done at the executive level ?

[coastball]

15 minutes ago, slicklizard said:

Is it true that the schools actually voted the  to expand classifications two years ago or was it just done at the executive level ?

Yes they voted. Much like the votes in North Korea though

[Former Coach]

42 minutes ago, slicklizard said:

Is it true that the schools actually voted the  to expand classifications two years ago or was it just done at the executive level ?

It was discussed at the AD conference with most in attendance in favor, then put up for a vote with all the schools voting. After all the schools submitted their votes it overwhelming passed. Was then approved by executive council.