Aliquippa football still ticketed for 5A after unsuccessful initial appeal to PIAA

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, January 17, 2024 | 11:12 PM

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Aliquippa’s initial appeal to the PIAA was unsuccessful, so the football team remains headed to a higher classification under the competitive-balance rule.

However, the PIAA appeal process isn’t over. The school’s administration will take the next step and request a hearing with the PIAA board, Aliquippa superintendent Phillip Woods said Wednesday. The PIAA board meets Jan. 24 in Mechanicsburg.

The competitive-balance rule targets football teams that had success in the state playoffs and added three or more transfers in a two-year span. Teams meeting those criteria are promoted to a higher classification to compete against larger schools. The PIAA previously notified Aliquippa that its football team would be moved up from Class 4A to 5A.

The initial round of appeals was based solely on paperwork and decided by the PIAA executive staff.

Aliquippa has met the success element of the PIAA rule by winning the PIAA Class 4A title this past season and finishing as the state runner-up in 2022. So, the school’s appeal efforts are focused on the number of transfers added.

The PIAA last month provided Aliquippa with a list of 23 potential transfers, a number that Woods said was reduced to five after the initial appeal. However, Woods said Aliquippa “can prove we have less, therefore we are moving forward with the second appeal.”

The Aliquippa football team went through this process twice before. In 2020, the PIAA used the competitive-balance rule to move the team from Class 3A to 4A. In 2022, the PIAA again targeted the Quips for promotion, but the school appealed and the team remained in 4A after the PIAA board granted their request.

The school hopes for a similar decision this time.

What makes the situation frustrating for Aliquippa is that the football team has a small-school enrollment that qualifies for Class 2A next fall. The PIAA lists Aliquippa with 156 boys in grades 9-11, the grades used to determine classifications.

Class 5A football includes schools with 424 to 619 boys.

Aliquippa’s dilemma has drawn support this winter from two Beaver County politicians, state Rep. Rob Matzie and U.S. Rep Chris Deluzio, with both issuing statements in opposition to the PIAA’s decision. Matzie’s statement on Jan. 5 admonished the PIAA for changing the appeal process by eliminating arguments about player health and safety from consideration. Aliquippa argued those points two years ago when it successfully appealed.

Schools facing promotion under the competitive-balance rule had until Jan. 10 to file initial appeals. Wednesday was the deadline for the PIAA staff to issue rulings. Schools that were unsuccessful have until Friday to request a second appeal, which Woods said Aliquippa will do.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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