Aliquippa wins appeal, will play Class 3A football for next 2 years

By: Don Rebel
Wednesday, February 18, 2026 | 6:25 PM

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The ongoing saga between the PIAA and Aliquippa over what football classification the Quips should play in took another turn Wednesday.

On appeal, the PIAA overturned its earlier decision to keep Aliquippa in Class 4A, thus allowing the Quips to play the next two football seasons in Class 3A.

“Yes, sir,” Aliquippa football coach Mike Warfield said with excitement when asked if the Quips were going back to 3A. “I wouldn’t say justice was served, but I’m just pleased and have respect for the (PIAA) board members who looked at the facts and made the right decision.”

During the monthly PIAA Board of Directors meeting, officials heard the appeal from Aliquippa school officials contesting the state’s decision to keep the Quips in Class 4A due to a combination of success points gained by advancing in the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs and number of transfer students on the team.

“I think their decision was based on what we presented,” Warfield said, noting that the PIAA had previously counted among the school’s transfers students who “enrolled or unenrolled into our school district because of exceptional and unusual circumstances.”

Late last year, the PIAA rewrote the transfer rule to carve out exceptions for transfers whose change in living situation was necessitated “by exceptional and unusual circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the student or the student’s family.”

Playing in 3A still keeps Aliquippa above its true enrollment numbers.

“Currently, we are a 2A school based on enrollment,” Warfield said. “All we have asked for is to start us from our enrollment when the competitive formula was first initiated and not force us to play up two or three classifications. Let’s not forget, we had the competitive spirit, voluntarily playing up way before the formula was initiated.”

Aliquippa was moved up to Class 4A in 2020 by a newly enacted PIAA competitive formula that combined transfers and success points in both the district and state playoffs during a two-year period.

The Quips had been playing in Class 3A even though at the time, they were a Class A school based on enrollment.

The move up did not slow down the success the program enjoyed. The Quips won four WPIAL championships, two PIAA state titles and a district runner-up trophy in the six years they competed in 4A.

“That’s true, we did win in 4A, but let’s not forget, we also lost to a 3A school,” Warfield said of his team’s Week 2 loss to Avonworth. “Understand this, the Aliquippa school district’s main concern is the health, safety and welfare of our student athletes. Winning games is secondary.”

Two years ago, the PIAA wanted to bump Aliquippa up to Class 5A, but district officials took the matter to court, where it was decided the program would remain in Class 4A.

Warfield wanted to address the question about transfers that many outside the program have about Aliquippa.

“Some suggest we recruit, which is so far from the truth,” Warfield said. “We never have and never will. A lot of our kids are transient, moving here and there to survive. The kids that are here should be celebrated for what they have accomplished both athletically and academically. Let’s remember all these young kids throughout the WPIAL are kids just trying to reach their dreams.

“They should all be celebrated whether they win a championship or not.”

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