WPIAL adding teams to Class 6A football; PIAA releases enrollment parameters for next 2 school years

By: Chris Harlan
Tuesday, October 31, 2023 | 11:43 AM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

The WPIAL will have more Class 6A football teams next season with Hempfield and Norwin set to join the league’s big-school classification.

Butler also could rejoin WPIAL football next season, giving the league another 6A team, but the decision to return hasn’t been made yet.

The PIAA on Tuesday released updated classification parameters for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years. The cutoff for Class 6A football is 620 boys in grades 9-11.

Hempfield reported 676 boys in the latest enrollment numbers while Norwin had 698. Both played the past two seasons in Class 5A. Butler, which has 833 boys, played the past four years in District 10.

The addition of all three would give the WPIAL at least eight teams in Class 6A for the next two seasons, up from only five right now.

“You’d have a full conference,” WPIAL administrator Vince Sortino said. “Right off the bat, that’s a huge benefit. With five teams, that was terrible.”

Sortino hadn’t confirmed the new additions to Class 6A but said he had anticipated an increase in teams.

It’s possible the WPIAL could add a ninth team in Class 6A if another 5A school also reported an enrollment increase, chose to play up voluntarily or gets promoted under the PIAA competitive-balance rule.

Releasing class parameters is the latest step in a realignment process the PIAA undertakes every two years. Individual enrollment numbers for schools will be released by the PIAA in the coming weeks.

The updated parameters were expected to vary from current numbers because the PIAA altered its formula for counting enrollments. As a result, many public schools likely will see their enrollment numbers increase in PIAA data for the next two-year cycle.

Belle Vernon, the defending state champion in Class 3A, will return to 4A next season. The Leopards reported 318 boys in their latest enrollment figures, according to football coach/athletic director Matt Humbert. The cutoff between 3A and 4A football is 295 boys.

The PIAA formula for determining a school’s enrollment previously counted only 10% of students attending a vo-tech, charter, cyber or home school. Now, schools must count 100% of those students in their PIAA enrollment.

Hempfield’s numbers increased by 123 boys from two years ago. Norwin is up 151.

“We have some bigger classes, and it also shows you how many kids we have in charter school, cyber charter and alternative education,” Norwin athletic director Mike Burrell said.

The enrollment numbers for a number of other WPIAL schools in 5A didn’t jump nearly as much.

Pine-Richland increased by 16 boys to reach 546, North Hills has 586, an increase of 94, and Peters Township is up 45 and now has 497.

Baldwin, which was the fourth-largest 5A school in the WPIAL in the current PIAA data, reported 49 fewer boys, leaving the district with 492 for the next two years.

The WPIAL had eight teams in Class 6A in 2020 before the PIAA changed its enrollment formula. Adding teams to the 6A standings is good for the league, said Burrell, who also is a co-chairman of the WPIAL football committee.

“It definitely is better to have more teams in 6A,” Burrell said. “This past year, having five, it’s unfair to those teams in that classification.”

Whether Butler is part of that growth is undecided. Butler athletic director Bill Mylan said the school likely will decide this week whether to have its team rejoin WPIAL football or play an independent schedule.

The Golden Tornado played the past four seasons in PIAA District 10, a move that was contested in court by the WPIAL and PIAA.

A change in PIAA rules prohibited Butler from competing in District 10 as a so-called “associate member” after this season, but the team isn’t required to accept a WPIAL schedule.

“We’re still weighing our options,” Mylan said. “We wanted to wait until we got these numbers today before we formally sat down — myself, my head coach, the superintendent — to discuss this and make a decision.”

Butler left WPIAL football after the 2019 season with the intention of building up its struggling program. Mylan said the team has made strides since but still questioned whether it’s ready to face the competition of WPIAL 6A. The classification already includes Canon-McMillan, Central Catholic, Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny and Seneca Valley.

Butler went 2-8 this season with a 55-0 loss to Seneca Valley included.

The fact that WPIAL Class 6A is adding Hempfield and Norwin “maybe slightly” increases Butler’s likelihood of returning to WPIAL football, Mylan said. But the team hasn’t ruled out an independent schedule.

“That’s an option, if we’re all in agreement that we’re not on stable-enough ground,” Mylan said. “I’d hate to have taken one step forward … and take three steps backwards by jumping back into the fire.”

Football

Class 6A: 620 and above

Class 5A: 424 to 619

Class 4A: 296 to 423

Class 3A: 217 to 295

Class 2A: 144 to 216

Class A: 1 to 143

Baseball

Class 6A: 576 and above

Class 5A: 363 to 575

Class 4A: 250 to 362

Class 3A: 177 to 249

Class 2A: 111 to 176

Class A: 1 to 110

Boys basketball

Class 6A: 546 and above

Class 5A: 320 to 545

Class 4A: 225 to 319

Class 3A: 148 to 224

Class 2A: 90 to 147

Class A: 1 to 89

Boys soccer

Class 4A: 493 and above

Class 3A: 292 to 492

Class 2A: 177 to 291

Class A: 1 to 176

Girls basketball

Class 6A: 503 and above

Class 5A: 310 to 502

Class 4A: 221 to 309

Class 3A: 150 to 220

Class 2A: 92 to 149

Class A: 1 to 91

Girls soccer

Class 4A: 473 and above

Class 3A: 283 to 472

Class 2A: 176 to 282

Class A: 1 to 112

Softball

Class 6A: 543 and above

Class 5A: 355 to 542

Class 4A: 246 to 354

Class 3A: 171 to 245

Class 2A: 113 to 170

Class A: 1 to 112

Here are the new #PIAA classification parameters for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years. #HSSN pic.twitter.com/fbVCMv6fOR

— Chris Harlan (@CHarlan_Trib) October 31, 2023

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.