WPIAL releases football conference alignment for next 2 seasons

By: Don Rebel
Thursday, March 12, 2026 | 11:15 AM

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Following plenty of speculation with various plans considered between league officials, the WPIAL released new conference alignments and schedules for the 2026 and 2027 high school football seasons Thursday.

It’s a day coaches, administrators, players and fans have been eagerly awaiting.

“Glad we finally got these, and now we can all stop trying to guess what’s going on,” Moon coach Ryan Linn said.

While the number of teams in each class changed very little, there was plenty of shuffling up and down and from one conference to another.

“Many meetings and hours went into trying to make what are the best decisions for the entire league, not just one team or one classification,” WPIAL executive director Vince Sortino said.

The biggest change was in Class 3A, which went from 20 schools in the last two-year cycle to 26 teams, so the district added a conference.

There were plenty of plans and suggestions submitted for the league to consider, some based strictly on competitive balance and others leaning toward geography.

“Both geography and competitive balance are evaluated,” Sortino said. “We first look at geography and competitive balance when doing the sectional alignments, and then when we begin scheduling exhibition games it was more for competitive balance.”

The WPIAL playoff format will be announced at a later date.

“We must wait for the PIAA to adopt the qualifiers,” Sortino said.

Here are highlights from the many changes:

• Class 6A stays the same with seven teams.

• Class 5A Allegheny Six says goodbye to Baldwin (independent), Moon and South Fayette and welcomes Thomas Jefferson, Trinity and West Allegheny, all up from 4A.

• 5A Big East sees Armstrong and Kiski Area exit. Entering are Fox Chapel from 5A Northeast and returning Connellsville, which played as an independent.

• 5A Northeast has Fox Chapel and Shaler leaving and Armstrong and Moon coming in from the two other 5A conference.

“This year for us, we will be on the road all year as we are undergoing a massive stadium renovation project,” Linn said. “As for the conference schedule, it will be different not going down I-79 to play the teams we have built up a little bit of a rivalry with over the last few years, but we are excited for our new conference.”

• 4A Big Six got a facelift with three new teams in South Fayette, Albert Gallatin and Uniontown replacing Belle Vernon, Thomas Jefferson and Trinity.

• 4A Allegheny has two new teams and shrinks from six to five teams with Kiski Area and Shaler moving in to replace Knoch, Mars and West Mifflin.

• 4A Parkway says so long to Aliquippa, Ambridge and West Allegheny and welcomes in Central Valley and Mars as it drops from six to five teams.

“The new-look Parkway is a mix of old and new teams, but I believe all were in the conference at one time or another,” Montour coach Lou Cerro said. “The four conference games only will be a challenge. Our nonconference schedule is brutal. When you play this many quality teams with great programs and coaches, every week will be a challenge. There were numerous changes in the WPIAL with teams moving up and down, and it is hard to put a schedule together. The football committee has a tough job.”

• 3A Interstate remains nearly the same, adding Belle Vernon from 4A and Waynesburg Central from 2A while Yough bumps to a new conference.

• 3A Allegheny Seven can keep the same name as Knoch comes in from 4A and North Catholic moves over from the Western Hills as East Allegheny and Propel Schools/Imani Christian exit.

• 3A Western Hills retains only Beaver and Hopewell as Avonworth and North Catholic move to other 3A conferences. Central Valley went up to 4A, and Quaker Valley and McGuffey drop to 2A. Joining the Bobcats and Vikings are Aliquippa and Ambridge down from 4A and Ellwood City and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart up from 2A. “The old days of the same conferences are long gone,” Avonworth head coach Duke Johncour said. “I would have preferred to play the same teams as we had good rivalries with them, but with teams moving up and down, it’s hard to keep them the same. I think 3A is going to be competitive with some of the new teams in, so we’ll see.”

• 3A TBD has defending champion Avonworth, West Mifflin down from 4A, South Park and Shady Side Academy up from 2A and Yough and Propel Schools/Imani Christian moving from other conferences in 3A.

• 2A Midwestern Athletic watches Ellwood City move up and Union move down, and Neshannock is new to the MAC, coming up from Class A.

• 2A Century has four new teams with McGuffey and Quaker Valley moving down from 3A and Bishop Canevin and Chartiers-Houston coming up from A, replacing Charleroi, Sto-Rox, Washington and Waynesburg Central.

• 2A Allegheny has three new teams with East Allegheny coming down from 3A, Charleroi bumping over from Century and Brownsville back in the WPIAL after an independent stint. They replace OLSH, Shady Side Academy and South Park.

• Class A Big 7 adds Union and Cornell, whereas Neshannock moves up to 2A.

• Class A Black Hills undergoes a major facelift with four new teams in Bentworth, Brentwood, Sto-Rox and Washington. Exiting are Bishop Canevin, Chartiers-Houston, Cornell and Serra Catholic.

• Class A Eastern loses Frazier and Brentwood while welcoming back former Eastern staple Serra Catholic.

• A Tri-County South had one addition and one subtraction with Frazier replacing Bentworth.

Class 6A

Canon-McMillan, Central Catholic, Hempfield, Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny, Norwin, Seneca Valley

Class 5A

Section 1: Connellsville, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Gateway, Latrobe, Penn-Trafford, Woodland Hills

Section 2: Armstrong, Moon*, North Hills, Penn Hills*, Pine-Richland, Plum

Section 3: Bethel Park, Peters Township, Thomas Jefferson, Trinity, Upper St. Clair, West Allegheny

Class 4A

Section 1: Hampton, Indiana, Kiski Area, McKeesport, Shaler

Section 2: Blackhawk, Central Valley, Mars, Montour, New Castle

Section 3: Albert Gallatin, Chartiers Valley, Laurel Highlands, Ringgold, South Fayette, Uniontown

Class 3A

Section 1: Belle Vernon, Derry, Elizabeth Forward, Greensburg Salem, Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland, Waynesburg Central

Section 2: Avonworth, Propel/Imani Christian*, Shady Side Academy*, South Park, West Mifflin, Yough

Section 3: Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport, Highlands, Knoch, North Catholic, Valley

Section 4: Aliquippa, Ambridge, Beaver, Ellwood City, Hopewell, OLSH*

Class 2A

Section 1: Bishop Canevin, Carlynton, Chartiers-Houston, Keystone Oaks, McGuffey, Quaker Valley, Seton LaSalle

Section 2: Apollo-Ridge, Brownsville, Charleroi, East Allegheny, Ligonier Valley, South Allegheny, Steel Valley

Section 3: Beaver Falls, Freedom, Mohawk, Neshannock, New Brighton, Riverside, Western Beaver*

Class A

Section 1: Avella, Beth-Center, California, Carmichaels, Frazier, Jefferson-Morgan, Mapletown, West Greene

Section 2: Bentworth, Brentwood, Burgettstown, Fort Cherry, Monessen, Sto-Rox, Washington

Section 3: Cornell*, Laurel, Northgate, Rochester, Shenango, South Side, Summit Academy, Union

Section 4: Clairton, Greensburg C.C., Jeannette*, Leechburg, Riverview, Serra Catholic, Springdale

*Co-operative agreement

For a look at the WPIAL schedule grid, visit wpial.org.