Would a Three Class System in Division I Improve the State Track and Cross
Country Meets?
A case study on the effect of the current two class system in Division I.
The state cross country and track and field meets are supposed to be events that showcase the state's best and most talented athletes. The 2017-2018 school year was the first rendition of the new classification cycle for Track and Field and Cross Country in which Division-II no longer competed against Division I A/AA and the remaining Division I schools are "divided evenly by participating schools." In theory there are 322 "participating schools" that were divided evenly into two classifications.
What did that mean exactly?
Schools of enrollment 0-759 would make up a "Small School" Classification (161 Schools).
Schools of enrollment 760 - 2513 would make up a "Large School" Classification (161 Schools).
A school like Red Bank High School, 785 students, would play in 3A football region games on Friday with other schools that ranged from 738 students to 574 students while the Cross Country team would wake up on Saturday morning and run in a Region meet against Cookeville High School, 2203 students.
When approved a lot of coaches expressed their skepticism with how and why this decision was made.
The following is a case study of the first year of this four-year classification cycle.