NDHSAA approves 3-class basketball for 2023-24

North Dakota will soon have a three-class system in boys and girls basketball.

Today (Wed) in Valley City, the North Dakota High School Activities Association’s Board of Directors unanimously ratified a revised three-class plan.

The Board voted 8-to-2 to begin the plan in the 2023-24 school year.

The three divisions will be Class AA, Class A and Class B.

Teams may choose to move to a higher division than their enrollment requires for a minimum of two seasons.

North Dakota had a three-class system in boys basketball from 1948 to 1963.

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(From NDHSAA: )

Framework

Classification of schools for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 basketball seasons will be in three divisions of basketball with the following enrollment ranges:

Division AA – Enrollment of 650+: Calculated using the average of grade 9-12 enrollments in the Fall of 2021 and Fall of 2022
Division A – Enrollment of 162.5 – 649 students: Calculated using the average of grade 9-12 enrollments in the Fall of 2021 and Fall of 2022
Division B – Enrollment below 162.5 students: Calculated using the average of grade 9-12 enrollments in the Fall of 2021 and Fall of 2022

Public and non-public schools located within a Division AA school district with 100-399 students shall be placed in Division A. Public and non-public schools located within a Division AA school district with 400 or more students shall be placed in Division AA.
Teams may choose to participate in a division higher than their enrollment places them for a minimum of two seasons.
Following the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, teams will move divisions after their enrollment has been in a different division range for two consecutive years.
A reclassification committee will be established to review any petitions from teams to move to a division lower than their enrollment places them, as well as success factor criteria, beginning with the 2025-26 season.