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OKLAHOMA CITY — OSSAA board members voted Thursday to approve new football districts drawn up by coaches after a court ruling nullified the existing ones.
In the latest reclassification, defending champion Lincoln Christian returns to Class 3A for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, instead of moving to 4A, while Sapulpa is being moved up to 6A-II instead of remaining in 5A.
The Chieftains are trading places with Lawton. Putnam West is back in 6A-II instead of 5A, switching with Bishop McGuinness.
Holland Hall and Heritage Hall, perennial private school powers that were moving up to 4A, are also returning to 3A football after Oklahoma County District Judge Richard Ogden ruled last month in a lawsuit brought by five Oklahoma City-area private schools that Rule 14 remains, but those amendments adopted before the 2023-24 school year must be voided effective July 1. Rule 14 elevates private school classification based on postseason achievement instead of enrollment.
As a result, districts and schedules had to be adjusted less than four months before the start of the 2024 season in late August.
Moving from the other direction to 3A are perennial powers Cascia Hall and Victory Christian, who were going to be in 2A-I.
Under the new arrangement, defending champion Lincoln Christian and Holland Hall — who have combined for four of the past five 3A state titles — will be in the same district for the 2024 and ‘25 seasons.
The two schools have never been in the same district before.
Other developments include Deer Creek going up to 6AI for the first time, while Southmoore drops to 6A-II. Glenpool and Elgin move down to 4A as Newcastle and Classen SAS replace them in 5A.
The new districts were drawn up during Oklahoma Football Coaches Association meetings called after OSSAA board members voted April 17 to use daily attendance numbers from October to reclassify teams.
“Once we had the most recent data, we reclassified everybody to show them what classification they would be in and then the coaches at that point met by classification … then they figured out their district recommendations,” Trinity Johnson, an OSSAA assistant director who oversees football, told board members Thursday.
About 92% of 11-man football coaches voted on the revised districts, and considered geographics and power rankings during the redistricting process, Johnson said.
“We thought that was important because that would allow every coach to have a voice in the districts and how they played out,” he said. “By and large, they had a chance to stand up, voice their concerns, plead their case and then they took a vote.
While some classifications were unanimous, others required additional debate before coaches were able to reach agreement, Johnson added.
Below is the OSSAA’s new classification alignment for football with each school’s district.
District 1: Bixby, Deer Creek, Edmond North, Enid, Jenks, Moore, Mustang, Norman
District 2: Broken Arrow, Edmond Memorial, Edmond Santa Fe, Norman North, Owasso, Union Westmoore, Yukon
District 1: Choctaw, Lawton Eisenhower, Northwest Classen, Piedmont, Putnam City, Southmoore, Stillwater, U.S. Grant
District 2: Bartlesville, Capitol Hill, Muskogee, Putnam City North, Putnam City West, Ponca City, Sand Springs, Sapulpa
District 1: Bishop McGuinness, Classen SAS, Duncan, Guymon, Lawton MacArthur, Midwest City, Newcastle, Southeast
District 2: Altus, Carl Albert, El Reno, Guthrie, John Marshall, Lawton, Noble, Western Heights
District 3: Bishop Kelley, Booker T. Washington, Coweta, Durant, East Central, Edison, McAlester, Shawnee
District 4: Claremore, Collinsville, Del City, Nathan Hale, Pryor, Tahlequah, Will Rogers, Tulsa Memorial, Will Rogers
District 1: Bridge Creek, Cache, Clinton, Douglass, Elgin, Elk City, Weatherford, Woodward
District 2: Ardmore, Bethany, Blanchard, Chickasha, Harrah, Madill, Tecumseh, Tuttle
District 3: Catoosa, Cushing, Fort Gibson, Grove, Miami, Oologah-Talala, Skiatook, Wagoner
District 4: Ada, Broken Bow, Glenpool, Hilldale, McLain, Poteau, Sallisaw, Stilwell
District 1: Anadarko, Heritage Hall, Kingfisher, North Rock Creek, Pauls Valley, Plainview, Purcell, Star Spencer
District 2: Bristow, Lone Grove, Mannford, McLoud, Perkins-Tryon, Seminole, Sulphur, Victory Christian
District 3: Checotah, Eufaula, Holland Hall, Idabel, Lincoln Christian, Locust Grove, Muldrow, Stigler
District 4: Berryhill, Cascia Hall, Claremore Sequoyah, Cleveland, Inola, Jay, Verdigris, Vinita
District 1: Blackwell, Chisholm, Crooked Oak, Jones, Milwood, Mount St. Mary, Oklahoma Christian School, Perry
District 2: Crossings Christian, Dickson, Lexington, Lindsay, Little Axe, Marietta, Marlow, Washington
District 3: Bethel, Heavener, Hugo, Kiefer, Kingston, Okmulgee, Prague, Roland
District4: Chandler, Daniel Webster, Dewey Metro Christian, Sequoyah Tahlequah, Sperry, Central, Westville
District 1: Alva, Casady, Hennessey, Kellyville, Luther, Meeker, Newkirk, Stroud
District 2: Beggs, Coalgate, Comanche, Community Christian, Davis, Dibble, Holdenville, Tishomingo
District 3: Adair, Chelsea, Colcord, Commerce, Kansas, Keys, Salina, Wyandotte
District 4: Antlers, Atoka, Henryetta, Morris, Spiro, Valliant, Vian, Wilburton
District 1: Cashion, Crescent, Fairview, Hinton, Hooker, Merritt, Sayre, Watonga
District 2: Christian Heritage, Fredrick, Hobart, Minco, Stratford, Walters, Wynnewood
District 3: Caney Valley, Morrison, Nowata, Oklahoma Union, Pawhuska, Pawnee, Quapaw, Tonkawa
District 4: Choteau, Hartshorne, Haskell, Hulbert, Panama, Pocola, Rejoice, Warner
District 1: Apache, Carnegie, Cordell, Mangum, Mooreland, Southwest Covenant, Texhoma-Goodwill, Thomas Fay-Custer
District 2: Elmore City-Pernell, Healdton, Konawa, Ringling, Rush Springs, Velma-Alma, Wayne, Wilson
District 3: Allen, Central Sallisaw, Gore, Liberty, Mounds, Regent Prep, Talihina, Wewoka
District 4: Afton, Barnsdall, Fairland, Hominy, Ketchum, Porter, Summit Christian, Woodland
District 1: Garber, Laverne, Oklahoma Bible, Pioneer-Pleasant Vale, Pond Creek-Hunter, Turpin
District 2: Burns-Flat-Dill City, Central Marlow, Empire, Hollis, Snyder, Waurika
District 3: Cave Springs, Depew, Drumright, Foyil, Porum, Yale
District 4: Caddo, Canadian, Dewar, Keota, Quinton, Savanna
District 1: Boise City, Canton, Okeene, Ringwood, Seiling, Shattuck
District 2: Alix, Cyril, Strother, Thackerville, Weleetka, Wetumka
District 3: Cherokee, Covington-Douglas, Coyle, Davenport, Olive, Waukomis
District 4: Arkoma, Copan, Gans, Webber Falls, Wesleyan Christian, Henryetta Wilson
District 1: Balko-Forgan, Beaver, Buffalo, Kremlin-Hillsdale, Sharon-Mutual, Timberlake, Tyrone, Waynoka
District 2: Bray-Doyle, Corn Bible Geary, Grandfield, Mountain View-Gotebo, Ryan, Temple, Tipton
District 3: Billings, Bluejacket, Deer Creek-Lamont, Medford, Oaks Mission, South Coffeyville, Watts, Welch
District 4: Bowlegs, Fox, Graham-Dustin, Maud, Maysville, Midway, Paoli, Sasakwa
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