For the first time in more than 50 years, the N.C. High School Athletic Association could be undergoing a dramatic change in the way it classifies member schools.
Since 1969-70, the association, which now includes 432 schools across the state, has divided them into four size classifications based largely on enrollment.
But beginning with the 2025 school year, the membership has voted to allow the association to expand to as many as seven classifications, with a maximum of just more than 60 schools in each class.
There are many questions that have to be answered and a variety of combinations that have to be explored in putting the new statewide puzzle together. But the whole thing could be moot because of a bill currently working its way through the state legislature.
That bill, SB 636, would effectively disband the association and freeze the number of classes at four, from the smallest schools in 1-A to the largest in 4-A.
CityView spoke with two key players in Cumberland County high school athletics. David Culbreth is the student activities director of county schools. Vernon Aldridge previously held that position and, along with Culbreth, is one of the leaders of the N.C. Athletic Directors Association. He is also on the NCHSAA board of directors but will rotate off next month.
Both expressed hope for the new expanded classification plan, while voicing concern about the pending legislation.
It is too early to predict what classifications the various Cumberland County schools will find themselves in. Early models suggest the range of enrollments at the 10 county public senior high schools could land them in as many as four different classifications.
Culbreth said the need for more classes is clear because the athletic association has outgrown the current setup.
“Whether they are 2-A, 4-A or 6-A, the standard of care is going to be the same as far as how we treat our student athletes,” Culbreth said.
Culbreth recalled a time when county schools were all in the same conference, a situation that was best for the closeness of the schools and the natural rivalries among them.
“We understand with this change is going to come new opportunities, new schools, new rivalries,” he said, adding that the county will face a big challenge informing the community why this is being done because many people don’t understand the process of realignment.
One person who does have an understanding of it is Aldridge, who served on a past realignment committee charged with placing all the state’s schools into conferences.
Aldridge is not surprised by the vote of the membership to go to seven classes. He said the athletic directors took a straw vote at their annual conference earlier this year and the plan drew overwhelming support.
He suggested this new alignment is going to be unlike anything the association has ever tackled and will require creative thinking.
Aldridge said the new classes could create a situation in which the NCHSAA eliminates conferences and switches to district or regional play to determine champions.
But any changes are going to hinge on what the legislature does in its attempt to strip the athletic association of its authority.
The Republican Party is largely behind the bill that would radically overhaul the NCHSAA, and it currently has a veto-proof majority in both houses of the state legislature. It will require pressure from the membership of the athletic association on local legislators to not blindly support the bill.
“We’ve asked athletic directors to reach out to the state legislature, and many of the state coaches associations are asking their coaches to reach out to legislators and point out the fact this passed by more than 75% of the schools,” Aldridge said.
“I hope they’ll listen to what our schools want.”
Much of the attack the legislature has aimed at the NCHSAA has been based on displeasure with the association’s central office staff.
Culbreth agreed with Aldridge that the decision to expand to seven classes did not come from the central office staff. It was a vote of the entire membership of 432 schools from Manteo to Murphy.
“This isn’t just the state telling us what to do,” Culbreth said. “This is the member schools coming together, agreeing that we need to change our processes.”
Culbreth stressed that legislators need to listen to the experts, noting that the NCHSAA has been in business for more than 100 years without interference from the state legislature.
“They are the experts,” he said. “They are a national model for the United States. They are well respected and an organization I’m proud to be a member of.
“I don’t know all the politicians, but I hope they will respect the overwhelming voice (of the athletic association membership).
