COLUMBUS — The Ohio High School Athletic Association’s Board of Directors approved a proposal Thursday to expand the number of divisions in multiple sports beginning in the fall of 2024.

Boys and girls soccer will have the number of divisions used increase from three to five, while girls volleyball, boys and girls basketball, baseball and softball all will increase from four to seven.

The OHSAA noted Divisions I and II for girls volleyball, boys and girls basketball, baseball and softball will only have 64 schools included each season, with the remainder of the divisions balanced with the remainder of schools participating.

“It’s the right thing to do for the student-athletes who have been competing at this disadvantage,” said Doug Ute, OHSAA Executive Director, in a press release. “For too long, the largest schools in our divisions have been so much larger than the smaller schools in the same division, which has resulted in many schools accepting that they realistically have little chance at making a run in the tournament. In some of our sports, there have been more than 200 schools competing for a state title in that division, which is significantly more than what most other states do, and what we do in many of our own sports.

The organization unanimously approved the change to utilize a new formula in determining the number of divisions used for postseason tournaments.

In addition, any changes to the current deployment of the Competitive Balance process would need to be voted upon by OHSAA member schools during the annual referendum voting process. The OHSAA board still plans to discuss similar moves in other sports, with the organization specifically mentioning track and field as one which could next be changed. Football is currently the only OHSAA sport which used more than four divisions.

Of Greene County schools, Beavercreek may be the only one unaffected by the new format. It is likely to remain a Division I school in all sports due to having one of the largest student enrollments in the state.

Bellbrook, Fairborn, and Xenia all could move down from D-I or D-II and be placed into D-III. Greeneview may also drop several divisions from D-III into the newly created D-V or D-VI. Yellow Springs could find it sports split between the two smallest divisions, while Cedarville and Legacy Christian seem likely to be placed into the smallest division in all sports.

The OHSAA said it will announce structural and dates changes for future state tournaments at a later date.

PROPOSED ENROLLMENT RANGES

The following shows how each Greene County school is currently listed in the division assignments by the OHSAA with the current enrollment ranges and number of schools for each division. In parenthesis next to each school is the new division it is estimated to be adjusted into with the proposed divisional formats that have been approved.

(Based on 2023-24 OHSAA adjusted enrollment)

GIRLS BASKETBALL, SOFTBALL, VOLLEYBALL (7)

D-I — 320-1251 (192 schools)

Beavercreek — 841 (D-I)

Xenia — 421 (D-III)

Fairborn — 410 (D-III)

Bellbrook — 329 (D-III)

D-III — 113-190 (191 schools)

Greeneview — 136 (D-V or D-VI)

D-IV — 13-112 (202 schools)

Yellow Springs — 106 (D-VI)

Cedarville — 68 (D-VII)

Legacy Christian — 66 (D-VII)

BOYS BASKETBALL, BASEBALL (7)

D-I — 346-1300 (198 schools)

Beavercreek — 894 (D-I)

Fairborn — 470 (D-II)

Xenia — 432 (D-III)

D-II — 193-345 (198 schools)

Bellbrook — 344 (D-III)

D-III — 121-192 (201 schools)

Greeneview — 166 (D-V or D-VI)

D-IV — 16-120 (202 schools)

Yellow Springs — 103 (D-VI or D-VII)

Cedarville — 92 (D-VII)

Legacy Christian — 55 (D-VII)

GIRLS SOCCER (5)

D-I — 330-1251 (173 schools)

Beavercreek — 844 (D-I)

Xenia — 422 (D-II)

Fairborn — 410 (D-II)

D-II — 190-329 (173 schools)

Bellbrook — 328 (D-II or D-III)

D-III — 52-189 (171 schools)

Greeneview — 144 (D-V)

Yellow Springs — 99 (D-V)

Legacy Christian — 85 (D-V)

BOYS SOCCER (5)

D-I — 346-1301 (188 schools)

Beavercreek — 893 (D-I)

Fairborn — 470 (D-II)

Xenia — 435 (D-II)

D-II — 182-345 (188 schools)

Bellbrook — 336 (D-II or D-III)

D-III — 52-189 (189 schools)

Greeneview — 169 (D-IV)

Legacy Christian — 109 (D-V)

Yellow Springs — 104 (D-V)

Contact Steven Wright at 937-502-4498 and follow on X (formerly Twitter) @Steven_Wright_.