Lipscomb Academy, MTCS to join TSSAA Division II

Lipscomb Academy will move to the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s Division II for the 2017-20 classification cycle, the Nashville private school announced Wednesday.

Lipscomb Academy

Lipscomb, which currently competes in Division I Region 6-4A in football and District 10-AA in most other sports, is the fifth Midstate private school to announce that it will be joining Division II since the TSSAA bylaw changes regarding financial aid were made in September 2015.

Christ Presbyterian Academy, Goodpasture, Middle Tennessee Christian and Nashville Christian all have announced they will be moving to Division II next school year.

Columbia Academy, Clarksville Academy and Grace Christian (Franklin) have stated that they will remain in Division I.

“Education is the focus of our school, and there are certain teachable moments in a young person’s life that can only come through exposure to athletics,” Lipscomb athletic director Mike Roller said in a statement. “It is our goal to ensure that every student on our campus can have the opportunity to be part of an athletic program and create lasting memories with their teammates.”

The Mustangs will compete in football in Division II-AA, which consists of schools with enrollments between 266 and 530. In all other sports except bowling, track and wrestling — in which there will be just one class — Lipscomb will compete in Division II-A.

The enrollment cutoff for sports with two Division II classes is 451. Lipscomb’s enrollment of 518 will make it the largest school in Division II-AA in football.

MTCS, which last participated in Division II during the 2003-04 school year, has an enrollment of 235 and will participate in Division II-A in all sports that offer more than one classification.

Contributing: Cecil Joyce, The Daily News Journal

Reach Michael Murphy at 615-269-8262 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports .

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