Football coaches and fans may have the most interest in the newly released Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association sports classifications.
Retro football
Based on enrollment data from each high school in the state, each of the six classifications contain about the same number of schools, the TSSAA shows.
Fifty-one schools with 0-375 students are in Class 1A, 50 schools with 376-556 students are in Class 2A, 49 schools with 557-821 students are in Class 3A, 49 schools with 822-1,102 students are in Class 4A, 49 schools with 1,103-1,508 students are in Class 5A and 49 schools with 1,509 students or more are in Class 6A.
Before the reclassification, Jo Byrns was in 1A, East Robertson was in 2A, Greenbrier and White House Heritage were in 3A and Springfield, White House and Portland were in 4A.
Jo Byrns, with an enrollment of 349 students this year, is tentatively set to remain in class 1A, but coach Tom Adkins said the team could make a move, he said.
“Right now we’re trying to consider our options,” he said. “I’m not sure if our travel will decrease any at all if we remain in 1A or if we move up to 2A. It’s a decision we’ll have to make by (October) 25.”
East Robertson has 416 students this year, just over the maximum amount for 1A, so the Indians will remain in 2A, but coach Chad Broadrick had similar concerns about travel.
“Unfortunately, I don’t know where we’re going to end up, but I’m sure where ever it is, there will still be quite a bit of travel that is involved,” Broadrick said. “It just seems like travel is common in this class.”
White House Heritage, with an enrollment of 673 this year, would join class 3A, but the Patriots have decided to play up a classification and move into 4A, coach Hunter Hicks said. It’s a big move, considering the Patriots were in class 2A four years ago.
Heritage coach Hunter Hicks has applied to play up in class 4-A.
“The coaches and administration feel this is the right move for our football program at this time, and we look forward to the announcement of the regions on Nov. (17),” Hicks said.
“For us, this just makes the most sense because of the natural county rivalries that we would have in the region, and the teams that will probably be in there from Sumner County.”
If Heritage joins 4A, it could join a region that might include White House, Springfield, Portland and Greenbrier
White House has 874 students this year, Springfield has 1,081 and Portland has 1,089.
Greenbrier, with an enrollment of 833, is the second smallest school in the class. The Bobcats were 12 students over the enrollment cutoff of class 3A.
“We had a feeling that this was going to happen because we’ve been right on the edge for the last two years,” Greenbrier coach John Elmore said. “We’re excited to be in the same region as Springfield, White House and Portland, and if Heritage is approved, I’m assuming they will be in the same region too.
“We’ve played all those schools, anyway. They were just a part of our out of region schedule, so we’ve already put feelers out there to get some close schools on our schedule for our non-region play.”
Springfield coach Dustin Wilson said he hoped all the schools would stay together.
“It makes sense for travel, money and even tradition,” he said. “I’m excited to start playing Heritage, but I won’t like losing the scrimmages and practices with them.”
If Jo Byrns decides to play up into 2A next year, all five Robertson County high school teams could end up in one of two different classifications. The final regional classifications will be announced on Nov. 17.