The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors met for its regularly scheduled meeting at the IHSA office in Bloomington on Monday, August 24, 2026, where the Board approved an update to the Classification Policy and provided revised classification cutoffs in multiple IHSA sports that will go into effect for the 2027-2028 school year.
In 2024, the IHSA Board approved significant changes to the IHSA Classification Policy, as well as to the multiplier waiver process, that went into effect for the 2025-26 school year. The changes included moving from a two-year classification cycle to an annual cycle and returning to fix classification cutoffs as opposed to percentage-based cutoffs.
“When revamping the Classification Policy in 2024, one of our goals was to provide member schools with one year notice in advance of any class cutoff changes to help them prepare accordingly,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “All the changes approved today will go into effect during the 2027-28 school year.”
The Board Classification Policy approved in 2024 called for all cutoffs to be rounded to the nearest 50th or 100th numeral. The Board made a slight modification to that on Monday, giving themselves the ability to set cutoffs to the 25th numeral.
“In revisiting the Policy, we recognized that a significant number of schools can be impacted by 25 students in our four-class sports, which can make balancing the total number of competing teams in each class difficult,” said Anderson. “The overall enrollment within our membership is currently declining, so it makes sense to lower some of these cutoffs to keep in line with that trend. The data shows us that the majority of schools who are moving up in classification were competing in that same class just a year or two ago.”
The sports with new classification cutoffs in 2027-28 are below. All other sports will remain the same. Those cutoffs can be found here.
2027-28 CLASSIFICATION CHANGES BY SPORT
Four Class Sports | Baseball, Boys/Girls Basketball, Softball, Girls Volleyball
Class 1A | 1-275
Class 2A | 275.01-600
Class 3A | 600.01-1600
Class 4A | 1600.01 or greater
Girls Soccer
Class 1A | 1-750
Class 2A | 750.01-1750
Class 3A | 1750.01 or greater
Boys Golf
Class 1A | 1-450
Class 2A | 450.01-1400
Class 3A | 1400.01 or greater
Boys Soccer
Class 1A | 1-675
Class 2A | 675.01-1650
Class 3A | 1650.01 or greater
Girls Tennis
Class 1A | 1-1400
Class 2A | 1400.01 or greater
ACTION
1. The Board approved a recommendation from the IHSA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee to update its Lightning Policy. The most significant update allows for host schools to utilize apps backed by the National Lightning Detection Network to determine if lightning is more than 10 miles away. See the updated policy here.
2. The Board approved a recommendation for Buffalo Grove High School to serve as the host of the 2026 IHSA Girls Tennis State Finals.
IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson:
“Due to changes in the leadership at Hersey High School, the school felt that another site may be better equipped to handle hosting the state tournament this fall. We are incredibly fortunate that the team at Buffalo Grove High School, who has significant experience hosting this event, was willing to step in and take on the responsibility. We appreciate all Hersey High School did as a host and look forward to another first-class event back at Buffalo Grove High School.”
3. The Board approved a recommendation to increase the State Series host guarantees in cross country and track & field by 80% percent, providing an additional $166,320 to schools hosting State Series events in these sports.
4. The Board approved a recommendation to continue a pilot program, first applied in boys volleyball in 2026, that utilizes the MaxPreps Ranking formula to seed the State Series. The pilot program will be expanded to include Boys Soccer and Girls Soccer during the 2026-27 school year, based on a previous recommendation from the Soccer Advisory Committee.
5. The Board approved a recommendation to conclude holding the IHSA Wheelchair Basketball Tournament and to reallocate the funds from the tournament into a grant program that schools can apply for and use to assist high school students with the purchase or acquisition of adaptive athletic equipment.
IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson:
“We have seen a significant decline in the number of competing teams in the IHSA Wheelchair Basketball in recent years, with even fewer teams featuring high school student-athletes or programs connected with IHSA member schools. Since the debut of the wheelchair state tournament, the IHSA has made great strides in expanding participation opportunities through our athletes with disabilities programs, while also collaborating with Special Olympics Illinois on a flourishing unified sports program. We are incredibly proud of the exposure this tournament provided wheelchair basketball through the years, but also recognize that the best way to positively impact the sport moving forward is to help athletes navigate the fiscal barriers that can prevent them from participating.”
6. The Board approved a recommendation to extend its contract with Teall Properties Group (TPG), who oversees the IHSA’s corporate partners.
7. The Board approved a cooperative dissolution in girls lacrosse between Cary-Grove, Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South, and Prairie Ridge in Crystal Lake. Cary Grove and Crystal Lake South will now coop as one team and Crystal Lake Central and Prairie Ridge will coop as another team.
8. The Board approved a cooperative dissolution in boys and girls swimming & diving between Morris, Minooka, Seneca, and Coal City. Minooka and Morris will now coop in boys and girls swimming & diving.
9. The Board approved a cooperative dissolution in Girls and Boys Soccer, Boys Volleyball and Girls Flag Football between Thornton in Harvey, Thornridge in Dolton, and Thornwood and South Holland.
10. The Board approved multiplier waivers in Scholastic Bowl.
11. The Board approved a multiplier waiver in Girls Basketball.
12. The Board approved a Document Retention Policy for the IHSA office.
APPEALS & ELIGIBILITY RULINGS
Appeals 1-11 were held with the IHSA Hearing Board, a subset of the IHSA Board of Directors, virtually on August 12, 2026. Appeal 12 was conducted with the entire Board on August 24.
1. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Cahokia High School. The student was ruled ineligible for non-compliance with IHSA By-law 3.040.
2. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Wheaton Academy in West Chicago. The student was granted limited eligibility in accordance with the provisions of IHSA By-law 3.043.3 and was seeking full eligibility.
3. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Marist High School in Chicago. The student was ruled ineligible for non-compliance with IHSA By-law 3.042.
4. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from St. Bede Academy in Peru. The student was granted limited eligibility in accordance with the provisions of IHSA By-law 3.043.3 and was seeking full eligibility.
5. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from St. Bede Academy in Peru. The student was granted limited eligibility in accordance with the provisions of IHSA By-law 3.043.3 and was seeking full eligibility.
6. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Marian Central Catholic in Woodstock. The student was granted limited eligibility in accordance with the provisions of IHSA By-law 3.043.3 and was seeking full eligibility.
7. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Yorkville Christian High School. The student was granted limited eligibility in accordance with the provisions of IHSA By-law 3.043.3 and was seeking full eligibility.
8. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from St. Patrick High School in Chicago. The student was ruled ineligible for non-compliance with IHSA By-law 3.040.
9. The Board modified the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Marian Central Catholic in Woodstock. The student was initially ruled ineligible for non-compliance with IHSA By-law 3.030 and was granted full eligibility.
10. The Board modified the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from St. Laurence High School in Burbank. The student was granted limited eligibility in accordance with the provisions of IHSA By-law 3.043.3 and was granted full eligibility.
11. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein. The student was granted limited eligibility in accordance with the provisions of IHSA By-law 3.043.3 and was seeking full eligibility.
12. The Board modified a previous ruling on a request for use of a golf cart by a student-athlete at Wethersfield High School in Kewanee. The student will be provided a medical exemption to use a cart as needed.
DISCUSSION
1. The Board heard a report that online nominations for open IHSA Board of Directors and Legislative Commission seats are open through September 15. The Executive Director also issued a reminder that the IHSA Board will add four new seats for Superintendents, Heads of School, or Presidents this fall.
2. The Board reviewed IHSA Policy 16 (Guidelines for Adding and Deleting State Series Sport Programs) and confirmed its interpretation that in Girls Gymnastics, a Coop team that engages in a regular season of at least six (6) contests will count as a team entry for IHSA Policy 16.
3. The Board heard a presentation from members of Teall Properties Group (TPG) on the IHSA’s corporate partnerships. The group recapped the 2025-26 school year and presented goals for the 2026-27 school year.
4. The Board heard a report on the IHSA staff plans to participate in the IADA’s monthly online member meetings.
5. The Board heard a report on a new educational initiative, the Two-Minute Drill, where IHSA staff members will present on different topics related to the IHSA.
6. The Board discussed financial arrangements for hosting Quarterfinal State Series contests in team-bracketed sports.
7. The Board heard a report on recent clarifications sent from the IHSA office to member school athletic directors and basketball coaches regarding how IHSA rules impact fall basketball leagues.
8. The Board heard a report on Concussion reporting data from the 2026-27 school year.
9. The Board heard a report on the Dr. Marty Hickman Golf Outing held in June, which benefits the Illinois High School Activities Foundation scholarship program.
10. The Board heard a report on the 27th annual IHSA Officials Conference that was held in Normal in July.
11. The Board discussed future IHSA penalties for non-compliance with the football acclimatization policy.
12. The Board heard a report on the annual All-School Mailing that was sent to member school administrators in early August.
13. The Board reviewed coach and athlete ejection data from the 2025-26 school year.
14. The Board discussed a football cooperative dissolution request, but took no action.
15. The Board discussed updates to Policy 38 (Drone) and asked the IHSA staff to explore allowing policy changes that would allow for drones to be used during IHSA Football Playoff games for team scouting purposes.
