School classification is based on the average number of students enrolled in the fall and spring. According to the Idaho High School Activities Association (IHSAA), school classifications are as follows: 6A being 1400 students and over, and 5A between 700-1399.
On March 5, 2025, a meeting was held in the CRHS auditorium to discuss the possibility of CRHS sports being moved down to the 5A classification.
Classifications are reviewed every two years during a “count year.” In a count year, enrollment numbers are obtained from the State Board of Education. The enrollment numbers determine which classification the school is put into and they stay in their classifications for two years. Currently, CRHS is at the 6A classification in the High Country Conference. In the previous count year, 2022-2023, CRHS was placed in the 5A classification in the High Basin Conference. The most recent count year was this year, the 2024-2025 school year, and CRHS will remain in 6A until the next count year in the 2026-2027 school year.
Some of the disadvantages of staying at 6A include farther travel, more time away from school because of increased travel, and increased cost. “When you look at the competitiveness, the time away from school, the time on the road, and the cost of all of that is why they are asking me to take a look at it,” states CRHS athletic director, Mr. Ted Reynolds.
Parents are the main group advocating for the change back to 5A. Many parents detest the disadvantages that come with 6A, and the lack of success and smaller chance their child has at competing in state tournaments. Alternatively, some parents understand that it is out of the school’s hands when it comes to what class CRHS is placed in, and there is not much the school can do about it.
“Parents don’t like it, they have made it very clear that they want us back in 5A,” states Mr. Randal Miskin, CRHS principal.
Mr. Reynolds says athletes and coaches don’t mind the change. He has not had any athletes come up to him and complain about being 6A. Athletes don’t necessarily like the travel or cost, but they are willing to work hard to progress to the competitive level that other 6A schools are at. The coaches are ready to take on the challenge.
Mr. Miskin said, “Coaches are a competitive bunch; they like to play the best competition. What I’ve heard from the coaches is ‘You tell us who we play and we’ll play and compete.’ That’s the attitude you want from the athletes and the coaches. Being how it’s not in their control, we want them to say ‘No matter what happens to us, we’re going to go and do the best we possibly can.’ It doesn’t do us any good to complain about it when we can’t change it.”
A popular advantage of 5A would be getting to play the same teams that our athletes have been playing for many years. It allows them to play against the natural rivals that we have had for a long time, such as Twin Falls High School, Jerome High School, and Minico High School. Playing local schools makes it easier for parents to travel to watch and support.
Mr. Reynolds commented, “I don’t think [athletes] like getting beat, but at the same time, I think they know that they need to step up and work hard to be able to play those bigger teams.”
Three main options are being proposed: submit petitions to move to 5A for all sports that meet the criteria, go independent, or leave everything as it is and wait to see if CRHS enrollment numbers will change.
“I can try and petition a couple of team sports to try and go back to 5A, but there are certain criteria that you have to meet,” explains Mr. Reynolds. “I will try and petition all team sports because that is what I was asked to do, I just don’t know if we can win them,” he adds.
The two most important criteria that have to be met include: “The varsity, JV, and freshman combined winning percentage is near or below 25% during the most recent two years of competition against their assigned classification,” and “the varsity, JV, and freshman teams finished near or below the bottom 33% of their postseason tournaments during the most recent two years of competition.”
When a petition is submitted, it is given to the IHSAA Board of Directors which is composed of different individuals from around the state who vote on whether or not the petition is accepted. The board will vote on all petitions submitted from different schools throughout the state in September 2025.
“There’s a chance that some sports will be able to play in 5A, and there’s a chance that none of them will. It all depends on how the vote goes,” says Mr. Miskin.
Sports like cross country, track, and wrestling currently cannot be petitioned because they are individual sports, which means each person competes independently, and their scores are combined to make the team score.
Another option is to become independent. Being an independent school means that school has to find teams willing to play them and create their own schedule which can be very difficult. After the season, the state would assign the school to a region to play a district tournament. Doing this would put CRHS at a disadvantage in the tournament because they would start at the bottom rank since they would not have had to play all the schools in that district to be able to have a ranking.
Mr. Reynolds stated, “As an athletic director, I believe that would be the worst option because it would be extremely difficult to find games, matches, etc. for our programs because nobody would have to play us. [If] we go independent, [that] just means that you’re going to do an independent schedule, but we’re still a 6A school.”
The last option is to simply stay at 6A, not change anything, and wait to see what happens in future years. No matter if CRHS stays 6A or eventually has the numbers to move back down to 5A, athletes and coaches will compete at whatever level they are put into.
When referring to athletes, Mr. Reynolds says, “If they want to play, they are going to play. They will play whatever classification we’re in. They may prefer one over the other, but if they are truly playing because they enjoy playing, I don’t think it makes a difference where we are at.”
Later, Mr. Reynolds stated, “For the last three years that I have been here, I’ve been doing everything I can to say ‘you know what, we are 6A, let’s go out and work and do what we have to do to be competitive at that level.’”
If petitions are accepted, the sports that can most likely be won according to the criteria are girl’s basketball and football. Softball, baseball, and volleyball, based on recent performance, have a chance at being approved for 5A, as well.
The most likely option is to wait three years until the 2028-2029 count year since CRHS, based on dipping enrollment numbers, will most likely be in the 5A range by then.
