High School Sports Realignment Announced for Utah

In Salt Lake City, the UHSAA Board of Trustees held a meeting on Tuesday where they released the first draft for high school sports realignment set for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years. This realignment aims to group schools into new regions and classifications every two years based on enrollment changes. It’s important to note that the UHSAA has separate alignments for football and all other sports.

The realignment affects several schools categorized as “bubble schools.” These schools perform well enough to be eligible for a higher classification, or they might need to drop down to a lower one. The UHSAA can adjust these schools further, and schools themselves can petition to move up or down as well.

On December 4, the UHSAA will review petitions from schools seeking classification changes, followed by a public hearing via Zoom on December 11. The final classifications and regions will be decided at a Board of Trustees meeting on December 19.

Currently, the number of teams in each classification isn’t finalized. In the coming weeks, the UHSAA will implement a new evaluation method designed to assist in classifying bubble schools. This method, developed by Nate Marshall, uses a formula based on a school’s performance metrics such as RPI rankings and tournament results.

Each school now has a Member School Profile that provides insights into their competitiveness, including a unique Z score number that helps guide the Board’s decisions. Notably, each school has a profile for football and another for all other sports.

Some schools are already expected to appeal for reclassification. For example, Corner Canyon may push to move up to 6A for all sports, following a similar appeal in the last realignment. Ben Lomond and Ogden are likely to be placed in 3A due to their higher free-and-reduced lunch rates.

Additionally, a new school, Deseret Peak, located in Tooele and set to open in 2025, was not included in this draft. Since it won’t have seniors in its opening year, Deseret Peak anticipates starting as a 4A school for the first two years.

As changes approach, schools will be keeping a close eye on their classifications to see where they stand for the upcoming seasons.