BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Metro and suburban divisions for football were scrapped by the Florida High School Athletic Association board of directors, which voted 9-4 to place football teams in seven classifications besides the existing rural classification.
What that means is that beginning with the 2024 season, schools in the eight most densely populated counties (Broward, Dade, Duval, Hillsborough, Orange, Palm Beach, Pinellas and Seminole) are no longer separated from other schools into a metro division.
The biggest change is that Union County is no longer in the rural classification. It’s now a part of Class 1A, which consists of schools with student populations ranging from 61 to 643.
Of the 61 schools in 1A, more than 50 are private, including Hollywood’s Chaminade-Madonna, which has been a state champion or runner-up the last eight seasons. Chaminade-Madonna won the state title this past season in Class 1 Metro.
Jacksonville’s Trinity Christian is also a 1A school. Trinity has won seven state championships in the last 15 years and was a Final Four team this past season in Class 1M.
The class also includes 1M state runner-up Clearwater Central Catholic and Class 1S state runner-up Trinity Catholic of Ocala.
Union is a member of District 4, which also includes Fort White, P.K. Yonge and Williston.
Fort White and Williston were previously in the rural classification.
District 4-1A is a part of Region 1, which also includes Florida High, Maclay, North Florida Christian, St. John Paul II, Episcopal, North Florida Educational Institute, Seacoast Christian, Trinity Christian, Impact Christian, Providence and University Christian.
Bradford and Keystone Heights, which were Class 2 Suburban teams, are now Class 2A teams and members of District 5 along with Crescent City, Newberry and Palatka.
Class 2A consists of schools with student populations ranging from 644 to 1,166.
District 5 of 2A is a part of Region 2, which also consists of the following schools: Astronaut, Cocoa, South Sumter, Umatilla, The Villages, Avon Park, Discovery, Lake Placid, Tenoroc, Berkeley Prep, Clearwater Calvary Christian and Tampa Catholic.
Berkeley Prep was this past season’s Class 2 Metro state champ, while Calvary Christian was a 2M region semifinalist.
The new Class 2A also consists of such schools as Bolles, Cardinal Gibbons, Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian, North Broward Prep, Somerset and Tampa Catholic — all playoff qualifiers this past season in Class 2M.
More than 20 schools in the new Class 2A are in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
The Metro and Suburban divisions came about due to the fact that 89 percent of the state champions in a 10-year span (excluding the champions in the rural class) were metro-area schools. The adoption of Metro and Suburban divisions passed by two votes.
New classification assignments are tentative. Schools can appeal their assignments by Friday, Jan. 12.
