MHSAA 2026-27 School Year Classifications Announced

JTV Sports

Tuesday April 7th

EAST LANSING, Mich. – April 7 – Classifications for Michigan High School Athletic Association elections and postseason tournaments for the 2026-27 school year have been announced, with enrollment breaks for postseason tournaments posted to each sport’s page on the MHSAA Website. Classifications for the upcoming school year are based on a second semester count date, which for MHSAA purposes was Feb. 11. All sports’ tournaments are conducted with schools assigned to equal or nearly equal divisions, with lines dependent on how many schools participate in those respective sports.

For 2026-27, there are 755 tournament-qualified member schools. Schools recently were notified of their classification, and sport-by-sport divisions were posted to the MHSAA Website today (April 7). MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said a school may not subsequently lower its enrollment figure. However, if a revised enrollment figure is higher and indicates that a school should be playing in a higher division, that school would be moved up. Five MHSAA Finals champions from fall and winter this school year will change divisions for 2026-27, including a few which have dominated over the first half of this decade.

Schools also may request to play in a higher classification or division in a sport for a minimum of two years. Requests to opt up in fall sports for 2026-27 must be submitted by May 1, winter sports by Aug. 15 and spring sports by Oct. 15. To determine traditional classifications, after all counts are submitted, tournament-qualified member schools are ranked according to enrollment and then split as closely into quarters as possible. For 2026-27, there are 188 member schools in Class A and 189 each in Class B, Class C and Class D.

The new classification breaks will see 20 schools move up in Class for 2026-27 while 18 schools will move down. Below are the affected Jackson-area schools that are moving up or down classes:

Moving Up from Class B to Class A

Parma Western

Moving Down from Class B to Class C

Napoleon

Moving Up from Class D to Class C

Jackson Prep

Moving Down from Class C to Class D

Vandercook Lake

New Postseason-Eligible Tournament Schools in 2026-27

Jackson da Vinci

Enrollment Breaks by Classes – 2026-27

(Number of schools in parentheses)