Every two years, the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA), the governing body of sports and competitive activities in the state, reclassifies its member institutions based on enrollment data. Some early planning from coaches and other school leaders ahead of a new round of reorganization for the 2025-2027 school years was curbed this week.
MHSAA Executive Director Rickey Neaves took the association’s video podcast to notify officials across the state that the reclassification and redistricting process has experienced some delays in gathering accurate numbers for the new model. A hiccup with a portion of data that is used to determine who will play in Mississippi’s seven classes, along with the districts and regions within, will come later than expected.
“There’s been a hold up with the state department of education getting numbers,” Neaves said. “We’re working diligently on that. As soon we see numbers on that, we will release to our schools.”
Neaves addressed the delay to set expectations of a timeline but also to curb some overzealous advanced scheduling based on hearsay of what the new setup will be.
“There’s a lot of rumors out there. I’m already receiving letters and phone calls about schools being in other classifications, regions, travel – none of that has been done at this time. Please be patient.
“Coaches, please stop making schedules. We do not know who’s going to be what. You do not know who’s going to be in what classification or in what region. So just be patient and hold off on that or you may have to redo all the work.”
The new reclassification model will take effect at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year and run through the end of the 2026-27 academic and athletic calendar. For now, Neaves wants coaches in the Magnolia State to focus on the looming football playoffs, along with cross country and band state championships.
You can view the MHSAA classifications and corresponding enrollment numbers here.
