Scott Nickerson
Elmore Autauga News
The Alabama High School Athletic Association made a monumental decision on Friday that will be one of the most significant changes in high school sports in Alabama in recent memory. Since 2014, there have been seven different classifications in all sports (1A – 7A). Private schools such as Prattville Christian Academy and more recently, Autauga Academy, have been able to compete in AHSAA against public schools during the regular season and also in the post-season. With the rule change, all private schools in AHSAA will continue to be able to play against other AHSAA public schools during the regular season, but the private schools will have their own playoff and championship format. Two divisions were created for private schools. Meanwhile, the 7A Classification is gone, and public schools will compete in 6 classifications (1A – 6A).
Private School Argument and Effect
There were several different reasons both private schools and public schools were unhappy with the previous format. All classifications were decided based on enrollment numbers, with the larger schools being placed in the higher classes. Since 1999, private schools under AHSAA have faced the 1.35 multiplier, meaning each student is counted as 1.35, sometimes causing a private school to play in a higher classification than public schools with the same enrollment. Further, since 2018, private schools have faced a competitive balance factor, which is used to move private schools up a classification if a sport experiences certain success over a two year period.
For example, Prattville Christian Academy’s volleyball team currently competes in Class 4A after winning the state championship in Class 3A in 2022. Montgomery Academy’s soccer program has had perhaps the biggest effect with the competitive balance factor. While the football team competed in Class 3A in 2025, the boys’ and girls’ soccer program both competed in Class 7A, the highest classification in the state. However, the Montgomery Academy boys’ soccer team won the Class 7A state title in 2025. Regardless, there have been several private schools that have been forced to move up a classification and not succeeded in winning the state championship, often playing against schools with triple or quadruple their enrollment, such as Montgomery Academy’s volleyball and girls soccer team. Fans and parents of those teams are left wondering if they would’ve been able to win the state title had they played against schools with similar enrollments.
Perhaps the best argument against this rule change has been made by Alabama’s Lieutenant Governor, Will Ainsworth. The Lt. Governor made a public Facebook post that clearly articulates why he strongly believes this rule change is not in the best interest of school in the State of Alabama.
With the recent rule change, there will be two different divisions for private school teams, Class 1A and 2A. Local teams Prattville Christian Academy and Autauga Academy will be placed in Private Class 1A. There will be four regions in Private Class 1A. PCA will be in Region 2 and compete against teams such as Saint James, Montgomery Academy, Trinity, and Alabama Christian, while Autauga Academy will be in Region 3 along with teams like Tuscaloosa Academy, Holy Spirit Catholic, and Ellwood Christian.
Public School Argument and Effect
In March 2024, the CHOOSE Act was signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey. The Act provides up to $7,000 in refundable income tax credits for eligible students to use for things such as tuition or fees at a private school. It could potentially be a major factor in attracting public school athletes to private schools.
The claim of recruiting athletes to a private school’s sports program and attracting specific students has long been something that some public schools have viewed as an unfair advantage, whether or not it actually occurs. But, likewise, certain public schools have long been suspected of recruiting athletes to their program.
That was before the CHOOSE Act was signed into law. Now that $7,000 in tax credits are being offered, public schools could potentially see a large shift in enrollment of public school athletes to private schools. Or, the impact could be minimal. It’s too early to tell because the CHOOSE ACT is only in it’s first year for the 2025-2026 school year.
Even prior to the CHOOSE Act, there has been recent success of many private schools’ athletic programs across the state. For instance, the Mars Hill football team went 2-8 in 2015 and 0-10 in 2016. In 2018, they won the Class 1A state championship. In 2020 they won the Class 2A state championship. In 2024 and 2025, they won the Class 3A State championship.
Last year, the Glennwood Gators baseball team won the Class 3A state championship and American Christian Academy won Class 5A, although to be fair, the other five state championship winners in baseball were all public school teams.
As mentioned earlier, the Montgomery Academy boys’ soccer team moved all the way to Class 7A and won the state championship over nationally ranked Oak Mountain.
There will not be a big difference for some public schools in the area, such as Prattville, Wetumpka, and Stanhope Elmore, although a few traditionally strong programs they’ve faced in the post-season will no longer be in their path, such as St. Paul’s, McGill Toolen, and Briarwood Christian.
For the public school division, it will now be separated into 6 classes, 1A – 6A.
Prattville will compete in Class 6A Region 3.
Stanhope Elmore and Wetumpka will be in Class 5A Region 2.
Holtville and Marbury will be in Class 4A Region 4.
Billingsley will be in Class 1A Region 4.
