Proposed changes to 1A football could affect Joseph & Wallowa programs
By Joe Hathaway on Wednesday, December 27th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
WALLOWA COUNTY – Officials with the Oregon School Activities Association recently met to discuss the future of Class 1A, the smallest school classification in the state.
With the annual shuffling of some schools to higher classifications, the OSAA is now looking at only having 18 schools play in the 8-man football division.
1A is split between 8-man football and 6-man football programs, depending on the size of the school. High classifications field your typical 11-man squads.
As of right now, any school with an average daily membership (ADM) of 74 or below falls into Class 1A. Within those numbers, schools with 60-74 ADM plays 8-man ball, while any schools less than 60 play 6-man.
This month, the OSAA discussed the need to move the cutoff for 6-person football in order to have more 8-man teams. They announced their intention of moving the 8-man cutoff from 60 ADM to 50, in order to have more 8-man teams in 2024.
With the new cutoff number, the OSAA says 10-to-11 schools would move up to 8-man. Local schools on that list include Joseph and Wallowa. Another eastern Oregon school on the list is Echo.
Echo beat Joseph in the 6-man state title game this past November.
The OSAA says it will vote on the new changes in January.
