Overview of 2025-26 NDHSAA Basketball Classification Process

1. Fall 2024 – Enrollment numbers released for the 2024-25 school year
2. January 1, 2025 – Deadline for teams to request being moved up or down a division
3. January 14, 2025 – Classification committee considers requests for new division placement (up or down) for the 2025-26 season
4. March 2025 – Tournament Performance Factor applied
5. March 25, 2025 – Deadline for teams moved up based on performance factor to appeal the classification committee
6. April 1, 2025 – Classification committee considers all appeals
7. April 8, 2025 – 2024-25 basketball division placement finalized

Basketball Classification Procedure

1. Department of Public Instruction enrollment numbers will be submitted to NDHSAA member schools annually
2. Each school may submit a request to NDHSAA indicating the division in which the team wishes to compete by the established deadlines.  A school failing to meet the designated deadline will not be permitted to request a classification other than the one assigned by the NDHSAA.  The classification committee will consider the following factors:

1. Competitive history and balance
2. Geography
3. School’s enrollment trend
4. Student participation rate
5. Socioeconomic factors of the school’s population
6. Retention and mobility rate of school’s population
7. Additional information unique to school community
8. Enrollment in proximity to division above or below
9. Formal feedback from teams in the region where appealing team would be placed

3. The tournament performance factor will be calculated after each season.

1. The tournament performance factor will be a three-year cumulative total of no less than six points per division.

1. Teams that have accumulated at least six tournament performance factor points will be promoted to the next highest division from the previous year.  No team will be moved more than one division per year.  Teams may appeal this move to the classification committee.

2. Teams promoted to the next highest division due to accumulation of tournament performance points will remain in that division indefinitely unless an appeal is granted by the classification committee.
3. When a new coop forms, the coop will receive a point total equal to the combined total of all schools in the coop.
4. Calculating the tournament performance factor:

1. Points will be cumulative for a three-year period. (The inaugural point total will be calculated beginning with the 2021-22 school year)
2. The maximum points a team can earn in a given season is four (4) points.
3. Points will be awarded based on the following system:

1 point for advancing to the state quarterfinal

2 points for advancing to the state semifinal

3 points for advancing to the state championship

4 points for winning a state title

4. After the application of the tournament performance factor, divisions will be assigned for the following season.
5. Schools will be allowed to appeal their placement to the classification committee using any/all of the factors listed in Section 2 a-i above.  A successful appeal requires a favorable vote of 2/3 or more of classification committee members voting.
6. All decisions of the classification committee are final.  The classification committee will be comprised of 11 members with a 3-year term/rotation appointed by the NDHSAA Board of Directors.  An effort will be made to diversify the Classification Committee so it is representative of the membership.

1 – Superintendent, Principal, or Athletic Director from each NDHSAA basketball region (10 total)

1 – Member of the NDHSAA Board of Directors will chair the Committee