OHIO -- On January 16th, the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) announced publicly their decision to expand divisions for the sports of track and field and cross country beginning in the 2025-2026 school year.
The current model of three divisions in cross country will expand to four while the present set-up of three divisions in track and field will expand to five.
For both sports, Division I will have a smaller amount of schools with the remaining divisions being divided as equally as possible.
The official press release courtesy of OHSAA Media Relations Director Tim Stried can be reviewed below.
Watch our feature interview above with OHSAA Director of Track & Field and Cross Country BJ Duckworth.
Our goal at MileSplit was to allow the decision that has been a number of years in the making to breathe and marinate amongst our sporting community for a few weeks before we explored a deep dive into how the decision took shape and its intended implications.
Thank you to BJ Duckworth for agreeing to afford us this time and for answering many of the questions that we've been hearing from our sports stakeholders since the initial news was released.
Related:
OHSAA Home Site
OHSAA Social Media
MileSplit Interview Series
Interview Segments
- 0:00 -- Episode Introduction
- 1:00 -- Explaining how a decision like this is made and who specifically makes the decision
- 4:40 -- Why now was the right time for the changes to be enacted
- 5:50 -- What is the formula that makes up the divisions and when will schools learn their divisional assignment
- 6:40 -- Commenting on the state association's perception for how to best handle Ohio's largest division
- 8:45 -- The learnings the OHSAA gained from viewing divisional expansion in other sports
- 11:05 -- Will the opt-up policy be available to schools that want to move up a division
- 12:35 -- Surveying other states that are comparable to Ohio's size and participation level and reviewing how they operate their divisions
- 15:10 -- What is the feedback like from the community in the early stages
- 16:40 -- Highlighting the efforts of the OATCCC in advocating for their student-athletes
- 19:15 -- Any bearing, if at all, the decision to expand divisions for indoor impacted outdoor
- 20:55 -- Explaining why the state association needs time to implement these changes for the 2025-2026 school year
- 26:30 -- In summary, how this decision will positively impact the student-athlete experience
- 29:05 -- Episode Conclusion
Official Press Release via Tim Stried, OHSAA
MileSplit Library: Women's 3200 meter race start at the 2022 OHSAA Division I State Track and Field Championships held at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University.
Photo Credit: Shawn Conlon/MileSplit
