| LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR CHANGE IN NSAA RULES AND REGULATIONS | ||||
| Title: | Class D Softball | |||
| Author: | Dustin Deterding; Morgan Zahnow; Shawn Carr; Katrina Christen | |||
| School: | Ashland-Greenwood | |||
| NSAA District: | 2 | |||
| Proposal for: | Activities Manual | |||
| Classes Affected: | Class B Class C Class D | |||
| Activities Affected: | Softball | |||
| This proposal: | WILL increase costs to the school WILL increase costs to the NSAA WILL increase travel for participating schools WILL decrease a student's or coach's instruction time | |||
| Implementation date: | 2027-08-01 | |||
| Sections affected in Activities Manual: | Page 8 12-19 | Article | Section | |
| Summary: | Classification of Schools
Schools shall be divided into three four classes for Softball competition. This classification is based on grades 9-11 enrollment from September of the year which immediately precedes the classification period. Class A will be classified based on a total enrollment of 850 and above with the total enrollment figures being doubled for unisex schools. The remaining schools will be divided evenly into Class B, Class C, and Class D. If there is an uneven number of schools, the larger number of schools will be placed in Class D. Classifications will be done on a yearly basis, except for Class A, which is classified for a two-year period. 2026-27 is the 1st year of the two-year Class A classification period. No schools will be added or removed to Class A during this period, regardless of enrollment in the subsequent year. If schools are tied in enrollment for the last position or positions of a class, the following tie-breaker will be applied: The three-year average of enrollment, which includes the year on which the current year’s classification is based and the two previous years. The higher three-year average will be in the larger class. If the tie still exists, then the school with the higher immediate previous year’s enrollment will be placed in the larger class. If a tie still exists, it will be decided by a coin flip in the NSAA office. Opting Up – a school may opt up one classification. The deadline for submitting a request to the NSAA is one week from when classifications are released. No team will move up to fill the void made by a school opting up. District Assignments & Format All Class B, Class C, and Class D schools in softball are to be placed into seven Districts. All seven of the Districts will be determined using a serpentine method (not modified), based upon the NSAA wildcard point system within one week prior to the first District tournament. The highest-seeded team in each District will host a single-elimination tournament for the first round and semifinal. District Finals will be a best-of-3 series hosted by the higher remaining seed regardless of distance. All games played through Thursday, September 30, 2027 (in-state and out-of-state) will be used to calculate wildcard points for District seeding. The District seeding date shall be Friday, October 1, 2027. District tournament seeding and brackets shall be posted on Friday, October 1, 2027. The records of all schools available to the NSAA on the date of the seeding shall be used to calculate wildcard averages, even if an error on the record is discovered after the fact or the NSAA imposes a forfeit. Each District Tournament will be single-elimination in the first round and semifinal games, followed by a best 2-of-3 series for the District Championship. The winner of the District Championship would qualify for the State Championships. District Tournament Dates: Class A: October 6-7, 2027 Class B, Class C, Class D: October 7-9, 2027 Awards The winner and runner-up of each District Championship will receive plaques. Classes A, B, C, and D wildcard qualifiers to the State Championships will receive plaques. Qualifying for State In all Classes, seven teams will qualify for the State Championships by winning their respective District tournaments. One additional team (wildcard qualifier) who failed to qualify through District tournament competition, will be chosen to complete the eight-team tournament field. Those teams will be selected in the following manner: Only varsity games between varsity Nebraska teams and varsity teams from other states will be considered when calculating the wildcard point totals. The results of all such games played through Districts shall be used. This includes regularly scheduled games, tournament games and District games. The records of all schools available to the NSAA on the date of the seeding shall be used to calculate wildcard averages, even if an error on the record is discovered after the fact or the NSAA imposes a forfeit. If a tie exists for one or both qualifying spots, the following procedure will be used to break the tie: If only two teams have identical point averages and are tied and the teams have played each other, the team that won the contest or the majority of contests between the two teams in question will qualify for the State Championships. If the two teams have not played each other or if more than two teams are tied, step C will be used to determine which team qualifies for the State Championships. If a tie still exists, or if more than two teams are tied, the team or teams playing the greatest number of first division teams in their classification will be selected. If two teams are still tied, step (a) will apply before going to step (d). If a tie still exists, the team's opponents' wins and losses will be totaled and the winning percentages calculated. The team whose opponents have the highest percentage based on this calculation qualifies for the State Championships. If a tie still exists, the winner will be decided by a coin flip in the NSAA office. The records of all schools available to the NSAA on the date of the seeding shall be used to calculate wildcard averages, even if an error on the record is discovered after the fact or the NSAA imposes a forfeit State Championships Schedule The schedule would need to be updated to include four classes. | |||
| Rationale: | Enrollment numbers in classes are similar to one another, rather than having larger school enrollment and smaller school enrollment in the same class.
In 2026, Class A’s top girl enrollment was 1940, while Class A’s bottom girl enrollment was 842 (opted up). In 2025, Class A’s top girl enrollment was 2085, while Class A’s bottom girl enrollment was 737 (opted up). In 2026, Class B’s top girl enrollment was 418, while Class B’s bottom girl enrollment was 120. In 2025, Class B’s top girl enrollment was 412, while Class B’s bottom girl enrollment was 107. In 2026, Class C’s top girl enrollment was 118, while Class C’s bottom girl enrollment was 39 In 2025, Class C’s top girl enrollment was 103, while Class C’s bottom girl enrollment was 37 In 2027, with Class D opening, the class enrollment range would have less of a gap, creating a more competitive environment. Softball is continuing to grow, with more schools offering softball; opening a fourth class would accommodate those schools that have added since Class C was opened. | |||
| Pros: | More even number of schools per class
Enrollment numbers in classes are similar to one another, rather than having larger school enrollment and smaller school enrollment in the same class More schools have the opportunity to play in the state tournament More opportunities for students to play Increase in gate/concessions profit due to more teams | |||
| Cons: | Higher costs for District and State Tournaments including:
Mileage reimbursement for State Championships Lodging for State Championships Two additional State Championship trophies to cover Class D One additional head coach plaque for Class D State Champion Coach Additional umpire fees to cover additional games Additional balls to cover additional games | |||