NIAA approves football changes – Carson, Douglas to 5A-III

After initial approval from the realignment committee, the NIAA Board of Control voted to finalize changes to Nevada high school football.

Class 5A will see the most significant changes with the classification being split into three divisions based off of location and competitive balance over the last two seasons.

DIVISIONAL BREAKDOWN

Each classification breakdown in 5A will have a promotion/relegation element that will adjust annually.

Class 5A-I will be strictly a Southern Nevada classification, containing the top seven teams from the south. For fall 2023, those teams would be Bishop Gorman, Liberty, Silverado, Arbor View, Shadow Ridge, Desert Pines and Coronado.

After one season, the bottom two teams will drop to Class 5A-II, while the top teams from that class will be promoted to 5A-I.

Northern and Southern Nevada will have teams competing in Class 5A-II, as the No. 8 through No. 14 teams from the south will challenge for a state title against the top six teams from the North.

The alignment breakdown is:

• Class 5A-II North: Bishop Manogue, McQueen, Spanish Springs, Reed, Damonte Ranch and Reno.
• Class 5A-II South: Las Vegas, Green Valley, Foothill, Basic, Sierra Vista, Durango and Faith Lutheran.

For the South, the bottom two teams will drop to class 5A-III while the top teams from that class will move to 5A-II.

For the North, the team that finishes sixth will be relegated to Class 5A-III for the next season. Meanwhile, the top two seeds in the North region will get byes to open the postseason.

For Class 5A-III the breakdown is:

• North: Carson, Douglas, North Valleys, Wooster, Galena and Hug.
• South: Desert Oasis, Spring Valley, Palo Verde, Cimarron-Memorial, Clark, Legacy and Rancho.

For the North, the top team at the end of the regular season will be promoted to Class 5A-II, replacing the team that is relegated to Class 5A-III.

The top two teams from the North will get byes in the opening round of the postseason, with the best team from each region meeting for a state title.

Carson High and Douglas High coaches said they were pleased with the changes.