Tigers, Wolves change classifications

PRAIRIE GROVE — The intense gridiron rivalry played annually between Farmington and Prairie Grove will once again become a conference game, according to numbers released by the Arkansas Activities Association for 2022-2024.

In the upcoming 2022-2024 cycle, Prairie Grove jumps to 5A while Lincoln reverts to 4A — a reflection of major changes across three of the top four high school football classifications with 27 schools changing classifications.

Arkansas Activities Association Director Derek Walter said the numbers are drawn from Arkansas Department of Education counts compiled on Oct. 1 taken from a 3-year average enrollment.

PRIVATE SCHOOLS

One reason for the drastic changes is a recent public policy initiated by the AAA’s board of directors Walter refers to as the “Classification and Competitive Equity Factor proposal,” which passed during a workshop June 8.

According to Walter, the private schools such as Springdale’s Shiloh Christian, the Class 4A state champion for 2020 and currently a member of the 4A-1 Conference in football, will be classified based on their sports program’s performance over a four-year period.

GOING 5A FOOTBALL

Prairie Grove will be among six teams new to the 5A classification, including Pine Bluff, which due to a dramatic decrease in enrollment, falls from the 30th largest high school in the state as a member of the 6A East all the way to No. 9 among Class 5A schools. The Zebras enrollment declined from 893.33 to 726.67 — a loss of almost 167 students — the largest difference among the schools included in this report.

Pine Bluff is the only school descending into Class 5A. Prairie Grove, which has been a member of the 4A-1 Conference since 2006, ascends in classification like Dardanelle ( 4A- 4), Mills (4A-2), Southside Batesville (4A-2), and Joe T. Robinson (4A-7).

Prairie Grove’s average enrollment jumped from 459.33 to 471.33, an increase of a dozen students, and enough to boost the Tigers into the 29th slot out of 32 Class 5A schools that play football.

Five schools, Pocahontas (456.67), Huntsville (449.33), Gravette ( 446), Nashville ( 440.33) and Berryville (437.00) at the top of the 4A football enrollments, were spared having to change classifications despite Nashville taking a big jump from 407.33, up by 33 students.

The AAA’s numbers show Huntsville’s enrollment declined by 27 students from 476.33 while Gravette diminished by 14 students from 460 and Berryville saw a four-student reduction down from 441.33. Pocahontas showed a slight decrease from 457.67.

LINCOLN NUMBERS DOWN

Schools like Lincoln, which has been a member of the 3A-1 Conference, and saw its enrollment decline from 286.67 in the last cycle to 273.33, a loss of 13 students, were surprised when they got bumped up to 4A for football.

Walter acknowledged that issue, saying in some situations, “There were schools that lost students, but schools beside them that actually lost more, so they moved up.”

Riverview ( 3A-2), Mayflower ( 3A- 4), and Genoa Central (3A-5) also declined in enrollment, but will make the jump to 4A football.

Riverview’s enrollment decreased from 285.00 to 274.67, almost 11 students, yet moves up in classification. Genoa Central’s drop was minimal, but it also goes to 4A for football. Mayflower lost almost 15 students going from 279.00 to 264.67 and still moves up.

McGehee (3A-6) received a boost of nearly 20 students going from 244.67 to 264.00 while Mountain View (3A2) increased from 268.33 to 285.33. Both will go to Class 4A football.

FARMINGTON UNAFFECTED

Farmington was unaffected by the policy change for

the next cycle. The Cardinals, who were bumped up in 2014 will continue as a 5A school in football and 4A in other sports; while Harrison, which has been a member of the 5A West in football since 2006, goes to 5A for all sports

in the 2022-2024 cycle. Farmington’s enrollment increased from 582.33 to 599.0 moving it up four spots from the 22nd

largest 5A school to No. 18.