Six high schools that are part of Southern Arizona football regions have filed appeals for conference placement, most noticeably Salpointe Catholic, which desires a move from 6A back to 5A.
Salpointe, which moved from 5A to 6A before the 2022 season, joins these other Southern Arizona programs requesting a change:
Morenci from 3A to 2A
Empire from 3A to 4A (the Ravens were reclassified from 4A to 3A in December)
Flowing Wells from 5A to 4A
Ironwood Ridge from 5A to 4A
Nogales from 5A to 4A
Salpointe plays mostly Phoenix-area schools (which can be a burden with travel) as the lone 6A program in Southern Arizona.
Morenci, Flowing Wells, Ironwood Ridge and Nogales seek to improve their ability to compete in a classification lower.
Empire’s move to 3A means more travel necessary with schools in Safford, Thatcher and Morenci as part of the current 3A South. Sabino and Pusch Ridge are also part of the region.
The conference committees will meet Thursday to go over the appeals and results may be determined by 5 p.m.
Schools who want to appeal conference decisions to the AIA Executive Board have until Jan. 14 in preparation for the Jan. 21 meeting.
