A and AA Enrollment Information

[HSPuckFan96]

As I watch the debates about teams moving up to AA and some possibly needing to move down to A, it has me curious...What is the enrollment split between A and AA? The co-ops are figured differently, but for a regular school, where is the line between the two classes? I tried looking at the MSHSL website, but didn't find anything there

[elliott70]

Hockey / Boys & Girls
Boys:
Largest 64 = Class AA
Remainder = Class A
Girls:
Largest 64 = Class AA
Remainder = Class A

Hockey, Boys
AA
1246 and above

[blueblood]

HSPuck:

Care to share which teams are looking to move up to AA or down to A

[jg2112]

Hockey / Boys & Girls
Boys:
Largest 64 = Class AA
Remainder = Class A
Girls:
Largest 64 = Class AA
Remainder = Class A

Hockey, Boys
AA
1246 and above

Is this really true on the girls' side? If so, how are St. Paul / Henry Sibley and Minneapolis in A?

[HSPuckFan96]

HSPuck:

Care to share which teams are looking to move up to AA or down to A

I was only referencing the chatter on this board, that some should/could move up. Also saw a mention that maybe a few should move down. I have no insight into any school actually moving. I know Monti booted their co-op with Annandale so they could remain in A. I also know that Coon Rapids was allowed to opt down in football, but only for a limited time...can that even be done in hockey?

[bodyup88]

The numbers are pretty interesting. Based on enrollment numbers from 2017-18, if you exclude the Minneapolis and St. Paul Public Schools and the teams that are co-op (Osseo/Park Center and Armstrong/Cooper) then the enrollment number drops to 1,136 for the largest 64 schools. Teams that are above that size range that are playing Class A are Bloomington Kennedy (1,290) Henry Sibley (1,190) Sauk Rapids-Rice (1,183) Waconia (1,152) and Mahtomedi ( 1,136). Sartell and Alexandria are right behind at 1,129 and 1,120.

St. Thomas and Grand Rapids are at 988 and 972 respectively, and there are 7 programs above them in size playing Class A hockey, Schools clearly opting up are Duluth Marshall (282) Roseau (305) Holy Family (394) Blake (523) and Hill-Murray (629). Right now, there are 69 teams playing AA hockey, 5 sections of 9 and 3 sections of 8 teams.

[zooomx]

Hockey / Boys & Girls
Boys:
Largest 64 = Class AA
Remainder = Class A
Girls:
Largest 64 = Class AA
Remainder = Class A

Hockey, Boys
AA
1246 and above

Is this really true on the girls' side? If so, how are St. Paul / Henry Sibley and Minneapolis in A?

I believe enrollment numbers for classification purposes are adjusted according to how many kids in the school are on reduced or free lunch. Also, I think that they adjusted co-op enrollment as well?

[BSUBeaver]

Hockey / Boys & Girls
Boys:
Largest 64 = Class AA
Remainder = Class A
Girls:
Largest 64 = Class AA
Remainder = Class A

Hockey, Boys
AA
1246 and above

Is this really true on the girls' side? If so, how are St. Paul / Henry Sibley and Minneapolis in A?

I believe enrollment numbers for classification purposes are adjusted according to how many kids in the school are on reduced or free lunch. Also, I think that they adjusted co-op enrollment as well?

Yes, they are adjusted for the number of kids on free and reduced lunches, based on the premise that a kid on a free or reduced lunch program is less likely to play sports due to economics. Not sure how the Special Education population figures into the whole equation.

Also, I believe coops are 100% of the adjusted enrollment of the largest school and then 50% of the adjusted enrollment of any other member schools. At least that is how it was explained over on a football message board during the State Football Playoffs.

[Stang5280]

Hockey / Boys & Girls
Boys:
Largest 64 = Class AA
Remainder = Class A
Girls:
Largest 64 = Class AA
Remainder = Class A

Hockey, Boys
AA
1246 and above

Is this really true on the girls' side? If so, how are St. Paul / Henry Sibley and Minneapolis in A?

Henry Sibley is right at the dividing line between A and AA. It is the largest A school at 1190 enrollment. The Minneapolis and St. Paul co-ops are allowed to opt down to A under a bylaw that permits schools to appeal their classification. One of the primary criteria is the percentage of students in the free and reduced lunch program, of which these co-ops have a high number.

[goldy313]

You can appeal your classification. Minnesota a River was initially assigned to the same section as New Prague and Eden Prairie. Minneapolis was assigned to an AA section. The appeal process is not defined by the MSHSL.....why can MN River, Minneapolis, and New Ulm opt down but Dodge County can’t?.

The system needs to be better defined.

[ThatMNHockeyGuy62]

You can appeal your classification. Minnesota a River was initially assigned to the same section as New Prague and Eden Prairie. Minneapolis was assigned to an AA section. The appeal process is not defined by the MSHSL.....why can MN River, Minneapolis, and New Ulm opt down but Dodge County can’t?.

The system needs to be better defined.

Mound and Marshall opt down as well. The Dodge County thing is a mystery to me too. They have a good crew coming up, and section 1AA is the most make-able section for them, but they could make a serious run in 3 or 4 years in class A.

[Stang5280]

You can appeal your classification. Minnesota a River was initially assigned to the same section as New Prague and Eden Prairie. Minneapolis was assigned to an AA section. The appeal process is not defined by the MSHSL.....why can MN River, Minneapolis, and New Ulm opt down but Dodge County can’t?.

The system needs to be better defined.

Mound and Marshall opt down as well. The Dodge County thing is a mystery to me too. They have a good crew coming up, and section 1AA is the most make-able section for them, but they could make a serious run in 3 or 4 years in class A.

I don’t think either school was actually an opt-down for the 2017-19 cycle. Here are the enrollment numbers...
Mound Westonka: 614 + Watertown Mayer: 476 = 1,090
Marshall: 704 + Lakeview 191 = 895

I included the full enrollment of each school in the co-op, since I'm not sure whether a reduction applies to cooperative agreements. In any event, both are comfortably below the A/AA cutoff. I do recall Marshall originally being assigned to 1AA when the sectional assignments were released in 2017, but I believe they adjusted their co-op situation to get back below the enrollment cutoff. The same is likely true for Mound Westonka.

In any event, goldy's point about the appeal process needing to be better defined and more transparent still stands. I have no knowledge of the Dodge County situation, but it seems odd that they would be denied, since most requests to move down have been approved. The most egregious situation that we are all familiar with is Monticello, which has a combined enrollment of 1,338 with Maple Lake, and even higher when they played as MAML in the state tournament.

[Corn Cobb]

You can appeal your classification. Minnesota a River was initially assigned to the same section as New Prague and Eden Prairie. Minneapolis was assigned to an AA section. The appeal process is not defined by the MSHSL.....why can MN River, Minneapolis, and New Ulm opt down but Dodge County can’t?.

The system needs to be better defined.

Mound and Marshall opt down as well. The Dodge County thing is a mystery to me too. They have a good crew coming up, and section 1AA is the most make-able section for them, but they could make a serious run in 3 or 4 years in class A.

Dodge County's total enrollment among their seven high schools is 2436. Not sure how this gets reduced for class determination, but they would appear to be way over the A threshold.

[ThatMNHockeyGuy62]

I included the full enrollment of each school in the co-op, since I'm not sure whether a reduction applies to cooperative agreements. In any event, both are comfortably below the A/AA cutoff. I do recall Marshall originally being assigned to 1AA when the sectional assignments were released in 2017, but I believe they adjusted their co-op situation to get back below the enrollment cutoff. The same is likely true for Mound Westonka.

Correct. Sorry, didn’t want to get into the full explanation of it but they did adjust their coops. That must not be possible for Dodge County?

[ThatMNHockeyGuy62]

You can appeal your classification. Minnesota a River was initially assigned to the same section as New Prague and Eden Prairie. Minneapolis was assigned to an AA section. The appeal process is not defined by the MSHSL.....why can MN River, Minneapolis, and New Ulm opt down but Dodge County can’t?.

The system needs to be better defined.

Mound and Marshall opt down as well. The Dodge County thing is a mystery to me too. They have a good crew coming up, and section 1AA is the most make-able section for them, but they could make a serious run in 3 or 4 years in class A.

Dodge County's total enrollment among their seven high schools is 2436. Not sure how this gets reduced for class determination, but they would appear to be way over the A threshold.

They are, but so is Minneapolis. I guess perhaps the better question is why were they allowed to opt down 6 years ago? I know free-reduced lunch numbers are calculated in, but I believe MPLS is still way above the threshold.

[nobody]

Mn river= st peter,lesuer,henderson,belle plain,montgomery,lonsdale,lecenter,cleveland

Single A really?

[Stang5280]

Mn river= st peter,lesuer,henderson,belle plain,montgomery,lonsdale,lecenter,cleveland

Single A really?

Did anyone care until their state tournament appearance last year? Those communities are all small towns with no tradition of hockey success. You also need to look at the participation numbers in a large cooperative arrangement like MN River. Some of those high schools are only placing a few kids on the team, and the cooperative is more about allowing them to have somewhere to play, even if it inflates the total enrollment figure. I don’t see the point of getting bent out of shape about MN River being in Class A.

[InThePipes]

Mn river= st peter,lesuer,henderson,belle plain,montgomery,lonsdale,lecenter,cleveland

Single A really?

Did anyone care until their state tournament appearance last year? Those communities are all small towns with no tradition of hockey success. You also need to look at the participation numbers in a large cooperative arrangement like MN River. Some of those high schools are only placing a few kids on the team, and the cooperative is more about allowing them to have somewhere to play, even if it inflates the total enrollment figure. I don’t see the point of getting bent out of shape about MN River being in Class A.

Agree, good for them that they are growing a program and it doesn't seem to be too out of line to allow them a chance to get established.

[goldy313]

Belle Plaine had 1 kid on the team. I think Cleveland had 1 as well. We should applaud MN River for giving kids an opportunity, not punish them like they do to Dodge County.

FWIW,years ago I officiated a playoff game between Burnsville,who won a state title that year, and LeSeuer. It was 1-0 going into the 3rd period. I think it ended 4-1.

Growing hockey means letting teams like MN River and Luverne succeed.