The Alabama High School Athletic Association has released its new region alignments for football, volleyball, cross country, and swimming and diving, reshuffling the competitive landscape for dozens of Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia, Clarke and Washington County schools heading into the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
The AHSAA reclassifies its member schools every two years, sorting them into seven classifications, 1A through 7A, based primarily on enrollment figures. Private schools face an additional adjustment known as the 1.35 multiplier, which factors into their classification to help balance competition against public schools that draw from set geographic zones. The result is a new round of region matchups that will determine playoff races, rivalries and travel schedules across South Alabama for the next two years.
In football, Class 7A, Region 1 stays largely intact for the local area, keeping Alma Bryant, Baker, Daphne, Davidson, Fairhope, Foley and Mary G. Montgomery together for another cycle. All seven schools competed in that region over the past two seasons, giving coaches and administrators a rare stretch of stability at the state’s largest classification.
The bigger shakeup comes in Class 6A, Region 1, where Murphy and Theodore both drop down from 7A. They join a region that also gains St. Paul’s Episcopal, which moves up from Class 5A for the second consecutive cycle under the competitive balance formula applied to private schools. The revamped nine-team region now includes Baldwin County, Blount, McGill-Toolen, Robertsdale, Saraland, Spanish Fort, St. Paul’s, Theodore and Murphy, setting up a crowded and physical region race.
Class 5A, Region 1 will feature B.C. Rain, Citronelle, Elberta, Faith Academy, Gulf Shores, LeFlore, UMS-Wright, Vigor and Williamson. Vigor and Williamson both move up from Class 4A, while Gulf Shores drops down a full classification from 6A, a significant shift for the Panhandle program.
Down in Class 4A, Region 1, the new lineup includes Bayside Academy, Escambia County, Jackson, St. Michael, Orange Beach, Satsuma and T.R. Miller. Bayside Academy moves up from Class 3A, Satsuma falls from Class 5A, and Orange Beach makes the most dramatic jump of any local program, climbing two full classifications from 2A.
Class 3A, Region 1 will consist of Cottage Hill Christian, Excel, Flomaton, Hillcrest-Evergreen, Mobile Christian, Thomasville and W.S. Neal. Mobile Christian moves down from Class 4A as part of the reshuffling. In Class 2A, Region 1, the region includes Chickasaw, Clarke County, Francis Marion, J.U. Blacksher, St. Luke’s and Washington County, with Chickasaw dropping down a classification from 3A. No area schools will compete in Class 1A football under the new alignment.
Reclassification also touched volleyball, cross country, and swimming and diving, though those realignments won’t take effect until after the current winter and spring sports seasons wrap up. In volleyball, Bayshore Christian moves up to Class 2A, St. Luke’s remains at Class 3A, Bayside Academy climbs all the way to Class 6A, Faith Academy shifts back down to 5A, and St. Paul’s moves up to Class 7A.
Cross country sees a similar set of adjustments, with Bayshore Christian moving to Class 2A, Bayside Academy advancing to 5A, UMS-Wright moving up to Class 6A, and St. Paul’s holding steady at 7A. In swimming and diving, St. Michael moves back to the combined Class 1A-5A grouping, St. Paul’s remains in the 6A-7A category, and UMS-Wright also returns to the 1A-5A group.
Athletic directors and coaches across the region are expected to spend the coming months adjusting schedules, scouting reports and travel plans as they prepare for the new alignment, which will govern region championships and playoff seeding for two full athletic cycles before the process starts again.