The TSSAA has announced the classifications that will be used for the 2025-27 competition cycle, and while there were few changes for schools in the Chattanooga area, the changes that are coming are significant — particularly for two football programs in the city.
Setting classifications, for all sports, is based on enrollment figures that member schools provided to the TSSAA at the beginning of the current school year.
Howard’s enrollment jumped from 1,485 in the previous classification cycle to 1,535, which means the Hustlin’ Tigers football program must move up from Class 5A to 6A — the largest public-school class in the state. Howard’s new enrollment is the third-smallest among teams that will compete in 6A, but more concerning is the Hustlin’ Tigers roster this season is around 30 players; most 6A teams have triple that number.
Most of Howard’s enrollment increase is due to a growing Hispanic student population, but because those students typically do not play football, the roster has remained mostly the same size over the years. The steady increase has meant that over the past three classification cycles, which span seven years, Howard has moved up three classes.
“Our roster numbers don’t measure up with other 6A teams,” said Dedric Maffett, who is in his fourth season as Howard’s head coach. “We were already at a competitive disadvantage being in 5A, and now we have to move up. It’s really not fair for our kids.
“We will sit down with our administration and get some input from our parents and the community and then make a decision that’s in the best interest of our kids. We have to do what we can to keep them safe and in a good environment. Whatever we decide to do will be what’s right by our kids.”
To this point, in the four seasons the Hustlin’ Tigers have competed in 5A, they are 0-15 against region competition (with two region games remaining on the schedule this fall), having lost those matchups by an average score of 40-7. In the four years prior to moving up, when they competed in 4A, the Hustlin’ Tigers went 22-20 overall and reached the state playoffs in three of those four seasons.
Maffett said one option that would be discussed is the possibility of playing a nonregion schedule, which means Howard would opt to not compete in the 6A region it is assigned to and would instead fill its schedule with games against smaller schools that align closer to its roster numbers. While that would allow the Hustlin’ Tigers to be more competitive on the field, by choosing not to compete in a region, they would also not be eligible for the state playoffs in any classification.
“We don’t want to be in a situation where we do anything that would kill the program, but at the same time it’s discouraging for our kids right now when we’re playing 5A teams,” Maffett said. “We hear directly from them that having to line up against those teams with so many more players on their roster wears our kids out. It gets to a point where safety is a concern.
“We will have discussions on what we feel is best before we make any decision.”
The other area school experiencing a notable change is Chattanooga Prep, a public charter school that opened in August 2018 with a class of sixth graders and has grown by one grade each year, making this year its first with a senior class.
Also, as an all-boys school, its enrollment numbers are doubled per TSSAA rules, so the Sentinels will jump from 1A to 3A in football and the basketball program, which won the 1A state championship last season, will move up to 2A.
Other changes for area football programs include Soddy Daisy moving up from 4A to 5A and Grundy County moving down from 3A to 2A. Brainerd narrowly avoided having to move up, as its enrollment of 743 was the exact number needed to remain in 3A, making the Panthers the state’s largest school in that classification.
Also, after four years of not competing in a TSSAA region as the school recovered from the damage caused by a tornado, Grace Academy rejoins Division II-A. The Golden Eagles are the only local team that will compete in that private-school classification and will have the second-smallest enrollment at 140.
There was no change among the local teams competing in Division II-AA, and that classification’s East Region will likely consist of Boyd Buchanan, Chattanooga Christian, Christian Academy of Knoxville, Knoxville Grace, Knoxville Webb, Lakeway Christian, Notre Dame and Silverdale Baptist.
Nashville’s Christ Presbyterian Academy — which has played in a BlueCross Bowl state championship game nine of the past 11 seasons, including six of the seven DII-AA title games since the state expanded to three private-school classes — will move up to DII-AAA next season.
Although the enrollment number to be placed in DII-AAA is 504 and up, it is expected that Lipscomb Academy (468), Brentwood Academy (478) and Ensworth (488) — all of which currently compete in DII-AAA — will elect to continue playing up in the highest-enrollment private-school class.
That will make DII-AAA a 12-team class consisting of Baylor (765), Brentwood Academy, Briarcrest Christian (599), CPA (515), Ensworth, Christian Brothers (1,474), Father Ryan (831), Knoxville Catholic (709), Lipscomb, Montgomery Bell Academy (1,146), McCallie (enrollment doubled to 1,456 because it is an all-boys school) and Memphis University School (856).
All schools have until Oct. 18 to notify the TSSAA if they plan to move up in classification. Once that process is complete, regions for the new classes will be set by the TSSAA.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com.
Staff file photo by Robin Rudd / This will be the last season Chattanooga Prep’s football program will compete in TSSAA Class 1A. The school’s enrollment will move the Sentinels up two classes beginning next year.Chattanooga-area TSSAA classifications for 2025-27
Enrollment in parentheses; numbers listed for Chattanooga Prep and McCallie represent enrollments being doubled for classification purposes due to being all-boys schools; classes for all sports are listed at tssaa.org.
FOOTBALL
Division II-A: Grace Academy (140).
Division II-AA: Boyd Buchanan (390), Chattanooga Christian (503), Notre Dame (402), Silverdale Baptist (416).
Division II-AAA: Baylor (765), McCallie (1,456).
Class 1A: Copper Basin (164), Lookout Valley (195), Sale Creek (304), South Pittsburg (277), Whitwell (334).
Class 2A: Bledsoe County (471), Grundy County (504), Marion County (503), Polk County (435).
Class 3A: Brainerd (743), Central (651), Chatt Prep (536), McMinn Central (607), Meigs County (536), Sequatchie County (573), Tyner (567).
Class 4A: East Ridge (925), Hixson (882), Red Bank (796), Signal Mountain (772).
Class 5A: East Hamilton (1,242), McMinn County (1,295), Ooltewah (1,251), Rhea County (1,358), Soddy Daisy (1,103), Walker Valley (1,481).
Class 6A: Bradley Central (1,630), Cleveland (1,773), Howard (1,535).
BASEBALL, BASKETBALL, SOFTBALL
Class 1A: CGLA (318), Copper Basin, CSLA (275), Lookout Valley, Sale Creek, South Pittsburg, Whitwell.
Class 2A: Arts & Sciences (425), Bledsoe County, Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts (387), Chatt Prep, Grundy County, Marion County, McMinn Central, Meigs County, Polk County, Sequatchie County, Tyner.
Class 3A: Brainerd, Central, East Ridge, Hixson, Red Bank, Signal Mountain, Soddy Daisy.
Class 4A: Bradley Central, Cleveland, East Hamilton, Howard, McMinn County, Ooltewah, Rhea County, Walker Valley.
WRESTLING
Class 1A: Brainerd, Central, East Ridge, Hixson, Marion County, McMinn Central, Polk County, Red Bank, Sale Creek, Sequatchie County, Signal Mountain, Soddy Daisy, South Pittsburg, Tyner, Whitwell.
Class 2A: Bradley Central, Cleveland, East Hamilton, Howard, McMinn County, Ooltewah, Rhea County, Walker Valley.