Restructuring
- Updated: January 23, 2026
AHSAA announces restructuring of postseason model, with six public school and two private school classifications. Also, new regions announced.
Editor’s note: Includes region alignments for area teams, a link for area/section alignments for other fall sports and instant reaction.
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
The AHSAA reshuffled deck chairs again Friday, just on two ships.
The Central Board of Control approved a restructuring of its postseason model, with public schools and private schools playing for separate championships.
Championships will be decided in six public school classifications and two private school classifications … A and AA. Class 6A will have 32 schools, and the remaining classification’s will be evenly distributed. Private school AA will included the 17 largest schools, and Private A will be evenly distributed.
Public and private schools can still play each other in the regular season, but private schools will be classified based on enrollment. They will no longer operate with an enrollment multiplier, and the competitive balance system has been eliminated.
The Central Board will meet Feb. 6 to hash out brackets and region tiebreaker rules.
Terry Curtis, president of the AHSAA Central Board, signaled the restructuring as the beginning of change, perhaps not the end.
“Sometimes, change is good,” Curtis said. “Sometimes, it’s not so good. Only time is going to tell, so let’s get behind it. Let’s see what happens and move on from there.”
AHSAA executive director Heath Harmon cited the changing landscape of education-based athletics and the need to “expand opportunity and strengthen the overall championship experience for student-athletes across Alabama.”
The AHSAA will establish an private school head master and principal committee, modeled after the association’s superintendents committee. The AHSAA will also name a director of private school championships.
“The AHSAA must continue to adapt,” said Harmon, the former Oxford principal and head football coach at Munford and White Plains. “After careful review, and after listening to our public and private school members, the Central Board determined that not is the appropriate time to restructure championship play.”
All championships will play out together at the AHSAA’s championship venues. Football championships, previously called the “Super 7,” will play out over a four-day span.
“The Alabama High School Athletic Association remains one unified association serving all member schools,” Harmon said.
Number of teams by classification is as follows: Class 6A (32), Class 5A (64), Class 4A (66), Class 3A (66), Class 2A (65), Class 1A (69), Private Class Double A (17), and Private Class Single A (43).
New football regions
Football region alignments involving coverage-area teams. Alignments for all fall sports can be found on this link:
CLASS 1A, REGION 6
Alabama Aerospace & Aviation, Fayetteville, Lafayette, Loachapoka, Notasulga, Wadley, Winterboro, Woodland.
CLASS 1A, REGION 8
Appalachian, Cedar Bluff, Gaylesville, Ragland, Spring Garden, Valley Head, Woodville.
CLASS 2A, REGION 4
B.B. Comer, Central-Coosa, Dadeville, Horsehoe Bend, Lanett, Ranburne, Randolph County, Reeltown.
CLASS 2A, REGION 6
Gaston, Ohatchee, Piedmont, Pleasant Valley, Saks, Vincent, Wellborn, West End-Walnut Grove.
CLASS 3A, REGION 4
Ashville, Childersburg, Cleburne County, Handley, Munford, Talladega, Weaver, White Plains.
CLASS 3A, REGION 6
Etowah, Glencoe, Hanceville, Hokes Bluff, Holly Pond, Oneonta, Susan Moore, Vinemont.
CLASS 4A, REGION 6
Alexandria, Anniston, Central-Clay, Jacksonville, Leeds, Lincoln, Moody, Sylacauga.
CLASS 4A, REGION 8
Brewer, Cherokee County, Crossville, Fairview, Good Hope, Guntersville, Hayden, Sardis.
CLASS 5A, REGION 6
Clay-Chalkville, Douglas, Oxford, Pell City, Pinson Valley, Southside, Springville, St. Clair County.
PRIVATE A, REGION 3
Autauga Academy, Ellwood Christian, Holy Spirit, Pickens Academy, Donoho, Tuscaloosa Academy, Victory Christian.
PRIVATE A, REGION 4
Coosa Christian, Decatur Heritage, Lindsey Lane, Mars Hill, Shoals Christian, Westbrook Christian, Whitesburg Christian.
Instant reaction
With elimination of the former AHSAA Class 7A, several area teams bumped down in classification. Oxford, which moved up to 6A before the creation of 7A, will return to 5A for the first time since 2005.
The Yellow Jackets’ region alignment, however, looks largely familiar: Clay-Chalkville, Douglas, Oxford, Pell City, Pinson Valley, Southside, Springville, St. Clair County.
One new region jumped off of the screen, in terms of the teams’ traditional strength. Class 4A, Region 6 will feature Alexandria, Anniston, Central-Clay, Jacksonville, Leeds, Lincoln, Moody and Sylacauga.
Moody is the reigning Class 5A champion and Anniston the reigning Class 4A runner up.
“Looks like we may have fallen in the toughest region in the state,” Alexandria coach Todd Ginn said. “With them taking 32 teams in 6A, you basically had the bottom half of 5A and the top half of 4A combine to make the new 4A.”
Central-Clay’s Danny Horn, the winningest coach in Alabama history with 374 wins and eight combined state titles at Clay County and Central-Clay, called the region “brutal.”
Based on the AHSAA’s current model, the top four qualifiers in each region make the playoffs.
“There’s eight pretty good teams in that, and there’s going to be four of them left out” of the playoffs, Horn said. “Four pretty good ones probably left out.”
Horn said he supports the new postseason model with private schools and public schools playing for separate championships, especially with disputes over Alabama’s “Choose Act” and the state mulling SB73, a proposed government takeover of the AHSAA.
“As long as they’re able to play public schools (in the regular season), I’m for it,” he said. “I just think it’s time to give it a chance.
“They may come back two years from now and decide that it was a mistake and want to go back, but with all of the junk that’s going on, I think it’s probably the best thing to do.”
Travel costs and logistics will be a concern for new private school regions. Donoho, for example, aligns with Autauga Academy, Ellwood Christian, Holy Spirit, Pickens Academy, Tuscaloosa Academy and Victory Christian. Donoho athletics director Steve Gendron said the average road trip will be 130 miles one one.
“That’s a challenge that we’re going to have to figure out rapidly,” Gendron said. “It’s just a lot of travel.
“I was just thinking in my head, we have to get to Tuscaloosa on a Friday, 7 o’clock start, so what time are we having our pep rally? What time are we leaving school? It’s just a lot of unknown stuff. How are we getting the football team and the cheerleaders there. … I think it’s going to be very tough for your smaller private schools.”
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