Indiana football · 2026–27 & 2027–28

What if Indiana used
Iowa’s classification method?

An enrollment-based look at competitive equity: account for free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, then compare two ways to place schools into six classes.

Iowa method · Smaller 6A and 5A · The class sizes, movement lists and school alignment below reflect the selected projection.

Independent scenario · Prepared October 12, 2026 · Not an official IHSAA proposal

316schools classified

32 / 32 / 63 / 63 / 63 / 63schools in 6A through 1A

39schools change class

01 / The method

Enrollment, adjusted for FRL eligibility

Adjusted enrollment =
Grades 9–11 enrollment × (1 − 0.40 × FRL rate)

For a school with 1,000 students in grades 9–11 and a 37% FRL rate, the adjusted enrollment is 852. Schools are ranked by this number from largest to smallest, without a success-factor adjustment.

Two choices for class balance

The Iowa formula supplies the adjustment. Class sizes are a separate choice. This projection follows the IHSAA-style structure: the 32 largest adjusted enrollments enter 6A, the next 32 enter 5A, and the remaining 252 schools split evenly into 63 per class in 1A–4A. Changes reflect both adjusted enrollment and class sizes.

“Current class” means the official class in the supplied Indiana classification document, including success factor. This analysis uses its full 316-school field, not just the tournament draw. Actual official class counts can differ from the projection’s target sizes.

Data assumptions and missing FRL information

Public and charter schools use their corporation’s 2025–26 FRL rate as a proxy. Matched private schools use the IDOE FY2026 school nutrition report. Corporation-wide rates and NSLP/CEP eligibility are imperfect substitutes for school-specific income-based FRL data.

Culver Academies, Park Tudor and Evansville Reitz Memorial have no matched FRL entry. Their grades 9–11 enrollments are left unadjusted. This is a missing-data assumption, not a finding that their FRL rate is zero; different rates could change their placement and the cutoffs for other schools.

Assignments use unrounded adjusted enrollment; ties are ordered alphabetically. Displayed values are rounded to two decimals.

02 / Enrollment distribution

Most schools sit toward the smaller end

The curves trace the actual, skewed distribution rather than a symmetrical bell curve. Each dot represents one school. Both graphs use the same scale, but the current graph counts grades 9–12 while the Iowa graph adjusts grades 9–11. The Iowa graph depicts the original smaller-6A-and-1A projection; the school tables and movement lists reflect your selected projection.

Current classification: enrollment histogram and individual schools plotted by class. Median 610; maximum 5,206. — Current classification · Select the graph to view full size.

Iowa-method scenario: enrollment histogram and individual schools plotted by class. Median 380; maximum 3,700; 30 schools in 6A and 1A. — Iowa-method scenario · Select the graph to view full size.

03 / Who moves?

A new balance across the classes

Grouped by each school’s new Iowa-method class. Parentheses show its current official class.

Schools in Higher Class 16

Class 6A

Castle (5A)
Chesterton (5A)
McCutcheon (5A)

Class 5A

Columbus East (4A)

Class 4A

Edgewood (3A)
Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran (3A)
Gibson Southern (3A)
West Lafayette (3A)

Class 3A

Cascade (2A)
Lakeland (2A)
Providence (2A)
Southmont (2A)

Class 2A

Churubusco (1A)
Cloverdale (1A)
Forest Park (1A)
Sheridan (1A)

Schools in Lower Class 23

Class 5A

Decatur Central (6A)
Fort Wayne Northrop (6A)
Merrillville (6A)
Portage (6A)

Class 4A

Fort Wayne Wayne (5A)
Indianapolis Cathedral (5A)
Michigan City (5A)

Class 3A

Connersville (4A)
Evansville Bosse (4A)
Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (4A)
Heritage Hills (4A)
Madison Consolidated (4A)
Wawasee (4A)

Class 2A

Adams Central (3A)
Benton Central (3A)
Calumet (3A)
Maconaquah (3A)
Sullivan (3A)

Class 1A

Indianapolis Lutheran (2A)
Lake Station Edison (2A)
LaVille (2A)
South Putnam (2A)
South Spencer (2A)

04 / The full classification

Find your school’s new class

Listed by adjusted enrollment, largest first within each class. Gold highlights identify the success-factor comparisons above.

School nameIowa-method class

316 schools shown

CLASS 6A

32 schools · 1,217.76–3,700.14 adjusted enrollment

Class 6A schools ranked by adjusted enrollment
School	Current class	Grades 9–11	FRL rate	Adjusted enrollment
Carmel	6A	3,899	12.8%	3,700.14
Fishers	6A	2,690	21.0%	2,464.51
Ben Davis	6A	3,327	72.1%	2,366.83
Hamilton Southeastern	6A	2,580	21.0%	2,363.73
Brownsburg	6A	2,633	34.2%	2,272.95
North Central (Indianapolis)	6A	2,760	45.6%	2,257.08
Penn	6A	2,608	34.5%	2,247.71
Noblesville	6A	2,416	25.9%	2,165.99
Avon	6A	2,672	49.1%	2,147.31
Westfield	6A	2,348	21.5%	2,146.54
Franklin Central	6A	2,641	48.9%	2,124.94
Crown Point	6A	2,316	23.5%	2,098.19
Center Grove	6A	2,323	25.5%	2,085.94
Pike	6A	2,437	46.5%	1,983.68
Lake Central	6A	2,137	25.5%	1,918.61
Warren Central	6A	2,491	60.1%	1,892.40
Carroll (Fort Wayne)	6A	1,968	22.5%	1,790.90
Elkhart	6A	2,201	52.6%	1,738.22
Zionsville	6A	1,745	7.2%	1,694.50
Homestead	6A	1,782	22.5%	1,621.86
Lawrence North	6A	2,059	58.6%	1,576.05
Lawrence Central	6A	1,876	58.6%	1,435.97
Valparaiso	6A	1,584	29.0%	1,400.31
Southport	6A	1,920	68.5%	1,393.64
Harrison (West Lafayette)	6A	1,623	36.5%	1,385.77
Perry Meridian	6A	1,855	68.5%	1,346.46
Columbus North	6A	1,568	39.3%	1,321.20
Chesterton	5A	1,443	28.5%	1,278.37
Jeffersonville	6A	1,617	57.7%	1,243.48
McCutcheon	5A	1,455	36.5%	1,242.33
Whiteland Community	6A	1,600	58.7%	1,224.57
Castle	5A	1,416	35.0%	1,217.76

CLASS 5A

32 schools · 824.56–1,216.76 adjusted enrollment

Class 5A schools ranked by adjusted enrollment
School	Current class	Grades 9–11	FRL rate	Adjusted enrollment
Portage	6A	1,526	50.7%	1,216.76
Warsaw Community	5A	1,507	48.2%	1,216.71
Merrillville	6A	1,531	54.6%	1,196.71
Plainfield	5A	1,379	37.5%	1,172.22
Bloomington South	5A	1,380	37.8%	1,171.48
Fort Wayne Northrop	6A	1,525	61.7%	1,148.60
New Albany	5A	1,346	42.9%	1,115.29
Lafayette Jefferson	5A	1,518	66.6%	1,113.34
Floyd Central	5A	1,301	42.9%	1,078.00
Indianapolis Arsenal Technical	5A	1,474	67.7%	1,074.90
Decatur CentralSuccess-factor comparison	6A	1,429	64.8%	1,058.51
Fort Wayne Snider	5A	1,398	61.7%	1,052.94
South Bend Adams	5A	1,396	62.0%	1,049.56
Mt. Vernon (Fortville)	5A	1,188	29.6%	1,047.46
LaPorte	5A	1,263	46.4%	1,028.56
Evansville North	5A	1,296	54.4%	1,013.92
Munster	5A	1,090	22.2%	993.42
Goshen	5A	1,316	64.8%	974.73
Bloomington North	5A	1,146	37.8%	972.83
Anderson	5A	1,273	59.8%	968.26
Concord	5A	1,252	60.2%	950.29
Franklin Community	5A	1,153	46.1%	940.61
Hammond Central	5A	1,218	57.4%	938.18
Seymour	5A	1,203	59.9%	914.74
Pendleton Heights	5A	1,052	34.1%	908.60
Greenfield-Central	5A	1,061	38.4%	897.99
Terre Haute South Vigo	5A	1,164	59.8%	885.41
Huntington North	5A	1,113	52.8%	878.04
Columbus East	4A	982	39.3%	827.44
New Palestine	5A	922	25.8%	826.76
Fort Wayne South Side	5A	1,096	61.7%	825.48
Terre Haute North Vigo	5A	1,084	59.8%	824.56

CLASS 4A

63 schools · 505.13–819.35 adjusted enrollment

Class 4A schools ranked by adjusted enrollment
School	Current class	Grades 9–11	FRL rate	Adjusted enrollment
East Central	4A	901	22.7%	819.35
Evansville Harrison	4A	1,040	54.4%	813.64
Indianapolis CathedralSuccess-factor comparison	5A	850	10.9%	812.90
Mooresville	4A	994	47.2%	806.49
Fort Wayne Wayne	5A	1,062	61.7%	799.87
Northridge	4A	924	35.0%	794.71
Kokomo	4A	1,039	59.8%	790.37
Columbia City	4A	883	32.7%	767.67
Evansville F.J. Reitz	4A	981	54.4%	767.48
Fort Wayne North Side	4A	1,001	61.7%	753.93
South Bend Riley	4A	1,000	62.0%	751.83
Michigan City	5A	1,053	72.1%	749.33
Hammond Morton	4A	966	57.4%	744.07
Greenwood Community	4A	924	49.6%	740.54
Martinsville	4A	918	51.2%	730.01
Hobart	4A	932	56.3%	722.16
Richmond	4A	968	63.7%	721.38
Roncalli	4A	811	29.3%	715.94
Muncie Central	4A	1,024	76.7%	709.70
Mishawaka	4A	969	68.9%	702.08
Jasper	4A	811	36.5%	692.56
Silver Creek	4A	784	30.6%	687.92
Lowell	4A	770	28.6%	681.88
Indianapolis Shortridge	4A	931	67.7%	678.92
Bedford North Lawrence	4A	893	62.7%	669.06
New Haven	4A	841	51.3%	668.44
Jennings County	4A	888	61.9%	668.28
Shelbyville	4A	815	46.5%	663.49
Lebanon	4A	817	47.0%	663.35
Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger	4A	713	20.8%	653.58
Highland	4A	790	45.4%	646.63
Indianapolis Crispus Attucks	4A	886	67.7%	646.11
Beech Grove	4A	726	28.8%	642.39
Logansport	4A	839	59.2%	640.28
New Prairie	4A	747	36.0%	639.31
Evansville Central	4A	816	54.4%	638.39
East Noble	4A	743	36.7%	634.07
Plymouth	4A	731	33.9%	631.93
South Bend Saint Joseph	4A	700	28.1%	621.34
Culver AcademiesMissing FRL · no reduction assumed	4A	615	Unknown	615.00
Hanover Central	4A	664	19.9%	611.05
Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory	4A	624	6.8%	607.10
Guerin Catholic	4A	600	2.1%	594.89
Danville Community	4A	696	37.5%	591.58
Boonville	4A	680	35.0%	584.80
DeKalb	4A	705	42.9%	584.05
Kankakee Valley	4A	706	45.7%	576.87
East Chicago Central	4A	792	69.4%	572.29
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard	4A	604	13.2%	572.05
Frankfort	4A	698	52.9%	550.43
Northview	4A	669	44.9%	548.93
NorthWood	4A	643	37.2%	547.36
Yorktown	4A	649	40.0%	545.14
Leo	4A	681	51.3%	541.27
Marion	4A	766	73.5%	540.70
Charlestown	4A	702	57.7%	539.84
Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran	3A	585	20.3%	537.56
Gary West Side	4A	772	82.9%	516.06
West Lafayette	3A	567	22.9%	515.03
Gibson Southern	3A	577	27.3%	514.04
Jay County	4A	651	54.7%	508.66
Delta	4A	627	48.1%	506.30
Edgewood	3A	583	33.4%	505.13

CLASS 3A

63 schools · 320.33–500.37 adjusted enrollment

Class 3A schools ranked by adjusted enrollment
School	Current class	Grades 9–11	FRL rate	Adjusted enrollment
Norwell	3A	576	32.8%	500.37
Evansville Reitz MemorialMissing FRL · no reduction assumed	3A	499	Unknown	499.00
New Castle	3A	603	43.6%	497.72
Hamilton Heights	3A	562	31.1%	492.00
Wawasee	4A	625	54.5%	488.86
Evansville Bosse	4A	624	54.4%	488.18
Connersville	4A	639	59.2%	487.78
Illiana Christian	3A	502	8.6%	484.79
Washington	3A	596	46.9%	484.10
Western	3A	561	34.7%	483.07
Madison Consolidated	4A	588	53.7%	461.77
Batesville	3A	521	28.5%	461.69
Hammond Bishop Noll	3A	579	58.0%	444.67
Indian Creek	3A	505	29.9%	444.57
Corydon Central	3A	554	50.2%	442.66
Vincennes Lincoln	3A	543	49.5%	435.52
Lawrenceburg	3A	507	37.8%	430.43
Crawfordsville	3A	535	52.9%	421.81
Fairfield	3A	470	30.8%	412.03
Scottsburg	3A	528	57.7%	406.09
Angola	3A	504	49.9%	403.50
Evansville Mater Dei	3A	417	9.5%	401.11
Tri-West Hendricks	3A	441	23.6%	399.45
West Noble	3A	517	58.0%	397.02
South Bend Washington	3A	528	62.0%	396.97
Heritage HillsSuccess-factor comparison	4A	465	36.7%	396.70
Mishawaka Marian	3A	621	90.7%	395.73
Mississinewa	3A	507	57.0%	391.43
Greensburg	3A	477	46.0%	389.24
Heritage Christian	3A	395	7.4%	383.34
Mt. Vernon	3A	452	39.1%	381.30
Franklin County	3A	436	32.9%	378.70
Northwestern	3A	428	30.0%	376.69
Griffith	3A	486	57.7%	373.92
South Dearborn	3A	464	48.6%	373.75
Bellmont	3A	455	46.3%	370.66
North Harrison	3A	443	40.9%	370.55
Glenn	3A	458	49.0%	368.27
Owen Valley	3A	469	54.0%	367.74
Twin Lakes	3A	470	56.0%	364.79
Speedway	3A	445	53.3%	350.21
Woodlan	3A	436	51.3%	346.54
Bluffton	3A	433	50.3%	345.93
Purdue Polytechnic - Downtown	3A	452	62.1%	339.77
Heritage	3A	425	51.3%	337.79
Indianapolis George Washington	3A	463	67.7%	337.64
North Montgomery	3A	399	38.5%	337.63
Jimtown	3A	399	39.6%	335.76
Lakeland	2A	349	11.2%	333.32
Fort Wayne Bishop LuersSuccess-factor comparison	4A	416	49.8%	333.11
Rushville Consolidated	3A	430	57.0%	331.91
Garrett	3A	406	45.9%	331.50
River Forest	3A	447	64.9%	330.93
Centerville	3A	393	39.8%	330.43
Southmont	2A	390	38.6%	329.82
Cascade	2A	372	28.5%	329.64
Tippecanoe Valley	3A	419	53.5%	329.33
Western Boone	3A	384	36.8%	327.54
Princeton Community	3A	410	50.8%	326.77
Southridge	3A	412	51.9%	326.39
Eastbrook	3A	393	45.3%	321.84
Providence	2A	343	15.8%	321.27
Andrean	3A	363	29.4%	320.33

CLASS 2A

63 schools · 214.54–319.13 adjusted enrollment

Class 2A schools ranked by adjusted enrollment
School	Current class	Grades 9–11	FRL rate	Adjusted enrollment
Benton Central	3A	400	50.5%	319.13
Park TudorMissing FRL · no reduction assumed	2A	317	Unknown	317.00
Lapel	2A	370	38.3%	313.29
Frankton	2A	368	38.3%	311.60
Eastern (Greentown)	2A	369	39.9%	310.10
Oak Hill	2A	366	39.1%	308.76
Sullivan	3A	383	50.0%	306.36
Covenant Christian	2A	311	8.3%	300.71
Triton Central	2A	354	38.5%	299.53
Calumet	3A	483	95.2%	299.07
Maconaquah	3A	389	58.5%	297.92
Boone Grove	2A	330	24.6%	297.51
Brown County	2A	354	42.5%	293.78
Tipton	2A	344	39.8%	289.29
Alexandria Monroe	2A	341	39.3%	287.41
Greencastle	2A	357	49.8%	285.93
North Posey	2A	327	31.7%	285.56
Christel House	2A	410	76.4%	284.72
Adams CentralSuccess-factor comparison	3A	317	25.6%	284.50
Salem	2A	355	51.6%	281.67
West Vigo	2A	367	59.8%	279.16
Bremen	2A	339	45.9%	276.76
Pike Central	2A	336	45.2%	275.22
Monrovia	2A	329	44.5%	270.39
Rensselaer Central	2A	320	40.1%	268.63
Knox	2A	336	51.0%	267.45
Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter	2A	369	69.5%	266.40
Brownstown Central	2A	328	48.1%	264.84
Seeger	2A	319	43.6%	263.32
Rochester Community	2A	343	58.5%	262.72
Peru	2A	339	57.7%	260.76
Northeastern	2A	318	45.3%	260.38
Eastern (Pekin)	2A	311	43.2%	257.30
Wabash	2A	347	65.1%	256.66
Switzerland County	2A	320	49.7%	256.41
Wheeler	2A	280	27.1%	249.68
Prairie Heights	2A	305	46.8%	247.93
Tell City	2A	309	49.8%	247.48
South Vermillion	2A	324	59.5%	246.84
Eastern Hancock	2A	282	31.9%	246.07
Clarksville	2A	305	48.6%	245.70
Shenandoah	2A	296	43.1%	244.91
Lewis Cass	2A	305	49.6%	244.43
Mitchell	2A	317	57.4%	244.21
Delphi Community	2A	293	41.9%	243.95
Manchester	2A	303	49.9%	242.58
Blackford	2A	318	62.0%	239.14
Churubusco	1A	271	29.6%	238.92
Winchester Community	2A	281	39.1%	237.01
Whiting	2A	328	70.7%	235.29
Indianapolis Scecina Memorial	2A	310	64.5%	229.99
North Putnam	2A	283	47.4%	229.33
Elwood Community	2A	317	70.0%	228.29
Linton-Stockton	2A	278	46.4%	226.44
Hagerstown	2A	274	43.4%	226.39
Sheridan	1A	263	35.9%	225.20
Eastern Greene	2A	277	48.0%	223.82
Paoli	2A	279	49.8%	223.38
Perry Central	2A	268	42.7%	222.24
Central Noble	2A	275	48.0%	222.21
Forest Park	1A	250	29.7%	220.31
Eastside	2A	268	44.6%	220.23
Cloverdale	1A	233	19.8%	214.54

CLASS 1A

63 schools · 89.50–213.94 adjusted enrollment

Class 1A schools ranked by adjusted enrollment
School	Current class	Grades 9–11	FRL rate	Adjusted enrollment
South Adams	1A	262	45.9%	213.94
LaVille	2A	262	46.4%	213.39
Henryville	1A	253	39.6%	212.94
Lafayette Central Catholic	1A	233	23.5%	211.14
Faith Christian	1A	209	0.0%	209.00
Knightstown	1A	250	41.6%	208.41
South PutnamSuccess-factor comparison	2A	251	42.6%	208.18
South Spencer	2A	256	48.6%	206.25
Riverton Parke	1A	252	45.7%	205.91
Union County	1A	260	52.3%	205.57
Clinton Prairie	1A	242	40.7%	202.61
Parke Heritage	1A	260	55.3%	202.47
Tecumseh	1A	235	35.0%	202.10
Monroe Central	1A	249	47.9%	201.32
South Central (Union Mills)	1A	237	38.8%	200.20
Taylor	1A	271	65.5%	199.99
Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian	1A	216	20.1%	198.64
Whitko	1A	243	47.8%	196.49
Fountain Central	1A	246	50.5%	196.29
North Judson-San Pierre	1A	239	44.8%	196.13
Fremont	1A	231	39.3%	194.70
Indianapolis LutheranSuccess-factor comparison	2A	212	21.1%	194.07
Winamac Community	1A	237	47.1%	192.31
Milan	1A	233	45.7%	190.39
Crawford County	1A	255	65.5%	188.23
West Washington	1A	233	49.6%	186.73
Madison-Grant	1A	212	31.2%	185.56
Lake Station Edison	2A	265	75.9%	184.58
North Knox	1A	238	57.5%	183.27
North Newton	1A	220	43.3%	181.86
Carroll (Flora)	1A	218	43.8%	179.84
North Decatur	1A	219	45.1%	179.49
Trinity Lutheran	1A	184	9.4%	177.06
Greenwood Christian Academy	1A	193	23.4%	174.97
Northfield	1A	218	49.8%	174.61
Caston	1A	202	39.8%	169.87
North Daviess	1A	206	49.0%	165.66
Bowman Leadership Academy	1A	222	66.7%	162.76
Pioneer	1A	199	45.6%	162.69
Triton	1A	198	47.0%	160.76
Southern Wells	1A	191	39.6%	160.76
South Newton	1A	190	46.4%	154.76
Covington	1A	180	37.3%	153.12
Southwood	1A	191	49.8%	152.99
North Vermillion	1A	193	53.9%	151.41
North Miami	1A	186	47.3%	150.78
Springs Valley	1A	192	58.1%	147.40
North Central (Farmersburg)	1A	184	50.1%	147.15
Wes-Del	1A	187	57.2%	144.21
Tri	1A	170	39.0%	143.48
South Decatur	1A	171	45.1%	140.15
Clinton Central	1A	169	45.2%	138.46
North White	1A	194	75.8%	135.19
Tri-County	1A	147	38.9%	124.12
Union City	1A	171	68.7%	123.99
Culver Community	1A	162	59.7%	123.31
Tri-Central	1A	149	47.2%	120.88
Frontier	1A	140	34.9%	120.48
Edinburgh	1A	152	59.1%	116.04
Tindley	1A	148	63.5%	110.40
Cambridge City Lincoln	1A	134	61.2%	101.18
Attica	1A	130	58.6%	99.51
West Central	1A	149	99.8%	89.50

05 / Explore the data

Sources & downloads

Original projection workbook ↗Selected projection data (CSV) ↗

Indiana: Football Classifications for 2026–27 and 2027–28 — With Success, supplied PDF, for enrollment by grade and official classes.
IDOE: supplied corporation enrollment, ethnicity and free/reduced-price meal status workbook, 2026 tab (2025–26 school year).
Iowa High School Athletic Association: approved classification formula
IDOE Data Center: school-to-corporation matching
IDOE FY2026 NSLP report: supplemental private-school eligibility data