Oct. 22, 2025: NYSPHSAA Executive Committee meeting recap

   Leading off today: With two exceptions, Tuesday's quarterly meeting of the NYSPHSAA Executive Committee in Albany was about as pro forma as it gets. Even with a brief break to let everyone stretch their legs or grab a refreshment, the meeting concluded in a tidy 2 1/2 hours and with no loose ends.

   The headline, of course, was the adoption of the new uniform state criteria for considering how to classify private and charter schools for postseason competition. As expected, it sailed through by a 20-2 vote. With it comes criteria for an update appeals process that puts increased authority in the hands of the NYSPHSAA's seven-person Classification Oversight Committee.

   In fact, each the nearly two dozen action items on the agenda -- including site selections for future championships in five sports -- passed by voice vote.

   The only one that didn't pass was a rules adjustment on the agenda as a discussion item with the state's boys basketball committee requesting that the matter be fast-tracked for a vote ahead of the upcoming season since the next Executive Committee meeting won't happen until Feb. 4.

   In New York, the sport is played under National Federation rules. The boys basketball committee was asking to adopt an option available to states (like New York) that use a shot clock: waiver of the five-second rule for a closely-guarded player who is dribbling the ball in the frontcourt.

   It's a reasonable change to adopt, but it would also have been reasonable a year ago. The NFHS created the option for the change in June 2024. (The fact that the NFHS boys basketball rulebook has numerous options rather than hard-and-fast rules is a topic for another day.) The basketball committee could have brought the proposal to the Executive Committee last October, February, or May and still had time for it to be voted on in July.

   Instead, it didn't reach the necessary discussion phase until Tuesday. There were several instances last year and earlier this year when scheduled discussion items were spun into action items in the same meeting and voted on. That in itself became a discussion at more recent meetings and has indisputably caused the Executive Committee to more selective when it comes to rushed decisions.

   Still, the basketball committee got its wish and had the proposal put to a vote. However, the roll-call survey fell one "yea" short and will have to wait until February for another shot at getting it passed.

   What made the episode worth telling was what transpired about 90 minutes earlier. During the "sectional concerns" roundtable, Section 3 reported that Oneida High School administrators were asking for relief from the seven-day rule.

   That rule requires schools to give athletes a day off after playing or practicing for seven consecutive days. There is a history of the NYSPHSAA waiving it on a sectional or statewide basis (as happened last spring when weather created a backlog of makeup games), but not for individual schools.

   However, the Oneida school district has been dealing with an extraordinary situation. The district couldn't re-open the high school last month because of a summer flood that overwhelmed the drainage system carrying Oneida Creek beneath school grounds. The water level in part of the high school reached eight feet and destroyed heating and electrical systems.

   With the home facilities off limits, Oneida athletes have been playing and practicing at other area schools but have been at the mercy of their hosts' own schedules. That's typically meant shorter practices on inconsistent schedules.

   Recognizing genuine extenuating circumstances when they see them, the Executive Committee gave Oneida the requested waiver.

Key classification numbers for next school year approved

   There are seven NYSPHSAA sports in which championships are conducted in six classes. The enrollment cutoffs are adjusted each year, and Tuesday's Executive Committee vote in Albany locked in the numbers that will be used in the 2026-27 school year.

   The numbers vary between sports because of the differing numbers of participating schools. In six of the seven below, Class AAA is structured to contain the top 75 schools (and ties) by enrollment, with Class D containing the bottom 100. The remaining schools are then divided evenly across the four remaining classes.

   Girls volleyball is treated slightly differently, with the top 60 placed in Class AAA and the bottom 80 in Class D.

   As such, all it takes to radically change the Class AAA cutoff is for one or two large schools to show a significant shift in their BEDS number, often the result of a reconfiguration of district schools.

   In a related vote, the Executive Committee also approved the enrollment data for individual schools that will determine their classification in all sports in the 2026-27 school year.

Boys Soccer

Class	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27
Class AAA	1090 and up	1096 and up	1041 and up
Class AA	711-1089	691-1095	674-1040
Class A	412-710	407-690	399-673
Class B	249-411	247-406	246-398
Class C	138-248	144-246	145-245
Class D	137 and below	143 and below	144 and below

Girls Soccer

Class	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27
Class AAA	1087 and up	1065 and up	1057 and up
Class AA	694-1086	681-1064	677-1056
Class A	402-693	382-680	387-676
Class B	244-401	237-381	244-386
Class C	144-243	129-236	136-243
Class D	143 and below	128 and below	135 and below

Boys Basketball

Class	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27
Class AAA	1084 and up	1085 and up	1031 and up
Class AA	661-1083	657-1084	660-1030
Class A	376-660	364-656	370-659
Class B	217-375	221-363	213-369
Class C	120-216	120-220	121-212
Class D	119 and below	119 and below	120 and below

Girls Basketball

Class	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27
Class AAA	1090 and up	1093 and up	1057 and up
Class AA	666-1089	655-1092	658-1056
Class A	378-665	364-654	374-657
Class B	229-377	224-363	232-373
Class C	126-228	127-223	127-231
Class D	125 and below	126 and below	126 and below

Baseball

Class	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27
Class AAA	1087 and up	1072 and up	1026 and up
Class AA	687-1086	675-1071	669-1025
Class A	397-686	382-674	385-668
Class B	236-396	241-381	241-384
Class C	144-235	138-240	136-240
Class D	143 and below	137 and below	135 and below

Softball

Class	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27
Class AAA	1090 and up	1065 and up	1032 and up
Class AA	680-1089	670-1064	663-1031
Class A	397-679	379-669	382-662
Class B	236-396	235-378	231-381
Class C	136-235	133-234	131-230
Class D	135 and below	132 and below	130 and below

Girls Volleyball

Class	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27
Class AAA	1125 and up	1041 and up	1124 and up
Class AA	753-1124	733-1040	722-1123
Class A	459-752	453-732	449-721
Class B	286-458	283-452	274-448
Class C	169-285	174-282	168-273
Class D	168 and below	173 and below	167 and below

Milestones

   A pair of girls soccer stars reached 100 career goals this week.

   Eve Girardi of Tappan Zee scored three goals, including her 100th, during Monday's 3-2 win over Arlington to close the regular season.

   Girardi set the school mark for goals last season with 30 and has added another 37 this fall.

   Chittenango standout Abby Scheidelman connected for four goals in Chittenango's 5-0 win over Vernon Verona Sherrill in the first round of the Section 3 Class A playoffs. Her 100 goals are two more than the previous program record of 98 by Beth Bettinger, a 1990 graduate.