Aliquippa football being bumped up to Class 5A under PIAA's competitive balance rule
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Aliquippa football team will once again be bumped up in classification when football season begins next season.
The PIAA confirmed to KDKA-TV on Thursday that the Quips will again be bumped up, this time to 5A, under the PIAA's competitive balance rule.
The Quips are not happy about being forced up to Class 5A. Head coach Mike Warfield said the team is in the process of appealing the decision.
"I don't think it's totally fair, and I don't think it's fair for any team to be forced up just because they're successful," said Dwight Lindsey, father of Aliquippa star football player Cameron Lindsey.
Aliquippa's most recent enrollment was 156 boys, which would qualify them for class 2A but now, they'll be classified as 5A which includes schools with anywhere from 424 to 619 boys.
"They said you can appeal if they got the transfers wrong. But you can't appeal if you want to bring up the competitive imbalance of playing from a smaller school to a larger school," said Dr. Phillip Woods, superintendent of the Aliquippa School District. "To put that in writing and put that in print, that factors involving safety will not be considered is grossly irresponsible."
The PIAA's competitive balance rule takes into account postseason success over two years, and the Quips have been in the state championship games the last two seasons. This season, Aliquippa went 14-0 and picked up a 60-14 victory in the title game on Dec 7.
Dwight Lindsey coaches girls basketball at Aliquippa and used to be an assistant coach for the football team. Last season was a nonstop grind for his son, a star senior at Aliquippa who's planning to play football at the University of Pittsburgh after he graduates.
"He said this is the most worn out I've ever been at the end of the season. Because in the past, he was primarily a defensive player. But because of the number issue and lack of players they had, he had to play more offense this year. He's playing probably an extra 30 snaps a game, so he puts himself at more risk for injury," Dwight Lindsey said.
In 2020, the PIAA moved quip up from 3A to 4A, and last year tried to move them to 5A. The school appealed based on player safety and the PIAA granted the request. The superintendent said they're appealing again and hoping for the same outcome.
"So that our students are able to perform and compete against schools of like-size and demographics so they have a fair chance to achieve success," said Dr. Woods.
Warfield said they have until Jan. 10 to appeal. The PIAA board meets on Jan. 24.
The PIAA provided KDKA with the following statement:
"All schools which were identified by the competition formula, including Aliquippa, received notification prior to the holiday break, indicating their classification may be upgraded. In the case of Aliquippa, that would be an upgrade from the 4A to 5A football classification, based on achieving 8 competition points having reached the last two 4A PIAA Football Championships, and on the number of potential transfers identified over those two seasons.
Aliquippa has the opportunity to appeal that determination pursuant to the policy. The school has until January 10, 2024 to submit an initial appeal."
The full competition formula can be found on the PIAA website at this link.