Official FB Classifications -- 2024 & 2025

[ACICOD]

Link below to those official numbers:

https://nsaa-static.s3.amazonaws.com/textfile/fbl/2425fbclassifications.pdf

 

[Alum-Ni]

CLASS A

Boys Enrollment 425 and above

Rank	School	Enrollment
1	Grand Island	1,103
2	Millard South	1,003
3	Millard North	951
4	Omaha Central	919
5	Omaha South	910
6	Millard West	884
7	Omaha Westside	802
8	Lincoln Southwest	775
8	Omaha Creighton Prep	775
10	Papillion-LaVista South	769
11	Lincoln East	756
12	Lincoln North Star	750
13	Lincoln High	748
14	Lincoln Southeast	725
15	Papillion-LaVista	699
16	Fremont	677
17	Lincoln Northeast	664
18	Kearney	653
19	Omaha Westview	651
20	Omaha North	636
21	Bellevue West	609
22	Omaha Burke	590
23	Omaha Buena Vista	588
24	Omaha Bryan	557
25	Omaha Benson	550
26	Bellevue East	533
27	Elkhorn South	532
28	Omaha Northwest	529
29	Norfolk	508
30	Columbus	494
31	North Platte	470
32	South Sioux City	460

 

[hailvictors2]

Of note, Brownell-Talbot did NOT opt to C2 (yet). Schools have a week to decide whether they want to opt up, opt down, or stay put.

Hypothetical... OBT opts down to C2. It moves Arlington to C1 but Arlington doesn't know that because they are currently listed as C2.

 

[Alum-Ni]

CLASS B

Boys Enrollment 160 to 424

Rank	School	Enrollment
1	Ralston	411
2	Elkhorn North	399
3	Gretna East	394
4	Lincoln Northwest	393
5	Lincoln Pius X	392
5	Scottsbluff	392
7	Bennington	391
8	Hastings	387
9	Lexington	382
10	Gretna	344
11	Elkhorn	304
12	Norris	298
13	Waverly	280
14	Blair	275
15	Crete	269
16	Beatrice	259
17	Omaha Skutt	253
18	Grand Island Northwest	221
19	Gering	197
20	Seward	188
21	Plattsmouth	183
22	York	179
23	McCook	178
24	Lincoln Standing Bear	172
25	Platteview	164

 

[Alum-Ni]

CLASS C1

Boys Enrollment 159 and Below

Rank	School	Enrollment
1	Schuyler	259 (ineligible)
2	Alliance	165 (ineligible)
3	Elkhorn Mt. Michael	162 (ineligible)
4	Nebraska City	162 (ineligible)
5	Omaha Gross	154
6	Aurora	143
7	Douglas County West	140
8	Wahoo	135
8	Wayne	135
10	Omaha Brownell-Talbot/Cornerstone Christian/Quest Academy	134
10	Omaha Roncalli	134
12	Holdrege	130
13	Columbus Lakeview	125
14	Sidney	123
15	Ashland-Greenwood	117
16	Adams Central	110
17	Fairbury	109
18	Cozad	107
19	Omaha Concordia	106
20	Fort Calhoun	103
21	Boys Town	100
22	Auburn	97
22	Central City	97
24	Lincoln Christian	96
25	Syracuse	94
26	Chase County	93
27	Broken Bow	92
27	Chadron	92
27	Milford	92
27	Ogallala	92
27	Scotus Central Catholic	92
32	Logan View/Scribner-Snyder	91
33	Falls City	89
34	Pierce	88
35	Gothenburg	87
35	Louisville	87
35	Minden	87
38	O'Neill	86 (95.6667)
38	Wilber-Clatonia	86 (87.6667)

 

[Alum-Ni]

CLASS C2

Boys Enrollment of 159 and below

Rank	School	Enrollment
1	Arlington	86 (86.6667)
2	Conestoga	84
2	St. Paul	84
4	Kearney Catholic	82
5	Raymond Central	81
5	West Point-Beemer	81
7	Battle Creek	79
7	Palmyra	79
9	Wahoo Neumann	76
10	Boone Central	72
11	Lincoln Lutheran	71
12	Mitchell	70
13	Malcolm	69
14	Doniphan-Trumbull	68
14	Gibbon	68
16	Ord	67
17	Centura	66
18	North Bend Central	64
19	Fillmore Central	62
19	Tekamah-Herman	62
19	Valentine	62
22	Grand Island Central Catholic	60
22	Wood River	60
24	Hershey	59
25	Ponca	57
26	Amherst	55
27	Hartington Cedar Catholic	54
27	Norfolk Catholic	54
27	Superior	54
30	Gordon-Rushville	51
31	Cross County	50
32	Yutan	49
33	Oakland-Craig	48
34	David City Aquinas	46
35	Fremont Bergan	45
36	Hastings St. Cecilia	38

 

[footballguy61]

Any guesses on district assignments for all classes now that this is out?

 

[Alum-Ni]

CLASS D1

Boys Enrollment of 47 and Below are eligible

Rank	School	Enrollment
1	David City	73 (ineligible)
2	Johnson County Central	70 (ineligible)
3	Wakefield	61 (ineligible)
4	Twin River	56 (ineligible)
5	Tri County	52 (ineligible)
6	Alma	50 (ineligible)
7	Atkinson West Holt	49 (ineligible)
8	Bridgeport	73 (exempt)
9	Summerland	61 (exempt)
10	Freeman	59 (exempt)
11	Madison	58 (exempt)
12	Pender	57 (exempt)
13	Omaha Christian/Omaha Street School	55 (exempt)
13	Tri County Northeast	55 (exempt)
15	Stanton	54 (exempt)
16	Elkhorn Valley	52 (exempt)
17	Perkins County	50 (exempt)
18	Shelby/Rising City	49 (exempt)
19	Crofton	48 (exempt)
19	Hemingford	48 (exempt)
19	Kimball	48 (exempt)
19	Laurel-Concord-Coleridge	48 (exempt)
19	Plainview	48 (exempt)
19	Wisner-Pilger	48 (exempt)
25	Exeter-Milligan/Friend	47
25	Heartland	47
27	Arcadia/Loup City	46
27	Centennial	46
27	Homer	46
27	Morrill	46
27	Sutton	46
27	Thayer Central	46
33	Guardian Angels Central Catholic	45
33	Hi-Line	45
33	Wausa/Osmond	45
36	Lutheran High Northeast	44
36	Sandy Creek	44
38	Clarkson/Leigh	43
38	Mead	43
40	Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family	42
40	St. Edward/Newman Grove	42
42	East Butler	41
42	Hartington-Newcastle	41
42	McCool Junction	41
42	Nebraska City Lourdes	41
42	Niobrara/Verdigre	41
42	South Loup	41
48	Boyd County	40
48	Dundy County-Stratton	40
48	Johnson-Brock	40
48	Pleasanton	40
48	Ravenna	40
48	Southern	40
48	Sutherland	40
55	Arapahoe	39
55	Bloomfield	39
55	North Platte St. Patrick's	39
55	Southern Valley	39
59	Sandhills Valley	37 (38.6667)

 

[Alum-Ni]

CLASS D2

Boys Enrollment 47 and Below are eligible

Rank	School	Enrollment
1	Howells-Dodge	37 (36.3333)
2	Cambridge	37 (35.6667)
3	Franklin	37 (35.0000)
4	Bruning-Davenport/Shickley	37 (34.6667)
5	Central Valley	37 (33.6667)
6	Maywood/Hayes Center	37 (32.6667)
7	Creighton	37 (27.6667)
8	Ainsworth	36
8	Elmwood-Murdock	36
8	Hitchcock County	36
8	North Central	36
8	Palmer	36
8	Walthill	36
14	Wilcox-Hildreth	35
15	Bertrand	34
15	Elm Creek	34
15	Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer	34
15	Nebraska Christian	34
15	Riverside/Spalding Academy	34
15	Weeping Water	34
21	Burwell	33
21	Falls City Sacred Heart	33
23	Osceola	32
23	Overton	32
25	Blue Hill	31
25	Cedar Bluffs	31
25	Chambers/Wheeler Central	31
25	Deshler	31
25	Loomis	31
25	Lyons-Decatur Northeast	31
31	Axtell	30
31	Bancroft-Rosalie	30
31	Lawrence-Nelson	30
31	Twin Loup	30
35	Bayard	29
35	Neligh-Oakdale	29
35	Randolph	29
35	Winside	29
39	Brady	28
39	High Plains	28
41	Anselmo-Merna	27
41	Kenesaw	27
43	Fullerton	26
43	Maxwell	26
45	Elgin/Elgin Pope John	25
45	Humphrey St. Francis	25
45	Sandhills/Thedford	25
45	Wynot	25
49	Giltner	24
50	O'Neill St. Mary's	22
51	Hyannis	21
52	Nebraska Lutheran	18
53	Mullen	16

 

[Alum-Ni]

CLASS D6

Boys Enrollment of 27 and below are eligible

Rank	School	Enrollment
1	Pawnee City	34 (ineligible)
2	South Platte	29 (ineligible)
3	Paxton	34 (exempt)
4	Red Cloud	30 (exempt)
4	Shelton	30 (exempt)
4	Wauneta-Palisade	30 (exempt)
7	Meridian	29 (exempt)
8	Sumner-Eddyville-Miller	27
9	Ansley/Litchfield	26
9	Diller-Odell	26
9	Garden County	26
9	Silver Lake	26
13	Parkview Christian	25
14	Crawford	24
14	Creek Valley	24
14	Hay Springs	24
14	Heartland Lutheran	24
18	Lewiston	23
18	Southwest	23
18	Stuart	23
21	Cody-Kilgore	22
21	Medicine Valley	22
23	Leyton	21
23	Santee	21
25	Arthur County	20
25	Hampton	20
25	Harvard	20
25	Potter-Dix	20
25	Sterling	20
25	Wallace	20
31	Minatare	15
32	Dorchester	14
33	Banner County	13
33	Sioux County	13
35	Elba	12 (JV only)

 

[nenebskers]

CLASS D1

Boys Enrollment of 47 and Below are eligible

Rank	School	Enrollment
1	David City	73 (ineligible)
2	Johnson County Central	70 (ineligible)
3	Wakefield	61 (ineligible)
4	Twin River	56 (ineligible)
5	Tri County	52 (ineligible)
6	Alma	50 (ineligible)
7	Atkinson West Holt	49 (ineligible)
8	Bridgeport	73 (exempt)
9	Summerland	61 (exempt)
10	Freeman	59 (exempt)
11	Madison	58 (exempt)
12	Pender	57 (exempt)
13	Omaha Christian/Omaha Street School	55 (exempt)
13	Tri County Northeast	55 (exempt)
15	Stanton	54 (exempt)
16	Elkhorn Valley	52 (exempt)
17	Perkins County	50 (exempt)
18	Shelby/Rising City	49 (exempt)
19	Crofton	48 (exempt)
19	Hemingford	48 (exempt)
19	Kimball	48 (exempt)
19	Laurel-Concord-Coleridge	48 (exempt)
19	Plainview	48 (exempt)
19	Wisner-Pilger	48 (exempt)
25	Exeter-Milligan/Friend	47
25	Heartland	47
27	Arcadia/Loup City	46
27	Centennial	46
27	Homer	46
27	Morrill	46
27	Sutton	46
27	Thayer Central	46
33	Guardian Angels Central Catholic	45
33	Hi-Line	45
33	Wausa/Osmond	45
36	Lutheran High Northeast	44
36	Sandy Creek	44
38	Clarkson/Leigh	43
38	Mead	43
40	Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family	42
40	St. Edward/Newman Grove	42
42	East Butler	41
42	Hartington-Newcastle	41
42	McCool Junction	41
42	Nebraska City Lourdes	41
42	Niobrara/Verdigre	41
42	South Loup	41
48	Boyd County	40
48	Dundy County-Stratton	40
48	Johnson-Brock	40
48	Pleasanton	40
48	Ravenna	40
48	Southern	40
48	Sutherland	40
55	Arapahoe	39
55	Bloomfield	39
55	North Platte St. Patrick's	39
55	Southern Valley	39
59	Sandhills Valley	37 (38.6667)

1/3 of D1 is over the cutoff limit. Cmon NSAA member schools, this is ridiculous and has been for many years. Pass legislation that increases the current limit. Needs to be increased from 47 to 60+. Maybe as high as 70.

 

[Llama57]

Of note, Brownell-Talbot did NOT opt to C2 (yet). Schools have a week to decide whether they want to opt up, opt down, or stay put.

Hypothetical... OBT opts down to C2. It moves Arlington to C1 but Arlington doesn't know that because they are currently listed as C2.

I don't believe opt downs would force Arlo up, or am I wrong?

 

[hailvictors2]

There are currently 71 eligible C1/C2 teams. They split that evenly, with the extra team going to C2 (35 in C1, 36 in C2). If OBT opts down it means there are 70 eligible teams, so the top 35 go C1 and bottom 35 go C2. OBT is currently in that 35 for C1, but they don't count anymore since they are opting...so team 36 (1st in C2) becomes team 35 (last in C1) so the split is 35-35 among eligible teams

 

[northeastNebraska]

1/3 of D1 is over the cutoff limit. Cmon NSAA member schools, this is ridiculous and has been for many years. Pass legislation that increases the current limit. Needs to be increased from 47 to 60+. Maybe as high as 70.

It’s amazing how much a class of 9 man could help solve this issue, but nobody wants to hear it.

 

[Alum-Ni]

Summary of changes from last cycle

A > B
Gretna

B > A
Omaha Buena Vista
Omaha Westview

B > C1
Elkhorn Mt. Michael
Omaha Gross

C1 > B
McCook
Platteview

C1 > C2
Arlington
Boone Central
Raymond Central
St. Paul
West Point-Beemer

C2 > C1
Chase County
Logan View/Scribner-Snyder
Louisville
Milford
Wilber-Clatonia

C2 > D1
Atkinson West Holt
Centennial
David City
Tri County

D1 > C2
Conestoga
Cross County
Omaha Brownell-Talbot
Palmyra
Superior

D1 > D2
Bancroft-Rosalie
Bayard
Cambridge
Cedar Bluffs
Elmwood-Murdock
Lyons-Decatur Northeast
Maxwell
Nebraska Christian
Neligh-Oakdale
North Central
Riverside/Spalding Academy
Weeping Water

D2 > D1
Bloomfield
Boyd County
Dundy County-Stratton
East Butler
Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family
Johnson-Brock
Nebraska City Lourdes
Niobrara/Verdigre
South Loup
New D1 Co-Ops
Newman Grove/St. Edward
Wausa/Osmond

D2 > D6
Ansley/Litchfield
Diller-Odell
Leyton
Medicine Valley
Silver Lake

D6 > D2
Brady
Franklin
Wilcox-Hildreth

 

[Power_I_82]

It’s amazing how much a class of 9 man could help solve this issue, but nobody wants to hear it.

I am not in favor of bumping the number by much. To me it still feels like moving the goalpost for the ineliligble teams does nothing but screws the teams at the bottom of the class. I'm gradually becoming more receptive to the idea of a 9 man class. Take the bottom 2/3rds of C1 and the top 1/3rd of D1. There will still be issue's though. Teams like Morrill are struggling to field 8 man teams. Then do you make 8 man on class or two and drop playoffs to 16 teams? I think its something that the NSAA is going to have to address sooner than later.

 

[northeastNebraska]

Could see a 9 man class of enrollments of 59-40.

1	Hershey	59
2	Ponca	57
3	Amherst	55
4	Hartington Cedar Catholic	54
5	Norfolk Catholic	54
6	Superior	54
7	Gordon-Rushville	51
8	Cross County	50
9	Yutan	49
10	Oakland-Craig	48
11	David City Aquinas	46
12	Fremont Bergan	45
13	Hastings St. Cecilia	38

14	Twin River	56
15	Tri County	52
16	Alma	50
17	Atkinson West Holt	49

18	Freeman	59
19	Madison	58
20	Pender	57
21	Omaha Christian/Omaha Street School	55
22	Tri County Northeast	55
23	Stanton	54
24	Elkhorn Valley	52
25	Perkins County	50
26	Shelby/Rising City	49
27	Crofton	48
28	Hemingford	48
29	Kimball	48
30	Laurel-Concord-Coleridge	48
31	Plainview	48
32	Wisner-Pilger	48
33	Exeter-Milligan/Friend	47
34	Heartland	47
35	Arcadia/Loup City	46
36	Centennial	46
37	Homer	46
38	Morrill	46
39	Sutton	46
40	Thayer Central	46
41	Guardian Angels Central Catholic	45
42	Hi-Line	45
43	Wausa/Osmond	45
44	Lutheran High Northeast	44
45	Sandy Creek	44
46	Clarkson/Leigh	43
47	Mead	43
48	Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family	42
49	St. Edward/Newman Grove	42
50	East Butler	41
51	Hartington-Newcastle	41
52	McCool Junction	41
53	Nebraska City Lourdes	41
54	Niobrara/Verdigre	41
55	South Loup	41
56	Boyd County	40
57	Dundy County-Stratton	40
58	Johnson-Brock	40
59	Pleasanton	40
60	Ravenna	40
61	Southern	40
62	Sutherland	40

 

[northeastNebraska]

8 man 39-26 (would be a 50+ team class)
6 man 25 and below (would have 30 teams in it)

 

[sportsknowledge]

I feel teams that opt down should be responsible for creating their own schedule and should not be included in districts or create a "district" with other teams that are opting down.

 

[nenebskers]

I am not in favor of bumping the number by much. To me it still feels like moving the goalpost for the ineliligble teams does nothing but screws the teams at the bottom of the class. I'm gradually becoming more receptive to the idea of a 9 man class. Take the bottom 2/3rds of C1 and the top 1/3rd of D1. There will still be issue's though. Teams like Morrill are struggling to field 8 man teams. Then do you make 8 man on class or two and drop playoffs to 16 teams? I think its something that the NSAA is going to have to address sooner than later.

How does it screw the teams at the bottom of D1? That mindset is exactly why we have 1/3 of the class over the cutoff.

Schools are too worried about themselves and making a 32 team playoff in which 69% of the field is eligible and don't care about the greater good. Most of the schools in D1 and many in D2 were at some point in very similar situations to these schools within the last 25 years.

 

[northeastNebraska]

I feel teams that opt down should be responsible for creating their own schedule and should not be included in districts or create a "district" with other teams that are opting down.

Agreed.

 

[TC53]

Philosophical questions:
How many teams should be in a class? How few teams can a class be limited to before it starts to diminish the championship of that class?
Is it OK for there to be teams in a class that are super-duper long shots to ever, ever, ever win a state championship? What percentage of a class can be in that category?
Which way should class creators tend, toward everyone-has-a-real-shot or a-class-big-enough-to-be-a-significant-achievement-to-win?

 

[just_average32]

Philosophical questions:
How many teams should be in a class? How few teams can a class be limited to before it starts to diminish the championship of that class?
Is it OK for there to be teams in a class that are super-duper long shots to ever, ever, ever win a state championship? What percentage of a class can be in that category?
Which way should class creators tend, toward everyone-has-a-real-shot or a-class-big-enough-to-be-a-significant-achievement-to-win?

I think there is a happy medium in there. I understand the old school sentiment and I don't think anyone wants to diminish the accomplishment, but I think you' need to see why people are against increasing the size of classes and decreases the number of classes. Having a solid, competitive chance to do well, is a carrot for kids to play and compete. It's, a reminder that the games/competitions are for the kids, not for us old codgers who follow along in the newspaper or sit in the stands. There are reasons why things change, and that is because the next generation evolves into something else along with the circumstances in which they compete. There is a reason we switched to a playoff format in the 70s and it's because it made it more fair and objective. And that playoff format fit to the era that it existed in with the schools that were active at that point in time. Number of schools and sizes of schools have drastically changed. To treat everything like it was 50 years ago to prove to the kids that winning actually means something is a little disingenuous to the teams that currently win titles.

For context, you're dealing with kids who have now spent a majority of their youth sports life being put in to pool play and then placed in a competitive bracket of teams with similar records, to finish the weekend. These youth teams have professional photography team posters, photo edits, multiple custom uniforms, and win "championship" rings every weekend from one of the 6 divisions in their age group at that tournament, etc. They get to high school state sanctioned sports and the experience can be a let down pretty quickly. Especially when you can go right into AAU basketball, travel baseball, and Club volleyball and still have that same over the top youth experience. Class A and B will always have a population of kids to compete with. I'd worry more about Class C and D teams who could see participation numbers drop even further because, kids don't find it as enjoyable in comparison to their other club/travel experiences. I don't really agree with a lot of this, but that's the reality of the situation and I don't see it swinging back the other way anytime soon.

 

[Drake1979]

How does it screw the teams at the bottom of D1? That mindset is exactly why we have 1/3 of the class over the cutoff.

Schools are too worried about themselves and making a 32 team playoff in which 69% of the field is eligible and don't care about the greater good. Most of the schools in D1 and many in D2 were at some point in very similar situations to these schools within the last 25 years.

I’m guessing the school with 37 kids vs a school with 73 kids in game is what is being referred to, I could be wrong. Also are the schools that “only worry about themselves” is that referring to the 24 teams opting down or using the exemption or the rest of D-1?

 

[gunslinger6]

What does "exempt" mean in this context?

 

[coachlanum]

Of note, Brownell-Talbot did NOT opt to C2 (yet). Schools have a week to decide whether they want to opt up, opt down, or stay put.

Hypothetical... OBT opts down to C2. It moves Arlington to C1 but Arlington doesn't know that because they are currently listed as C2.

OBT will not opt down

 

[hailvictors2]

Awesome. The list on the NSAA site should be pretty accurate now.

 

[Drake1979]

What does "exempt" mean in this context?

Schools over the cutoff number can use a two year exemption to stay in the class and not move up a class. Only good for one time.

 

[Power_I_82]

How does it screw the teams at the bottom of D1? That mindset is exactly why we have 1/3 of the class over the cutoff.

Schools are too worried about themselves and making a 32 team playoff in which 69% of the field is eligible and don't care about the greater good. Most of the schools in D1 and many in D2 were at some point in very similar situations to these schools within the last 25 years.

The greater good is letting high school boys learn the lessons football teaches them. Teamwork, discipline, reacting to situations. getting knocked down and getting up again, etc. etc. The kids that play for the ineligible teams will still get an opportunity to experience all of that. Maybe these schools should get the old Gridiron Conference fired back up. Anyway, I'm saying allowing the bigger schools to become eligible screws a team like Sandhills Valley, who is the last team in D1. It creates a wider enrollment gap between them and the teams at the top that they have to compete with. But we have that in every class already as well. The disparity between top and bottom is large. Look at Class A. GI and North Platte are on way different levels. I just get mixed feelings with these teams dropping because they can't compete. I don't think rewarding them with playoff eligibility is right. There are a lot of teams with mid 40's enrollments that can't compete was well. Yes they have the option to drop to 6 man but IMO that isn't fair for the teams at the bottom of that class either. The trend is lowering participation numbers for sure. I'm not sure what the landscape of NE HS football looks like in another 10-15 years. It's pretty scary. Lots of consolidations and co-ops will totally change things.

 

[northeastNebraska]

The greater good is letting high school boys learn the lessons football teaches them. Teamwork, discipline, reacting to situations. getting knocked down and getting up again, etc. etc. The kids that play for the ineligible teams will still get an opportunity to experience all of that. Maybe these schools should get the old Gridiron Conference fired back up. Anyway, I'm saying allowing the bigger schools to become eligible screws a team like Sandhills Valley, who is the last team in D1. It creates a wider enrollment gap between them and the teams at the top that they have to compete with. But we have that in every class already as well. The disparity between top and bottom is large. Look at Class A. GI and North Platte are on way different levels. I just get mixed feelings with these teams dropping because they can't compete. I don't think rewarding them with playoff eligibility is right. There are a lot of teams with mid 40's enrollments that can't compete was well. Yes they have the option to drop to 6 man but IMO that isn't fair for the teams at the bottom of that class either. The trend is lowering participation numbers for sure. I'm not sure what the landscape of NE HS football looks like in another 10-15 years. It's pretty scary. Lots of consolidations and co-ops will totally change things.

Your last sentence is so true. Consolidations and co-ops are necessary if Nebraska HS football wants to continue on it's current road.

 

[Power_I_82]

Your last sentence is so true. Consolidations and co-ops are necessary if Nebraska HS football wants to continue on it's current road.

I think people will need to just accept that fact that cycle to cycle things are going to change. I hate change as much as the next guy but kids will need to compete. It's gonna be so tough out west. It's one thing when you can see the other towns elevator from down the highway. Sandhills school districts are so damn big. It will be really tough on some of these families.

 

[northeastNebraska]

I think people will need to just accept that fact that cycle to cycle things are going to change. I hate change as much as the next guy but kids will need to compete. It's gonna be so tough out west. It's one thing when you can see the other towns elevator from down the highway. Sandhills school districts are so damn big. It will be really tough on some of these families.

Agreed on the schools north and west of North Platte. It's almost impossible.

But there are plenty of districts east of Kearney that could merge and the schools would not be that large (C2 to C1 size). It would also help with the teaching shortage, pooling resources and money could help build nicer facilities, add more to a curriculum, etc. Which would be great for the STUDENTS. It's amazing to me how many adults don't want to give their children more opportunities in the classroom and in extracurriculars because they are "afraid" the class sizes will be too big or their kid won't be able to start on a bad football team.

Parents and other town leaders need to understand that the school is for the kids, not for them. People are not moving back after college to every small town in Nebraska that has a school. Some move back, but they move back to the town down the road that might be larger and have more to offer, but they still have a small town feel.

 

[HappyTrail3200]

Aside from parents who can't let go of their high school playing days, what's stopping the schools on Hwy 91 from forming their own version of Norris. Put it there at the intersection of 91 and 81 and call it a day. Yeah it may be 30 miles one way for someone in Dodge but think of all the football championships they'd win and that's what high school is all about right????

 

[HappyTrail3200]

Aside from parents who can't let go of their high school playing days, what's stopping the schools on Hwy 91 from forming their own version of Norris. Put it there at the intersection of 91 and 81 and call it a day. Yeah it may be 30 miles one way for someone in Dodge but think of all the football championships they'd win and that's what high school is all about right????

Possible schools included:
Madison: 58 boys
Humphrey: 33 boys
Clarkson: 29 boys
Leigh: 14 boys
St. Edward: 23
Newman Grove: 19
Howells/Dodge: 37

Total: 213
That puts them at the lower third of class B. Sounds scary, but we have to remember, this is HWY 91 football, the best damn football area in the state! Besides, there are less teams in Class B so it should be easier to get into the playoffs...right? Three years at the most before their first state title appearance.

 

[Power_I_82]

Agreed on the schools north and west of North Platte. It's almost impossible.

But there are plenty of districts east of Kearney that could merge and the schools would not be that large (C2 to C1 size). It would also help with the teaching shortage, pooling resources and money could help build nicer facilities, add more to a curriculum, etc. Which would be great for the STUDENTS. It's amazing to me how many adults don't want to give their children more opportunities in the classroom and in extracurriculars because they are "afraid" the class sizes will be too big or their kid won't be able to start on a bad football team.

Parents and other town leaders need to understand that the school is for the kids, not for them. People are not moving back after college to every small town in Nebraska that has a school. Some move back, but they move back to the town down the road that might be larger and have more to offer, but they still have a small town feel.

These places would be hell to coach at! Imagine throwing 3-4 neighboring towns together and trying to keep the parents under control. I'd be interested to hear the horror stories from people that have coached in new co-ops. Especially if there wasn't initial success.

 

[northeastNebraska]

These places would be hell to coach at! Imagine throwing 3-4 neighboring towns together and trying to keep the parents under control. I'd be interested to hear the horror stories from people that have coached in new co-ops. Especially if there wasn't initial success.

Imagine two towns or two schools coming together and schools would be able to field JV teams that wouldn’t have to rely on freshman for every play. Quick examples.

Wausa-Bloomfield
Osmond-Randolph
Creighton-Plainview
Allen-Wakefield
Logan View-SS
Loomis-Bertrand
Sterling-Lewiston
Pawnee City-HTRS
Elmwood-Murdock-Weeping Water
Hampton-Henderson
High Plains-Stromsburg
Osceola-SRC
Elm Creek-Overton

 

[DonlugoQ]

These places would be hell to coach at! Imagine throwing 3-4 neighboring towns together and trying to keep the parents under control. I'd be interested to hear the horror stories from people that have coached in new co-ops. Especially if there wasn't initial success.

I think they are hard for administrators too. I see Summerland’s superintendent just resigned. I have a hunch it’s difficult with those three communities.

 

[northeastNebraska]

I think they are hard for administrators too. I see Summerland’s superintendent just resigned. I have a hunch it’s difficult with those three communities.

Summerland is an example of what this state needs in the current situation.

 

[EndzoneView]

Imagine two towns or two schools coming together and schools would be able to field JV teams that wouldn’t have to rely on freshman for every play. Quick examples.

Wausa-Bloomfield
Osmond-Randolph
Creighton-Plainview
Allen-Wakefield
Logan View-SS
Loomis-Bertrand
Sterling-Lewiston
Pawnee City-HTRS
Elmwood-Murdock-Weeping Water
Hampton-Henderson
High Plains-Stromsburg
Osceola-SRC
Elm Creek-Overton

That osmond-Randolph thing didn’t see much athletic success and was ultimately derailed by parents. We will see how the wausa-osmond thing goes. Allen and Emerson Hubbard seem to have a decent thing going and doesn’t sound like either is all that interested in doing anything with Wakefield. Plainview and creighton both may someday play 11 man football if their elementary numbers keep trending up so doubt they do anything together.

People always hate the idea but probably the best thing for the kids and tax payers would be if the state stepped in and said if you don’t have a total enrollment of X(say 195 with there being 15 kids per class K-12) by 2030 we are going to make you co-op with the most logical neighbor. Would incentivize a lot more towns to get things done on their own I think.

 

[just_average32]

That osmond-Randolph thing didn’t see much athletic success and was ultimately derailed by parents. We will see how the wausa-osmond thing goes. Allen and Emerson Hubbard seem to have a decent thing going and doesn’t sound like either is all that interested in doing anything with Wakefield. Plainview and creighton both may someday play 11 man football if their elementary numbers keep trending up so doubt they do anything together.

People always hate the idea but probably the best thing for the kids and tax payers would be if the state stepped in and said if you don’t have a total enrollment of X(say 195 with there being 15 kids per class K-12) by 2030 we are going to make you co-op with the most logical neighbor. Would incentivize a lot more towns to get things done on their own I think.

Would agree about state consolidation if the state provided more funding for the schools, but it seems to be trending towards the districts leaning heavier on local property taxes. This empowers small towns to say “If we want a school with & kids per class, we are willing to pay for it.” Co-ops are great because it helps struggling programs with low numbers provide opportunities but they aren’t set in stone. They can be short term solutions. For example, BRLD had a great co-op going but when it became a bit one sided with talent contribution and the enrollment got too big, Bancroft-Rosalie told Lyons-Decatur to take take a hike. Sucks for Lyons, but B-R had every legal right to do it because they didn’t have anything tying them together. With the co-ops being annual approvals, it leaves the door open for that occurrence. Long term, consolidations are probably a better idea, but with it being a local decision, it probably won’t happen. There was a proposal a few years ago for an Oakland-Craig / Tekamah-Herman consolidation but ultimately got voted down. Facilities and offerings would have been amazing. It just came down to some people who don’t have kids in school anymore didn’t want to pay for it, people didn’t want to lose a school in their town (it would have been built in the country), and essentially T-H would contribute nothing in athletics except inflated numbers pushing them up to C1. The plans for the school were pretty amazing though