Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association

Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association
Abbreviation	PIAA
Formation	December 29, 1913
Type	Nonprofit Association
Legal status	501(c)(3)[1]
Purpose	To promote and support the education values of interscholastic athletics and the high ideals of good sportsmanship.
Location	550 Gettysburg Road, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.;
Region served	Pennsylvania
Services	Establishes and enforces uniform standards in athletic competition among member schools and promotes and supports safe and healthy athletic competition.
Membership	1,452 schools
Official language	English
Executive Director	Robert Lombardi
Affiliations	National Federation of State High School Associations
Revenue (2018)	$12,706,657[2]
Expenses (2018)	$13,363,160[2]
Employees (2017)	25[2]
Volunteers (2017)	200[2]
Website	www.piaa.org

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc., also known by its acronymn PIAA, is one of the governing bodies of high school and middle school athletics for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States.

The PIAA's main office is located in the Harrisburg suburb of Mechanicsburg.

History

The PIAA was founded in Pittsburgh on December 29, 1913. It is charged with serving its member schools and registered officials by establishing policies and adopting contest rules that emphasize the educational values of interscholastic athletics, promote safe and sportsmanlike competition, and provide uniform standards for all interscholastic levels of competition. As a result of the cooperative efforts of its membership, PIAA has assisted intermediate school, middle school, junior high school, and senior high school students in participating in interscholastic athletic programs on a fair and equitable basis, thus producing important education benefits.

Initially, and until 1972, PIAA membership was limited to public schools within the Commonwealth. It was and remains a voluntary organization[3] For example, until 2004, public schools in Philadelphia did not participate in the PIAA.

Pennsylvania Catholic or other private schools were not eligible for PIAA membership. As a result, most Catholic schools belonged to another voluntary athletic organization, the Pennsylvania Catholic Interscholastic Athletic Association (PCIAA). This organization was founded in 1943 and mirrored the PIAA.[4] However, in 1972, the Pennsylvania State Legislature altered the role of the PIAA and passed Act 219 which stated, "Private schools shall be permitted, if otherwise qualified, to be members of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association."[3] The General Assembly's action in 1972 thus established the legislature's right to intervene in the PIAA's affairs, a precursor to other later interventions.

Although some predicted the legislation would lead to a merger of the PCIAA and PIAA, so many Catholic schools opted into the PIAA on their own that, two years later, after an abbreviated state basketball championship tournament in 1974, the PCIAA dissolved.[4]

In 2000, the legislature again intervened and created the Pennsylvania Athletic Oversight Committee (PAOC).[5] The PAOC is a 17-member oversight committee consisting of administrators, coaches and legislators to review what some had seen as the PIAA's unrestricted authority. The new law also called for several reforms including switching to a competitive process for selecting sites for championship games, eliminating the restitution rule, which required school districts that lose court cases against the PIAA to pay the associations legal fees and that persons involved in interscholastic athletics be provided equality of opportunity and treatment without discrimination.

Timeline

1913: PIAA established
1920: Pennsylvania basketball playoffs instituted (Class A Only)
1943: PCIAA established
1945: Basketball playoffs expand to Class A & B
1948: Basketball playoffs expand to Class A, B & C
1972: Act 219 signed into law, allows private schools to join PIAA
1973: Pennsylvania girls' basketball playoffs instituted (Class A only)
1974: PCIAA dissolved
1976: Girls' basketball playoffs expand to Class AA and AAA; Boys' basketball playoffs designated A, AA and AAA
1984: Basketball expands to 4 classes
1988: Football playoffs instituted (four classes)
1997: Pennsylvania passes charter school law
2000: Act 91 becomes law; PAOC established, PIAA cannot discriminate
2003: Philadelphia public league joins PIAA
2007: PIAA investigates separation of public and private classes
2008: Philadelphia Catholic League joins PIAA
2012: PIAA votes down separation for “Boundary” and “Non-boundary” schools
2015: PIAA approves expansion to six classes for football and basketball
2018: PIAA prohibits students who transfer during the 10th grade and after from participating in the postseason for one year unless given a waiver, effective for the 2018 school year; competitive balance rule also passed, effective in 2020, teams could be bumped up in classification depending on success or use of transfer athletes. A very controversial rule, as those moving from public school to public school are forced to abide by this rule.

Districts

The PIAA divides its member schools' counties into 12 geographical districts for the purpose of state championship competition. The following list is the district breakdown by county.

District 1: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery
District 2: Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming
District 3: Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York
District 4: Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga and Union
District 5: Bedford, Fulton and Somerset
District 6: Blair, Cambria, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Indiana and Mifflin
District 7, better known as the WPIAL: Allegheny (except for City of Pittsburgh), Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland.
District 8: Pittsburgh Public Schools
District 9: Cameron, Clarion, Elk, Jefferson, McKean and Potter
District 10: Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango and Warren
District 11: Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill
District 12: Philadelphia Catholic League and the Public League

While this is a general outline of the districts, there are some notable exceptions:

Private schools within District 8 (City of Pittsburgh) compete in the WPIAL.
Inter-Academic League and the Friends Schools League are not members of the PIAA, but compete independently as their own organizations. Other private schools in Philadelphia County compete in District 1.
Philadelphia Catholic League schools previously competed independently as its own organization, but joined the PIAA for the 2007–2008 school year and began participating in playoffs by 2008–2009 within District 12.
Boyertown Area Senior High School, in Berks County, is a member of District 1.
Slippery Rock Area High School, in Butler County, is a member of District 10.
Moniteau School District, also in Butler County, is a member of district 9.
Galeton Area School District, in Potter County, competes in District 4
Indiana High School, in Indiana County, is a WPIAL member.
Hollidaysburg Area High School is also a member of District 6 but competes as an independent in football only.
Palisades High School, in Bucks County, is a member of District 11.
Fannett-Metal High School, in Franklin County, is a member of District 5.
Curwensville Area High School, DuBois Area Senior High School, DuBois Central Catholic, and Clearfield Area High School, in Clearfield County, are members of District 9.
Keystone Central School District is the only district entirely composed of Clinton County municipalities. The larger of the district's two high schools, Central Mountain, is a member of District 6, while the other, Bucktail High School, is a member of District 4.
Sheffield Area Middle/High School, in Warren County, is the only member in the Warren County School District that is a member of District 9, rejoining in 2005 after several decades in District 10. The other WCSD schools (Warren, Youngsville, Eisenhower) are still in District 10.
West Shamokin High School originally participated in the WPIAL, but moved to District 6 in 2016.
Karns City High School, in Butler and Armstrong counties, is a member of District 9.

East vs. West

Traditionally for state championship competition for team sports, Pennsylvania is divided into Eastern and Western regions. Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, and 12 usually make up the Eastern Region; Districts 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 usually comprise the Western Region. The winners of each region compete against each other for the state championship. However, since the creation of District 12 with the admission of the Philadelphia Public Schools into the PIAA, the East vs. West format has been abandoned for some sports in certain classifications, particularly at the Class AAAA level where there are more large schools in the East. For example, in PIAA football, District 3 schools compete in the early rounds of the state playoffs against Philadelphia schools in some classes, and against Pittsburgh schools in others.

Sports

J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown is the largest high school stadium in Pennsylvania, the 14th largest high school stadium in the nation, and the home football field for three Allentown-based PIAA high school football teams, Allen High School, Allentown Central Catholic High School, and Dieruff High School

The PIAA sponsors 16 boys' sports and 16 girls' sports. However, the PIAA only sponsors state championships for 12 boys' sports and 11 girls' sports. The following is a list of PIAA sponsored sports championships.

Boys' sports: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball and Wrestling
Girls' sports: Basketball, Competitive Spirit, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Swimming and Diving, Tennis, Track and Field, and Volleyball

There are Pennsylvania schools that offer sports not fully sponsored by the PIAA such as gymnastics, ice hockey, bowling, rifle, water polo and other Olympic sports. These sports are governed by other sport specific bodies that use similar PIAA rules for classification and eligibility, but are not officially recognized as state champions by the PIAA. The PIAA took over jurisdiction of both boys' and girls' lacrosse in July 2008. Indoor Track and Field is not sponsored by the PIAA, but allowed under PIAA rules. The PTFCA governs indoor track and field instead of the PIAA in Pennsylvania.

School classifications

Every two years, the PIAA divides the member schools into two to six different classifications for each sport, depending on the number of male or female students enrolled in each school.

The number of statewide member schools participating in a particular sport will determine how many different classifications there will be. For example, boys' volleyball, the sport with the smallest number of participating schools, only has a AA or AAA classification. By comparison, boys' basketball, which has the largest number of participating schools, has A, AA, AAA, AAAA, AAAAA, AAAAAA classifications. The number of A's signify how large or small the school is; Class A is the smallest classification while AAAAAA is the largest. The PIAA tries to place an equal number of schools in each classification.

Football enrollment requirements

Total Male Enrollment (Grades 9–11)	Average Total Enrollment (Grades 9–12)	Classification	Number of Senior High Schools
1-140	1–375	A	90	[6]
141–200	376–535	AA	96	[6]
201–282	536–752	AAA	96	[6]
283–397	753–1,060	AAAA	89	[6]
398–563	1,061–1,503	AAAAA	103	[6]
564 and above	1,504 and above	AAAAAA	96	[6]

School Classifications for Football

District	Counties	A	AA	AAA	AAAA	AAAAA	AAAAAA	Total
District 1	Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery	3	2	3	6	26	33	73	[7]
District 2	Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming	4	7	8	11	3	3	36	[7]
District 3	Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York	4	7	15	21	29	16	92	[7]
District 4	Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga and Union	6	12	7	7	0	1	33	[7]
District 5	Bedford, Fulton and Somerset	7	3	1	1	0	0	12	[7]
District 6	Blair, Cambria, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Indiana and Mifflin	19	12	9	2	2	3	47	[7]
District 7	Allegheny (excluding City of Pittsburgh), Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland	23	24	23	18	18	13	119	[7]
District 8	Pittsburgh Public Schools	0	1	1	2	1	1	6	[7]
District 9	Cameron, Clarion, Elk, Jefferson, McKean and Potter	13	5	3	3	0	0	24	[7]
District 10	Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango and Warren	6	13	9	2	10	1	41	[7]
District 11	Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill	5	6	11	7	4	13	46	[7]
District 12	Philadelphia Catholic League and the Public League	0	4	6	9	10	12	41	[7]
Total		90	96	96	89	103	96	570	[7]

Because the PIAA determines classifications separately for each gender in each sport, it is possible that a coeducational school may find its boys' and girls' teams in different classes in the same sport. Smaller schools can choose to compete at a higher classification—possible reasons are to maintain existing rivalries, or in rare cases to place their boys' and girls' teams in the same class—but larger schools can not choose to compete at a lower classification level. For purposes of all-star games and awards, the A and AA classes are referred to as small schools, AAA and AAAA are referred to as mid-sized schools, while AAAAA and AAAAAA referred as large schools. In 2016, there was a change, splitting the football tournament into six classifications, instead of the previous four. The PIAA made the decision to expand to six classes in Football, as well as Boys and Girls basketball, baseball and softball. Increasing to four classes is Boys and Girls Soccer, Girls volleyball. Field Hockey is expanded to three classes, and Boys and Girls Lacrosse to two. Football started using these classes with the 2016 season.[8]

Hershey, Pennsylvania

While some sports' championship games have been held at various venues and cities across the state, no city is more associated with the PIAA than Hershey. Hershey's proximity to Harrisburg, as well as easy highway access via the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstates 81 and 83 for teams from across the state makes it an ideal location for the games. Hersheypark Stadium hosts the football, soccer, and lacrosse championships; the Parkview Cross Country Course, located across the street from Hershey Park and Chocolate World, hosts the cross country championships.[9] The Giant Center hosts the basketball, wrestling, and competitive spirit championships. The Hershey Racquet Club hosts the tennis championships.

In 2006, the PIAA announced that they had refused Hershey's application for a contract extension to host the basketball championships at Giant Center. Starting for the 2006–2007 season, the eight championship games will be played at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center. The PIAA cited monetary reasons for the move. As of 2014 they had returned to the Giant Center.

Even the non-PIAA sport of ice hockey hosted the 2005 Pennsylvania Cup championship at the historic Hersheypark Arena. The PIAA football championships have been contested since 1988, with the first games being held at various sites across the state. In 1992, the games were moved to Altoona's Mansion Park, in part because playing four games in two days would not affect the artificial turf playing surface on the field. The football championships were moved to Hershey in 1998 to add to the tradition of PIAA championship competition near the state capital.

State College hosts the baseball and softball championships at Pennsylvania State University.[10] Altoona previously hosted the baseball championships at Peoples Natural Gas Field, home of the Altoona Curve of the Class AA Eastern League. The track and field championships are contested at Seth Grove Stadium on the campus of Shippensburg University, 40 miles southwest of Harrisburg.

Championship sites

Fall

Sport	Facility	Location	Gender(s)	Classifications
Cross Country	Parkview Cross Country Course	Hershey	Boys & Girls	A, AA, AAA
Field Hockey	Whitehall High School	Whitehall Township	Girls	AA, AAA
Football	Hersheypark Stadium	Hershey	Boys	A, AA, AAA, AAAA, AAAAA, AAAAAA
Golf	Heritage Hills Golf Resort	York	Boys & Girls	AA, AAA
Soccer	Hersheypark Stadium	Hershey	Boys & Girls	A, AA, AAA, AAAA
Tennis	Hershey Racquet Club	Hershey	Girls	AA, AAA
Volleyball	Cumberland Valley High School	Mechanicsburg	Girls	A, AA, AAA

Winter

Sport	Facility	Location	Gender(s)	Classifications
Basketball	Giant Center	Hershey	Boys & Girls	A, AA, AAA, AAAA, AAAAA, AAAAAA
Competitive Spirit	Giant Center	Hershey	Boys & Girls	AA, AAA (Small, Large), Coed
Swimming & Diving	Kinney Natatorium	Lewisburg	Boys & Girls	AA, AAA
Wrestling	Giant Center	Hershey	Boys	AA, AAA

Spring

Sport	Facility	Location	Gender(s)	Classifications
Baseball	Medlar Field	State College	Boys	A, AA, AAA, AAAA
Lacrosse	Harold Zimmerman Stadium	West Chester	Boys & Girls	AA, AAA
Softball	Nittany Lion Softball Park	State College	Girls	A, AA, AAA, AAAA
Tennis	Hershey Racquet Club	Hershey	Boys	AA, AAA
Track & Field	Seth Grove Stadium	Shippensburg	Boys & Girls	AA, AAA
Volleyball	Pegula Ice Arena	State College	Boys	AA, AAA

Recent champions

Football

Boys basketball

Class 6A

2022: Roman Catholic (District 12) over Archbishop Wood (District 12) 77-65
2021: Reading Senior High School (District 3) over Archbishop Wood (District 12) 58-57 (2OT)
2019: Kennedy Catholic (District 10) over Pennridge (District 1) 64-62 (2OT)
2018: Roman Catholic (District 12) over Lincoln (District 12) 92-80
2017: Reading Senior High School (District 3) over Pine-Richland (District 7) 64-60

Class 5A

2021: Cathedral Prep (District 10) over Archbishop Ryan (District 12) 69-49
2019: Moon Area (District 7) over Archbishop Wood (District 12) 74-64
2018: Abington Heights (District 2) over Mars (District 7) 67-55
2017: Archbishop Wood (District 12) over Meadville (District 10) 73-40

Class 4A

2019: Imhotep Charter (District 12) over Bonner-Prendergast (District 12) 67-56
2018: Imhotep Charter (District 12) over Sharon (District 10) 71-35
2017: Imhotep Charter (District 12) over Strong Vincent (District 10) 80-52
2016: Roman Catholic (District 12) over Taylor Allderdice (District 8) 73-62
2015: Roman Catholic (District 12) over Martin Luther King (District 12) 62-45
2014: New Castle (District 7) over LaSalle College (District 12) 52-39
2013: Lower Merion (District 1) over Chester (District 1) 63-47
2012: Chester (District 1) over Lower Merion (District 1) 59-33
2011: Chester (District 1) over Mount Lebanon (District 7) 72-60 (OT)
2010: Plymouth-Whitemarsh (District 1) over Penn Wood (District 1) 58-51
2009: Penn Wood (District 1) over William Penn (District 12) 72-53
2008: Chester (District 1) over Norristown (District 1) 81-77
2007: Schenley (District 8) over Chester (District 1) 78-71
2006: Lower Merion (District 1) over Schenley (District 8) 60-58
2005: Chester (District 1) over Lower Merion (District 1) 74-61
2004: Penn Hills (District 7) over Parkland (District 11) 57-48
2003: State College (District 6) over Chester (District 1) 76-71
2002: Harrisburg (District 3) over Uniontown (District 7) 69-62
2001: Coatesville (District 1) over Schenley (District 8) 70-57
2000: Chester (District 1) over Uniontown (District 7) 73-48

Class 3A

2019: Lincoln Park Charter (District 7) over Trinity (District 3) 73-72
2018: Neumann-Goretti (District 12) over Richland (District 6) 57-42
2017: Neumann-Goretti (District 12) over Lincoln Park Charter (District 7) 89-58
2016: Neumann-Goretti (District 12) over Mars (District 7) 99-66
2015: Neumann-Goretti (District 12) over Archbishop Carroll (District 12) 69-67
2014: Neumann-Goretti (District 12) over Susquehanna (District 3) 64-57 (OT)
2013: Imhotep Charter (District 12) over Archbishop Carroll (District 12) 54-45
2012: Neumann-Goretti (District 12) over Montour (District 7) 48-45
2011: Neumann-Goretti (District 12) over Montour (District 7) 55-45
2010: Neumann-Goretti (District 12) over Chartiers Valley (District 7) 65-63
2009: Archbishop Carroll (District 12) over Greensburg-Salem (District 7) 75-54
2008: Steelton-Highspire (District 3) over Susquehanna (District 3) 65-62
2007: General McLane (District 10) over Greencastle-Antrim (District 3) 57-55
2006: Franklin Area (District 10) Communications Tech (District 12) 74-63
2005: Steelton-Highspire (District 3) over Johnstown (District 6) 70-48
2004: Moon Area (District 7) over Holy Ghost Prep (District 1) 52-50
2003: Lancaster Catholic (District 3) over Perry Traditional Academy (District 8) 75-59
2002: Kennett (District 1) over West Mifflin (District 7) 72-51
2001: Franklin Area (District 10) over Allentown Central Catholic (District 11) 58-50 (OT)
2000: Steelton-Highspire (District 3) over Blackhawk (District 7) 68-56

Class 2A

2019: MCS Charter (District 12) over Bishop Guilfoyle (District 6) 54-52
2018: Constitution (District 12) over Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (District 7) 81-71
2017: Sewickley Academy (District 7) over Constitution (District 12) 68-63 (OT)
2016: Aliquippa (District 7) over Mastery Charter North (District 12) 68-49
2015: Conwell-Egan (District 12) over Aliquippa (District 7) 62-51
2014: Constitution (District 12) over Seton-La Salle (District 7) 61-59
2013: Beaver Falls (District 7) over Holy Cross (District 2) 69-63
2012: Imhotep Charter (District 12) over Beaver Falls (District 7) 56-54
2011: Imhotep Charter (District 12) over Greensburg Central Catholic (District 7) 67-34
2010: South Fayette (District 7) over Strawberry Mansion (District 12) 49-47
2009: Imhotep Charter (District 12) over North Catholic (District 7) 75-67 (2OT)
2008: Jeannette (District 7) over Strawberry Mansion (District 12) 76-72
2007: Prep Charter (District 12) over Aliquippa (District 7) 68-66
2006: Prep Charter (District 12) over Beaver Falls (District 7) 82-51
2005: Beaver Falls (District 7) over York Catholic (District 3) 71-59
2004: Sto-Rox (District 7) over Trinity (District 3) 62-53
2003: Trinity (District 3) over Sto-Rox (District 7) 66-49
2002: Bishop Hannan (District 2) over Sto-Rox (District 7) 70-68
2001: Trinity (District 3) over Aliquippa (District 7) 79-65
2000: Shady Side Academy (District 7) over Halifax (District 3) 79-65

Class 1A

2019: Sankofa Freedom Academy (District 12) over Vincentian Academy (District 7) 83-61
2018: Kennedy Catholic (District 10) over Lourdes Regional (District 4) 78-36
2017: Kennedy Catholic (District 10) over Girard College (District 1) 73-56
2016: Kennedy Catholic (District 10) over MCS Charter (District 12) 71-60
2015: Constitution (District 12) over Farrell (District 10) 85-53
2014: Lincoln Park Charter (District 7) over MCS Charter (District 12) 70-66
2013: Vaux (District 12) over Johnsonburg (District 9) 83-63
2012: Constitution (District 12) over Lincoln Park Charter (District 7) 68-46
2011: MCS Charter (District 12) over Lincoln Park Charter (District 7) 70-55
2010: Sewickley Academy (District 7) over Reading Central Catholic (District 3) 43-35
2009: Girard College (District 1) over Kennedy Catholic (District 10) 80-70
2008: Serra Catholic (District 7) over Friere Charter (District 12) 67-66
2007: Reading Central Catholic (District 3) over DuBois Central Catholic (District 9) 58-33
2006: Elk County Catholic (District 9) over Bishop Hannan (District 2) 71-61
2005: Bishop O'Reilly (District 2) over Kennedy Catholic (District 10) 65-61
2004: Bishop O'Reilly (District 2) over Sewickley Academy (District 7) 70-54
2003: Scotland School (District 3) over Union Area (District 7) 80-59
2002: Scotland School (District 3) over Kennedy Catholic (District 10) 69-50
2001: Kennedy Christian (District 10) over Fairfield (District 3) 87-45
2000: Kennedy Christian (District 10) over Bishop Hannan (District 2) 64-57 (OT)

Girls' basketball