Following up on our Friday discussion, we have one more proposal to put forth concerning the eventual additional sixth classification to Colorado high school basketball. In our first offering, we tried to keep the number of schools in each class relatively even, but in this presentation, Class 6A became more exclusive. Our thought is to find the 32-40 most competitive big schools across the state and place them in the top bracket and work our way down from there.
This proposal has 34 schools in the biggest class as we tried to keep current conferences intact as well. Â Â To become official, we would rely on big school basketball experts to select our Class 6A field.
Class 5A is also a smaller division (47-48) schools as enrollment plays a major role there. Then from Classes 4A through 1A, the number of schools in each classification is virtually equal.
This presentation in our mind, is better than what we proposed on Friday as it’s easier to keep schools in their current class and conference. Not as many are jumbled around so the disruption in basketball structure overall would be less severe.
Please look through and give some consideration. We welcome your thoughts with comments below, through our Facebook page or through email to [email protected]. There is also a list of potential changes at the bottom of our classification list.
CLASS 1A — 65 TEAMS
| ARK VALLEY | HIGH PLAINS | SAN JUAN / WEST SLOPE |
| Springfield | McClave | Norwood |
| Wiley | Eads | Dove Creek |
| Kim/ Branson | Genoa Hugo | Nucla |
| Granada | Manzanola | Ouray |
| Walsh | Cheraw | DeBeque |
| South Baca | Cheyenne Wells | North Park |
| Primero | Kit Carson | |
| NORTHEAST | BLACK FOREST | YWKC |
| Merino | Evangelical Christian | Stratton/Liberty |
| Haxtun | Elbert | Flagler/Hi Plains |
| Caliche | Hanover | Otis |
| Briggsdale | Kiowa | Idalia |
| Weldon Valley | Colorado D&B | Arickaree/Woodlin |
| Prairie | Cripple Creek (down) | Bethune |
| Fleming | Edison | Lone Star |
| Peetz | Pikes Peak Christian | Deer Trail |
| SOUTHERN PEAKS | 5280 | Â |
| Sierra Grande | Denver Jewish Day | |
| Sangre De Cristo | Cornerstone Christian | |
| Cotopaxi | Shining Mountain | |
| La Veta | Mile High Academy | |
| Mountain Valley | Longmont Christian | |
| Antonito | Belleview Christian | |
| Centennial | Beth Eden | |
| Creede | Denver Waldorf | |
| Aguilar | Front Range Baptist | |
| Lake City | Rocky Mountain Lutheran | |
| Denver Academy of Torah |
CLASS 2A — 66 TEAMS
| METRO | NORTHERN | NORTHEAST |
| Clear Creek | Lyons | Yuma |
| Denver Academy | Union Colony Prep | Wray |
| Denver Christian | Twin Peaks Charter | Holyoke |
| Front Range Christian | Loveland Classical | Wiggins |
| Gilpin County | Heritage Christian | Sedgwick County |
| Jefferson (down) | Nederland | Akron |
| Platte Canyon (down) | Dayspring Christian | Burlington |
| Byers | Estes Park (down) | Limon |
| SANTA FE | SOUTHERN PEAKS | SOUTHWEST |
| Rocky Ford | Crested Butte | Dolores |
| Las Animas | Center | Mancos |
| Fowler | South Park | Ridgway |
| Swink | Del Norte | Telluride (down) |
| Crowley County | Custer County | Ignacio (down) |
| Hoehne | Sargent | |
| Holly | Sanford | |
| John Mall | ||
| SOUTHERN | WEST SLOPE | Â |
| Rye | Meeker | |
| Fountain Valley | Hotchkiss | |
| Thomas MacLaren | Vail Mountain | |
| Colorado Springs School | Caprock Academy | |
| Miami Yoder | Paonia | |
| Swallows Charter | Vail Christian | |
| Dolores Huerta | West Grand | |
| Simla | Hayden | |
| Calhan | Rangely | |
| Ellicott (down) | Soroco | |
| Plateau Valley |
CLASS 3A — 65 TEAMS
| CONFLUENCE | FRONTIER | WESTERN |
| Strive Prep | Lake County | Gunnison |
| DSST-Byers | Arrupe Jesuit | Roaring Fork |
| DSST-College View | KIPP Collegiate | Basalt |
| Aurora West | Bennett | Grand Valley |
| Ridgeview Academy | Sheridan | Olathe |
| William Smith | Middle Park | Cedaredge |
| Lotus School | Bruce Randolph | Aspen (down) |
| Eagle Ridge Academy (down) | Dawson | |
| TRI PEAKS EAST | TRI PEAKS WEST | SOUTHWEST |
| Lamar | Salida | Pagosa Springs |
| James Irwin | Florence | Bayfield |
| Atlas Prep | Colorado Springs Christian | Centauri |
| La Junta | Vanguard | Monte Vista |
| Trinidad | Buena Vista | Alamosa |
| Peyton | St Mary’s | Montezuma Cortez (down) |
| Manitou Springs | ||
| METRO | PATRIOT | Â |
| Kent Denver | Brush | |
| Jefferson Academy | Platte Valley | |
| Prospect Ridge | Strasburg | |
| Colorado Academy | Sterling | |
| Faith Christian | Fort Lupton | |
| Machebeuf | Valley | |
| Skyview Academy | Frontier Academy | |
| Manual | Liberty Common | |
| Stargate | Resurrection Christian | |
| Lutheran (down) | University | |
| Peak to Peak | Eaton | |
| Highland |
CLASS 4A — 62 TEAMS
| CITY | JEFFCO | SOUTH CENTRAL |
| Lincoln | Evergreen | Pueblo East |
| Kennedy | Green Mountain | Canon City |
| Thomas Jefferson | Conifer | Pueblo South |
| Denver North | Arvada | Pueblo County |
| Regis Groff | Alameda | Pueblo Central |
| Northfield | Englewood | Pueblo Centennial (down) |
| Denver West | D’Evelyn | |
| NORTHERN | SOUTHERN | FRONTIER |
| Mead | Harrison | DSST-Stapleton |
| Frederick | Sierra | Academy |
| Roosevelt | Woodland Park | DSST-Green Valley |
| Fort Morgan | Elizabeth | Pinnacle |
| Berthoud | Classical Academy | Riverdale Ridge |
| Weld Central | Widefield | Skyview |
| Holy Family | Mitchell | Adams City (down 2) |
| Severance (new school) | Mesa Ridge | Thornton (down 2) |
| EAST METRO | WEST SLOPE | Â |
| Brighton (down) | Palisade | |
| Gateway (down) | Summit | |
| Vista Peak (down) | Battle Mountain | |
| Hinkley (down-2) | Glenwood Springs | |
| Aurora Central (down-2) | Eagle Valley | |
| Prairie View (down-2) | Steamboat Springs | |
| Westminster (down-2) | Rifle | |
| Northglenn (down-2) | Moffat County | |
| Delta | ||
| Coal Ridge |
CLASS 5A — 47 TEAMS
| TRI VALLEY | NORTHERN | WEST |
| Windsor | Skyline | Fruita Monument |
| Greeley Central | Silver Creek | Grand Junction |
| Mountain View | Centaurus | Grand Junction Central |
| Northridge | Niwot | Montrose |
| Thompson Valley | Erie | Durango |
| Greeley West | Longmont | |
| Loveland | Broomfield | |
| Monarch | ||
| CS METRO | PIKES PEAK | JEFFCO (could be split) |
| Rampart | Vista Peak | Ralston Valley |
| Palmer | Air Academy | Chatfield |
| Liberty | Cheyenne Mountain | Arvada West |
| Pine Creek | Falcon | Columbine |
| Coronado | Sand Creek | Bear Creek |
| Doherty (down) | Discovery Canyon | Dakota Ridge |
| Fountain Fort Carson (down) | Pueblo West | Pomona |
| Lewis Palmer (up) | Standley Lake | |
| Golden | ||
| Wheat Ridge | ||
| Littleton | ||
| Lakewood (down) |
CLASS 6A — 34 TEAMS
| CENTENNIAL | METRO | FRONT RANGE |
| Cherry Creek | Far Northeast | Legacy |
| Cherokee Trail | Denver East | Horizon |
| Eaglecrest | Denver South (up) | Fossil Ridge |
| Grandview | George Washington (up) | Mountain Range |
| Overland | Rangeview | Rocky Mountain |
| Arapahoe | Fairview | Poudre |
| Smoky Hill | Boulder | Fort Collins |
| Mullen (up) | ||
| CONTINENTAL | Â | |
| Mountain Vista | Douglas County | |
| Chaparral | Valor Christian (up) | |
| Rock Canyon | Regis (up) | |
| Castle View | Highlands Ranch (up) | |
| Legend | Heritage (up) | |
| ThunderRidge | Ponderosa (up) | |
POTENTIAL CHANGES
- Longmont Christian — if they choose to play up, they could be placed in the 2A Mile High where they currently reside
- 2A Bracket: To even the number of schools in each district, Paonia, Hotchkiss and Plateau Valley could be shipped south with the San Juan conference. This would provide both districts with the same number of schools (8). This would be for post-season only as the two leagues would remain intact as listed for regular season activity.
- Caprock Academy — they could be allowed to play down in Class 1A and join the West Slope/San Juan in an effort to build their program.
- Ellicott: We have them listed as playing down in Class 2A but enrollment puts them in Class 3A and they could be placed in the Tri Peaks East to balance those two divisions.
- 4A West Slope: Maybe our most difficult call on what to do with Moffat County, Delta, Coal Ridge and Aspen. Our enrollment breakdown puts them in Class 4A and we left Moffat County, Delta and Coal Ridge there but dropped Aspen back into Class 3A. We could easily see leaving all four teams in Class 3A to continue current league structure. The concern in doing so is that Class 4A drops to 59 teams and Class 3A balloons to 68.
- Severance: This is a new school in Northern Colorado and they could be placed in either the 4A or 5A Northern. We located them in 4A as they will need time to build their program but they eventually will likely end up in Class 5A.
- East Metro: most of the schools, enrollment wise, fit into Class 6A but we dropped all the clubs down two classifications in an effort to make them more competitive on a statewide level. Rangeview is the exception. The Raiders are typically a top 10 team so we left them in Class 6A.
