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CLINTON — The Mississippi High School Activities Association’s Executive Committee voted unanimously Thursday to create a new seventh classification, a move that will take effect starting with the 2023-2024 athletic year.

The new classification system will include 24 schools in each of the top three classifications (Class 5A through Class 7A) and an average of 42 teams in the four smaller classifications.

Which schools will change classifications remains to be seen. The enrollment numbers used for the reclassification won’t be reported until after the next athletic season. But MHSAA Executive Director Rickey Neaves said Thursday the move will increase competition, no matter how those numbers break down.

“I am happy to have the vote behind us,” Neaves said. “Now we know where we are headed in 2023 and 2024, and it gives us time to plan our venues for our state championships.”

As Scorebook Live reported in February, the move will lower the gulf between the smallest and largest schools in each of the top three classifications.

To see how this move will affect those schools, we’ll use Region 2-6A as an example.

Under the current classification system, Grenada High (enrollment 1,057) and Tupelo (enrollment 1,907) compete in the same region. The gulf there is 850 students, which puts Grenada at a nearly insurmountable disadvantage.

Neaves said the new classification system will lower that gulf from the largest school in 7A to the smallest to around 355 students. Using those same enrollment numbers from the last round of reclassification, the gulf in the new 6A will be 225 students, and it only goes down from there in the lower classifications.

“That’s a great improvement from where we are sitting,” Neaves said. “And the new system will affect Class 1A through Class 4A less than anyone as far as the number of schools and games and the current regions. Plus, it helps their numbers a little as well.”