AHSAA announces reclassification for 2018-2020 school years

The Alabama High School Athletic Association approved its classification system for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years on Thursday.

Homewood High School's athletic teams will face some new region and area opponents, but the Patriots will remain in Class 6A, the state's second-highest classification since 2014, when 7A was added. The AHSAA reclassifies every two years to ensure competitive integrity across member schools. 

Homewood remains in Region 5 in football, but will be joined by a handful of new faces. The Patriots and Jackson-Olin are the only two schools that stay in Region 5, to be joined by Carver-Birmingham, Chelsea, Helena, Pelham and Minor.

The Patriots also stay in Area 8 in basketball, but the area drops from four teams to three. Homewood will compete against Huffman and Shades Valley. Huffman dropped back to 6A after a two-year stint in 7A.

Most of the other sports will have the same teams as the football region and basketball area. Notably, Briarwood Christian School joins Homewood's section in tennis, despite Briarwood being a 5A school. The AHSAA implemented a new competitive balance points system for this cycle for private schools.

The complete classification system can be found at ahsaa.com.