NDHSAA Board of Directors meeting in Valley City.

VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – A Three-Class Basketball plan for the 2023-2024 school year was approved by the North Dakota High School Activities Association Board of Directors on an 8 to 2 vote on Wednesday, February 8th during a board meeting in Valley City.

The current plan was drafted by a focus group of member schools across the state and subsequently amended and updated by NDHSAA Executive Director Matt Fetsch and the NDHSAA staff.

One of the board members who led the charge to implement a Three-Class Basketball plan was Josh Johnson. He believes this will help school districts across the state and increase participation in boys and girls basketball.

In the first motion, the NDHSAA Board of Directors voted unanimously to move to a three division basketball plan. However, in the second motion, the vote to implement the three-division plan for the 2023-2024 school year was passed on an 8 to 2 vote. Board president Dave Schoch and board member Paul Jundt voted against the motion to implement the plan for the 2023-2024 school. Schoch believed the plan should be worked on and adjusted for one more year before implementation.

Board member Ned Clooten said despite concerns that school coops would be dissolved or hurt in the first year of implementation, he felt more school districts and student athletes would benefit greatly from this decision in the long run.

According to NDHSAA media specialist Tom Mix the last season North Dakota had a three-class system was during the 1962-1963 basketball season.