VALLEY CITY, ND (NewsDakota.com) With the North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA) changing football alignments for 2025, next year’s football options for Barnes County North will need review before November.
The Bison seem to have lost their football co-op with Valley City, as the VCHS school board has voted to terminate the co-op, with the exception of a successful appeal that will allow them to keep the partnership and play at the 1A, or second level of four, in 2025.
Declining enrollment in the Valley City district has left the Hi-Liner program with 135 male students in grades 7-10, the range used by NDHSAA for classification. This number is below the 150 student limit that separates the lower two divisions, 9-man and 1A, from the top two divisions, 2A and 3A.
However, with the Barnes County North co-op in place, state numbers show the combined program with 168 students, well over the limit.
Appeals of classification are seldom successful. If the appeal is denied, Valley City has chosen to play at the 1A level instead of maintaining the co-op.
The decision seems justified. Playing 2A football means playing Minot, Minot North, Fargo South, and others that are much larger, at least with the current projected classifications. Playing 1A means playing Belcourt, Beulah, Grafton, Bottineau, Rugby, Northern Cass, Carrington, and others that are simply better enrollment matchups for Valley City.
However, Barnes County North is left to find options for football going forward.
Solo 9-man team
This option is more complicated than it sounds. The NDHSAA limits 9-man football to the smallest 36 enrollments, along with up to an additional four teams. There is no interest in going over 40 teams.
Currently, the Bison are not listed as one of the 36 smallest enrollments. Their enrollment of 33.66 males in grades 7-10 (an adjusted number based on a percentage of students enrolled in free and reduced meals) would put them 36th of 37, if they were added to the current group of declared 9-man teams. Only Lewis and Clark in Berthold would be smaller.
The Bison would have to act fast. Should other schools choose to move into the division ahead of them, it could be difficult to work out this option. Numbers would be a problem in this scenario.
Rejoin a Familiar Co-op
Barnes County North has a history with Griggs County Central and Midkota, the former GBC Titans. However, their numbers, together, had the program playing at the 2A and 1A level in the past, a situation that was unsustainable.
Griggs County and Midkota have maintained a co-op, and are currently slated to play 9-man football in 2025. The programs joining again would lead to a combined enrollment of just over 65 students, placing the program in the 1A division ahead of two other schools.
An appeal could be made to the NDHSAA in this case also, but is unlikely to succeed, as Midway-Minto is currently in the 1A division with an enrollment of 62.68.
Form a New Co-op
Barnes County North could attempt to co-op with Jamestown.
The Bluejays have an enrollment of 334.80. Adding 34 students would not even surpass the next highest team on the list, which is Fargo South.
Would Jamestown accept the co-op is an interesting question. At the 2A level, Jamestown has seen great success, and there are usually sentiments of a school district playing their own students first before adding co-ops. That would make for difficult time for Bison athletes to find playing time in a Jamestown system.
Six-man Football
Six-man football has been a part of the landscape in North Dakota for a while now. It’s an independent class of football, allowing for small schools to play flexible schedules.
In six-man football, all of the players are eligible receivers, meaning the game is fast-paced, and sometimes high scoring.
Currently, there are eight teams scheduled to play six-man football, but only two in any sort of striking distance to Barnes County North. Warwick, south of Devils Lake, would be the closest opponent for the Bison. Drayton would be next. The other communities are New Town, Parshall/North Shore/Plaza, Trenton, White Shield, Center-Stanton, Mandaree, and Warwick.
Barnes County North officials are scheduled to have further discussions next week to pursue their options.