VALLEY CITY, N.D. – The Valley City High School girls’ basketball program won its appeal to remain in Class A, following a presentation to the North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA) Classification Committee.
The decision comes after the Hi-Liners girls’ basketball team won its first-ever Class A state championship. The team was being considered for a move to Class AA due to an accumulation of success points, which are earned by advancing to and winning the state championship.
Valley City has not recorded a winning season at the Class AA level, formerly known as Class A, since the 2013-14 season. The reclassification of North Dakota high school basketball into three divisions—Class AA, Class A, and Class B—was made in recent years.
Of the schools currently in the Class AA Eastern Dakota Conference (EDC), six have enrollments exceeding 1,000 students, while two others have more than 750 students. Valley City’s student enrollment is only comparable to that of Shanley High School, a private institution with an annual tuition of more than $7,500.
Appeals Process and Decision
Valley City High School Activities Director Rob Hunt led the appeal for the Hi-Liners. He received few questions from the committee, only confirming the school’s declining student population and middle school athletics participation. Bryce Laxdal, activities director for Northern Cass, also supported Valley City’s case, stating that “All of Region 1 (Class A) wants Valley City to remain in the region.”
The committee also heard appeals from Devils Lake (boys and girls), Kindred (boys), Bishop Ryan (boys), and Westhope/Newburg (boys). All were granted permission to remain in their current classifications.
Devils Lake officials argued that the school was an “odd ball” in terms of enrollment and should be placed in the middle classification rather than competing against larger Fargo and Grand Forks schools. Activities Director Jason Wiberg noted that both the boys’ and girls’ teams had unusually strong senior classes, which would not be the norm in future seasons. He also cited a lack of letters of support from regional schools due to strained relationships within Region 2.
Kindred’s appeal emphasized that the three-class system was still in its infancy and not ready for drastic changes. The Kindred boys’ team, which won the Class A state championship over Devils Lake, has only lost once to a North Dakota team in the last two seasons. Activities Director Bradley Ambrosius contended that the team’s recent dominance was due to an especially strong senior class featuring multiple All-Region and All-State players.
Westhope/Newburg based its appeal on the graduation of two leading scorers and a declining enrollment, arguing that the school was not suited for Class A. The committee agreed, allowing the program to remain in Class B.
Bishop Ryan, the reigning Class B state champion, made a similar argument, citing the upcoming graduation of standout 6-foot-7 center Ramsey Walz, who provided a major size advantage at the Class B level. School representatives acknowledged their boys’ basketball program’s strength but stated that they preferred to wait before moving up to Class A.
Future of Success Points System
Committee members engaged in a lengthy discussion about the effectiveness of the success points system and whether enrollment should be a greater factor in classification decisions. The committee remains open to modifying the system, including adjusting the number of points required for reclassification over a given period.