'New' AISA classifications and regions set for next two years

Lowndes Academy, winner of three-straight AISA Class A titles in football, moves to Class AA for the next two calendar years. (File Photo)

By TIM GAYLE

A revamped Alabama Independent School Association will be taking the field for the 2024 football season in another month as the private school organization restructured its classifications after losing six members over the last two years. 

The departure of its two biggest schools for the Alabama High School Athletic Association this summer caused the organization to consider several different options before settling on a new classification system that puts the remaining football members in two divisions. 

“We kind of went into it with the mindset that we came out of it with,” AISA executive director Michael McClendon observed. “About the only thing that was unique was we didn’t (numerically) balance out the areas. If people were geographically closer, we’d put them together. We were pleased with how it worked out from a travel standpoint.”

The nine schools which are participating in eight-man football will now comprise Class A in the organization. That includes the six schools that played eight-man football a year ago, one 11-man program (Coosa Valley Academy) that will play eight-man in 2024 and 2025 and two schools that are new football participants. 

One of the organization’s recent additions, Birmingham’s Heritage Christian Academy, will participate in football for the first time this fall, and the organization will add two others programs, The Oaks School in Opelika and Hope Christian Academy in Oxford.

Hope Christian, which just opened last fall, will participate along with Heritage Christian in eight-man football this fall along, while The Oaks and recent AISA addition Trinity Christian will continue to participate in other programs before adding football at a later date.

“It helps with the travel (of region opponents),” McClendon said. “We’re happy to have them. (Heritage) played junior high football last year. This will be their first year at the varsity level.”

While the Alabama Independent School Association has lost several of its largest programs over the last two years, it has also gained several smaller schools that are helping to expand the eight-man program. 

“It’s a good thing for those schools,” McClendon said. “Enthusiasm for football at Springwood was all but gone two years ago. Their time in 8-man the last couple of years, I think they would say, has saved the program and boosted morale. We certainly hope that that level of excitement will lead to an 11-man transition since they are one of our larger schools.” 

AISA FOOTBALL CLASSIFICATIONS for 2024-25 and 2025-26 

Class AAA

Region 1

Banks Academy 

Bessemer Academy

Chambers Academy 

Edgewood Academy

Lakeside School

Valiant Cross Academy

Region 2

Clarke Prep School

Escambia Academy

Fort Dale Academy

Monroe Academy

Morgan Academy

CLASS AA

Region 1

Abbeville Christian

Crenshaw Christian

Hooper Academy

Lowndes Academy

Macon East Academy

Sparta Academy

Region 2

Jackson Academy 

Patrician Academy

Snook Christian

South Choctaw Academy

Southern Academy 

Wilcox Academy

CLASS A

Coosa Valley Academy

Cornerstone Christian

Evangel Christian 

Heritage Christian

Hope Christian 

Meadowview Christian

North River Christian

Southern Prep

Springwood School