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# Fact brief: Does South Dakota have the most high school football classes?
- URL: https://www.sdnewswatch.org/fact-brief-south-dakota-high-school-football-classes/
- Published: 2025-11-11T11:00:59.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-11T11:00:58.000Z
- Description: A fact brief that refutes or confirms a claim with supporting information and additional evidence and context.
- Author: Michael Klinski
- Tags: Fact briefs, #feature-2

## No.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cb/ab/cbabab5e-2dc6-462c-94a0-b72956c0d224/content/images/2025/01/WhiteFACT-BRIEF--500-x-200-px--2-1-1.png)

South Dakota’s seven classifications of high school football is among the highest in the country, but it’s one fewer than Illinois, which has eight.

South Dakota increased the number of classes from six to seven in 2013 when the state added a fourth 11-man class, with the largest schools moving to Class 11AAA. The other three classes consist of nine-man schools. The seven classes don’t include the All Nations Football Conference, which features 16 tribal teams from South Dakota and Nebraska. 

One proposal in 2019 was for five classes (three 11-man teams and two nine-man teams) and another was for six, but ultimately the SDHSAA decided to stay with seven.

Regionally, Minnesota has seven football classes, including one for nine players; North Dakota has four, including one nine-man; Wyoming has five, including one nine-man and one six-man; Wyoming has seven, including two eight-man and one six-man; and Iowa has seven, including one eight-player class. Texas has six classes.

*This fact brief responds to conversations such as*[ *this one.*](https://www.reddit.com/r/NFLNoobs/comments/1fad9wg/understanding%5Fhighschool%5Ffootball/?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

### **Sources**

NCSA, [High school football 101](https://www.ncsasports.org/blog/high-school-football?ref=sdnewswatch.org#:~:text=Although%20the%20exact%20terms%20will,game%20being%20contested%20in%20each.)

Sioux Falls Argus Leader, [Time to overhaul South Dakota's seven-class football system](https://www.argusleader.com/story/sports/high-school-sports/2019/09/27/south-dakota-high-school-football-seven-class-system-pierre-whitney/3774998002/?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

SDPB, [2021 11-man high school football classifications](https://www.sdpb.org/sports-and-leisure/2021-01-13/2021-11man-high-school-football-classifications?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

Sioux Falls Argus Leader, [South Dakota high school football: Plan for five-class system gains steam](https://www.argusleader.com/story/sports/high-school-sports/2019/12/05/proposals-could-end-south-dakota-seven-class-high-school-football-system/2514184001/?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

Minnesota State High School League, [2025 state championship schedule](https://www.mshsl.org/sites/default/files/2025-11/state-tournament-full-schedule%5F2.pdf?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

North Dakota High School Activities Association, [Football](https://ndhsaa.com/athletics/football?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

Wyoming High School Activities Association, [Football](https://www.whsaa.org/football/football.html?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

Nebraska School Activities Association, [Football](https://nsaahome.org/football/?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

SDPB, [What is All Nations Football? ](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=763153646731412)

University Interscholastic League, [UIL Realignment](https://www.uiltexas.org/football/alignments?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

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