PHOENIX — On Monday, the AIA received communication from the Maricopa County Superior Court that the injunction brought forth by three member schools regarding the new football reclassifications was denied.
Northwest Christian, Benjamin Franklin and Round Valley had joined together to file suit against the AIA and the new formula to move football teams up a division based on recent success.
NWC and Benjamin Franklin will move into 4A and Round Valley will move into 3A.
With the ruling, the new model for competitive balance in football remains intact. The 2020 season is to be the first with the model.
“We are appreciative of the ruling and hope that we can now move forward with not only the scheduling of football games, but also with the schools involved in the case,” said Executive Director David Hines. “It was a decision to protect the new competitive balance model voted on by the Executive Board. We never want to go to court to settle any matters with our members. This was unfortunate, but necessary to maintain the integrity of the AIA’s rules and regulations.”
Representatives of the AIA conferences may now begin entering football schedules into the online system. All schedules will hopefully be ready by the end of the week. Recommendations from the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee regarding return to play will be presented next week.