New divisions set for 2013-2015, D-I FB drops from 42 to 29

November 28, 2012 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


With Tucson High, Sunnyside and Buena winning appeals to the Arizona Interscholastic Association's executive board to move down from Division I to Division II in football, there are no longer any southern Arizona schools in D-I in the sport for the next scheduling block 2013-2015.

The move down a division of those schools plus earlier approval down of Cibola, San Luis, Westwood and Mesquite leaves D-I the smallest of the five football divisions with 29 schools. D-I was comprised of 42 schools in the 2011-2013 block. Other schools who were in D-I the last two-year block and now down a division or two are Kofa, Yuma, Trevor Browne, Tolleson, St.  Mary's, Central, Carl Hayden and Alhambra. The four schools new to D-I for the coming two-year block are Cesar Chavez, Horizon, Millennium and Perry. East Valley schools now comprise more than half of D-I membership (15 schools).

The number of schools in other football divisions for 2013-2015: Division II (44); D-III (48); D-IV (32), D-V (49) and D-VI eight-man football (30). Division II had 42 schools in the last block, D-III had 40, D-IV had 32, D-V had 38 and D-VI had 37.