The Titans will be among 32 schools that will make up the brand new 8A classification, placed among the state’s most populated and competitive athletic programs. North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) will be splitting 437 schools into the eight classifications starting at the beginning of the 2025–2026 academic year, doubling from the current four classifications in the state.
“I think this is gonna be very helpful because now we’re gonna have schools with similar average daily membership (ADM) playing against each other instead of how it is now where we have schools playing others that are twice the size of one another,” head football coach Kevin Wallace said.
The modification has been in the works for over a year, and the NCHSAA board began discussions in April of 2023. This change has not come into effect yet because of the cap they put on how many schools can join the remaining classifications (64 schools maximum) and waiting for accurate numbers of each school’s student population, which will help to place them in a certain group.
“I don’t think this will have much of an effect on our athletics because we are currently 4A and already competing against the biggest schools in the state. The only change would be the conference we are in and the amount of traveling that teams will have to do throughout their seasons since we will be in a league with Greensboro, possibly Mooresville and even northern Charlotte schools,” Athletic Director Mike Pennington said.
Because of this change, the only familiar name Titan athletes will see will be their crosstown rivals, the Reagan Raiders. Most of the 8A classification will consist of schools in the Charlotte area such as Myers Park, Lake Norman and North Mecklenburg.
“I think the change will make our team a lot better because Charlotte schools are always really good and going up against that type of competition every week will really help us improve,” sophomore Volleyball player Anna Hege said.
As many teams are focused on finishing their seasons strong, this change will be in the back of many coaches’ minds heading into next season while trying to prepare their teams for the significant change in the upcoming years.
