Two changes are coming next year athletically for Northern Heights High School.
The USD 251 Board of Education voted 7-0 Wednesday having Northern Heights drop from 11-man to 8-man football beginning with the 2024 season. Northern Heights principal Dave Watkins and athletic director Lea Hamlin gave the board valuable information needed for the move from 11-man to 8-man.
USD 251 Superintendent Bob Blair says after a lengthy conversation the board wanted to make the best decision for the future of Northern Heights and its students.
The Kansas High School Activities Association is set to release its new classifications for football and other sports later this month. High schools will have to send their enrollment numbers to KSHSAA by September 20. The new football classifications will be for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, while the classifications for all other sports will be for the 2023-24 academic year.
Another change for Northern Heights in 2024 will be a new league. After a lengthy conversation, the USD 251 board voted 7-0 to move from the Flint Hills League to the Lyon County League starting with the 2024-25 academic year.
With the move to the Lyon County League, Blair says Northern Heights will go from the smallest school in the Flint Hills League to the largest school in the Lyon County League.
Blair says it was the right decision to switch leagues.
Northern Heights’ addition to the Lyon County League comes at the perfect time with Southern Coffey County exiting the league at the conclusion of this academic year.
