Daily Dive: 17 schools win GHSA appeals to move down in classification for 2026-2028 reclass cycle

The 2026-2028 classifications are now set. While regions can still be appealed, the teams are now in the classes they will be in for the next two years. Of the appeals to move down, only seventeen were approved.

In the new 7A class, four schools successfully appealed to move down: Osborne, Meadowcreek, and Lakeside-Evans are moving from 7A to 6A, while DeKalb County’s Arabia Mountain is moving from 7A all the way down to 5A.

In 6A, only Drew successfully appealed, moving down to 5A. Thomas County Central, Northside-Columbus, and Creekside all lost their appeals and will stay in 6A.

There were two successful appeals in Class 5A, with Douglass-Atlanta moving down to 4A, while Central-Macon was able to move all the way down to 3A. A surprising result was that of Johnson-Gainesville, which won its appeal last cycle to move from 4A to 3A but did not succeed this year.

In 4A, three schools successfully appealed, with KIPP Atlanta, Johnson-Savannah, and Cross Creek moving down to 3A.

In Class 3A, five schools moving down to 2A, the most successful appeals cycle in all classes: Savannah Christian, Putnam County, Mount Vernon, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, and Gordon Central all won appeals. In Class 2A, only two teams move down to Class A, Twiggs County and Lanier County.

The fate of the appeals will have the biggest impact on football. Many of the schools that have struggled and did not win their appeals may play non-region schedules in 2026 and 2027. A prime example is Johnson-Gainesville, which has struggled in recent years and spent 2021 and 2022 playing a non-region schedule. The team went back to a region schedule in 2024, but may now return to a non-region slate after failing to move down to 4A. However, many other schools will continue as normal but will simply play at a higher classification then they would have preferred to.

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