The Oregon School Activities Association’s Classification and Districting Committee this fall has been discussing reclassification options for the four-year block of 2026-30.
Coming out of a work session late last month, the OSAA reported that although there had been support for a five-classification approach, the committee members “voted to unanimously support recommending a six-classification approach to the Executive Board.”
The six-classification setup dates back to 2006-07. From 1990-91 to 2005-06, there were four classifications.
The committee met again just a few days ago to accept more public testimony and a closed work session followed. Work continues as the committee tweaks cutoff points, league alignments and school placements. An additional public meeting was scheduled for Dec. 1.
So what does all of this mean for Philomath? The latest six-classification draft proposal shows Class 4A with a high school enrollment range of 281 to 590. As a result, the Oregon West as currently configured would include Cascade (577 enrollment), Central (550), Newport (420), Philomath (363), Stayton (488) and Taft (291).
There had been a five-classification system on the table earlier which could’ve put the Warriors and their 363 enrollment in an Oregon West Conference with Central (550), Crescent Valley (610), Dallas (628), Lebanon (685) and Newport (420).
An issue that remains on the table involves how the “average daily membership,” or ADM, is calculated moving forward. The ADM measures the average number of students enrolled and attending school over a defined period. It’s an important discussion for smaller communities like Philomath, where enrollment fluctuations of even a few dozen students can affect which classification the high school competes in.
The committee anticipates forwarding its final recommendations to the Executive Board for its Dec. 15 meeting. The OSAA Football Ad-Hoc Committee plans to review and make recommendations for football classifications, districts and structure to be considered by the Executive Board at its February meeting.
Pie auction coming Tuesday
The Philomath High boys basketball team’s annual pie auction fundraiser is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday in the main gym. Last year, the program raised $5,400 to help cover expenses that come up over the course of a season. Head coach Blake Ecker even took a pie in the face to bring in some extra dollars.
“We don’t get any money from the district for travel or when we make the state tournament. The kids have to fundraise for food, hotels, etc.,” Ecker said. “We started this quite awhile ago and the first time we did, someone said we were having a bake sale. But at the end of the night, they were pretty jealous about how much it brought in. It’s been a good fundraiser tradition.”
Players’ families donate the pies to the event and athletes go up in the stands to show them off to try to attract bids. Rusty Jensen will return as the auctioneer. Meanwhile, the varsity and junior varsity teams scrimmage to give those in attendance a peek at this year’s basketball talent.
The Warriors in 2024-25 ended with a 13-11 record and finished runner-up in the Oregon West, a showing that came with an automatic berth in the 4A playoffs. Philomath came up short in a first-round road loss to Seaside, 38-34.
Philomath is scheduled to participate in a jamboree on Dec. 3 at Santiam Christian. The regular season kicks off the next evening with a home game against Crescent Valley. The Warriors open with four straight home games — the other three opponents being Marist Catholic, West Albany and South Albany.
(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).