CIF to use 9-12 enrollment for divisions

The CIF San Diego Section will be using enrollment of a school’s students from ninth through twelfth grades to determine the placement of schools in a division.

The CIF Board of Managers approved the proposal to use 9-12 enrollment counts for division placement purposes. Three days later the CIF state Federated Council approved the use of 9-12 enrollments for division placement in state tournaments.

“A lot of freshmen play varsity sports, so why not count them?” said CIF San Diego Section commissioner Dennis Ackerman.

The CIF currently uses 10-12 enrollment counts to place schools in divisions for a sport. Ackerman expects minimal adjustment due to the change. “It’s not really going to affect the divisions that much,” he said.

The CIF collects membership dues based on a school’s 9-12 enrollment. “I just think it’s being consistent with everything else we do,” Ackerman said of the change.

Most high schools in the San Diego Section now cover grades nine through twelve. If a high school begins with tenth grade and ninth-graders attend a junior high school, the CIF Board of Managers can approve a multi-campus agreement which allows ninth-graders at the junior high school to play on the high school team. The 9-12 enrollment counts will be used for three-year high schools with multi-campus agreements.