OHSAA releases divisional breakdown for winter sports

COLUMBUS – The boys basketball teams from Findlay, Fostoria and Bluffton and Liberty-Benton's girls team will all be playing up a division when OHSAA tournament play begins following the 2025-26 season. The Ohio High School Athletic Association released on Monday the divisional breakdowns for the upcoming 2025-26 winter sports seasons. Girls and boys basketball divisions are the only new assignments compared to last season, as those two sports are subject to the OHSAA's competitive balance process and are recalculated every season. Divisional breakdowns remain the same next season for swimming, bowling and boys wrestling, which do not utilize competitive balance and will be in the second year of the two-year base enrollment cycle. Gymnastics, ice hockey and girls wrestling have one division. Findlay was bracketed in Division II for last year's boys tournament. Based on enrollment and competitive balance numbers, Findlay would originally have been in Division I for last year's tournament. But when some schools elected to use the OHSAA option of bumping up a division, and with Divisions I and II limited to the biggest 64 schools each, the smallest schools in those divisions dropped down. For the upcoming school year, Cincinnati Elder is the only school that chose to bump up to Division I. Findlay High's girls program remains in Division I, same as last year. With a base enrollment of 582 and competitive balance number of one, Findlay will be the third smallest Division I school in the state. Fostoria, Division V last season, is up to Division IV and Bluffton, with a base enrollment of 144 and competitive balance of 14, has bumped up from Division VI to Division V. Liberty-Benton will be the area's lone girls program jumping divisions this year. The Eagles, who advanced to the Division V regional semifinals last spring, will be bracketed in Division IV for this year's OHSAA tournament.