Aliquippa football lost their competitive-balance appeal on Wednesday, as the PIAA voted to sustain their original decision, forcing them to play Class 5A football for the next two seasons.
The PIAA originally ruled that Aliquippa would reclassify to Class 5A football for the following two season in early January, moving up from Class 4A. The organization bases this ruling on their competitive-balance formula, where schools that accrue a certain number of points through postseason success and transfer students reclassify to a higher classification over the next two-season period.
Aliquippa has had incredible success the past two seasons, winning two WPIAL 4A Titles, losing in the PIAA 4A Championship in 2022 to powerhouse Bishop McDevitt and then demolishing Dallas 60-14 in 2023.
With four points given for a PIAA championship berth, three points for a semifinals berth, two points for a quarterfinals berth, etc., the Quips had enough success, as well as the PIAA determining they exceeded the transfer threshold over the last two seasons. This led to the PIAA putting them up for reclassification.
The issue with reclassification for Aliquippa is the small student body size. Class 5A schools, according to PIAA guidelines for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, have a student enrollment of 424 to 619 boys from ninth through 11th grade, which includes WPIAL schools like Pine-Richland, Upper St. Clair and Peters Township. Aliquippa reported just 156 boys through those grades, placing them at the lower end of Class 2A minimum, which is 144.
While the Quips do have incredibly talented players throughout their roster, including four-stars in Class of 2024 linebacker and Pitt commit Cameron Lindsey and Class of 2025 running back and Penn State commit Tiqwai Hayes, the rest of the team isn’t necessarily at their level of talent, but also body size and strength. Schools with a higher enrollment have a better chance of placing players that are stronger and bigger, which could lead to injuries for the Quips, due to the disadvantage.
The competitive-balance formula also doesn’t take into account the circumstances around both Aliquippa’s voluntary decision to play up from its 1A enrollment or how some of Aliquippa’s transfers land in the system due to situations out of their control. This includes the PIAA deeming Hayes as a transfer, despite playing in the Aliquippa youth football system throughout his childhood.
Aliquippa volunteered to play up at the Class-3A level initially, but the continued success of the program and the PIAA deeming the Quips over the transfer threshold forced a move to Class-4A in 2020.
The PIAA originally wanted to place the Quips in Class 5A back in 2022, but head coach Mike Warfield, along with help from people like Hall of Famer and former Quip Ty Law, kept them in Class 4A the past two seasons.
“It takes away from our kids’ hard work and their accomplishments,” Warfield said earlier in January on the reclassification. “It gives the impression the only reason Aliquippa is winning is because of transfers, which is totally inaccurate. That bothers me the most because our kids do everything we ask them to do. Everything that adults in society tell our kids to do, to work hard and you’ll be rewarded, and they do that. And it seems like the more they work, the more they’re being punished.”
Warfield also claims that the PIAA determined 23 of his players, along with Hayes, were transfers on a 40 man roster. He claims that two kids that came in as transfers never actually played and that they can’t deny kids the chance to join the school district.
Pennsylvania State Representative Rob Matzie announced shortly after the initial ruling on Aliquippa in early January that he will be introducing legislation to analyze the policy, practices, finances and structure of the PIAA with an aim toward overhauling how the PIAA operates and makes decisions.
