Division I and II designations were submitted yesterday by league officials to the Hawaii High School Athletic Association.
Leagues have until July 21 to finalize their designations, but yesterday's submissions are likely to stand. After the deadline, leagues will be able to switch teams to a different classification for regular-season play.
However, the HHSAA will recognize the July 21 numbers when determining the league ratios for state tournament representation. Each league determines its own criteria for classification. That autonomy has raised questions since the start of Division I and II state championships with football in 2001. More sports have been added in Division II state tournaments over the years, with girls soccer and boys basketball entering the format for the coming year.
The Maui Interscholastic League is relying solely on an enrollment-only criteria for the most part. While other leagues vary in criteria from sport to sport, the MIL is more exact.
"Every school is in D-I in all sports, or in D-II for all," executive director Steve Kim said.
The lone exception to that rule is in football, where the MIL allows King Kekaulike to play in Division II. "There's some people who are upset about that," Kim acknowledged.
The MIL also uses a formula that is relatively common to mainland leagues in regard to private schools. Kamehameha-Maui's enrollment figure is multiplied by a factor of 2 when the league makes designations. In the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, similar criteria have been implemented in the past year.
"Our rule is the cutoff is 1,700 (students)," new executive director Ken Yamase said. "Any school that is above the number is automatically Division I. If a team is in Division II, they can petition to move up."
That is the case for the girls basketball squads at Honokaa and Konawaena, which are among the smaller schools statewide. The two teams finished third and fourth, respectively, at the state championships.
"We leave it up to each league's discretion how to classify," HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya said. "No one knows their league better than them."
Yesterday's meeting at the Oahu Interscholastic Association's office was relatively short by HHSAA executive board standards. "This meeting was strictly for the board to report, not for discussion or changes," Amemiya said.
Some of the hubbub lately has come from smaller schools, such as La Pietra. Because the Interscholastic League of Honolulu reviews and adjusts its classifications on a yearly basis, the Lady Panthers are required to move their basketball team to Division I next season.
The team suffered some key losses to graduation, and its top player, Courtney Gaddis, recently transferred to Kalani due to financial reasons.
Though La Pietra won the league's D-II title, most supporters believe the program is not suited to move up.
Yamase was formerly an athletic director at Waiakea, a school that lost 1,000 students when Keaau opened its doors. In the ensuing years, Waiakea chose to remain in Division I despite a smaller count.
"I felt that if I'm D-I for one sport, it goes for all sports. It's our responsibility to maintain at Division I, to remain competitive," Yamase said. "The tradition was already created."
Still another program with a tradition of overachievement remained in ILH Division I. Hawaii Baptist, which barely missed qualifying for the state tourney in three of the past four years, is a smaller program that would possibly have won the Division II state championship last year.
However, because the ILH is low in numbers for Division I volleyball, the Eagles remain in the higher classification for another year. Unlike the ILH and its one-year review system, the OIA has been successful with a two-year window. Their formula includes varsity and junior varsity win-loss records, with more emphasis on the varsity mark.
With 29 schools, the OIA does not rely on enrollment figures. Of the 23 teams that play football, less than a handful are below the state average. That gives the OIA, at least on paper, an advantage over smaller schools statewide. Iolani, however, broke the OIA's string of Division II football champions last fall.
Who's D-I, Who's D-II
ILH
Football
Division I: Kamehameha, Punahou, Saint Louis
Division II: Damien, Iolani, Pac-Five
Boys volleyball
Division I: Hawaii Baptist, Iolani, Kamehameha, Punahou, Saint Louis
Division II: Damien, Hanalani, Maryknoll, Mid-Pacific, University
Girls volleyball
Division I: Hawaii Baptist, Iolani, Kamehameha, Mid-Pacific, Punahou
Division II: Christian Academy, Hanalani, La Pietra, Le Jardin, Maryknoll, Sacred Hearts, St. Andrew's, University, Word of Life
Girls soccer
Division I: Iolani, Kamehameha, Punahou
Division II: Mid-Pacific, Pac-Five, St. Francis
Softball
Division I: Iolani, Kamehameha, Pac-Five, Punahou, St. Francis
Division II: Maryknoll, Mid-Pacific, Sacred Hearts
Boys basketball
Division I: Damien, Iolani, Kamehameha, Maryknoll, Mid-Pacific, Punahou, Saint Louis
Division II: Academy of the Pacific, Assets, Christian Academy, Hanalani, Hawaii Baptist, Lanakila Baptist, Le Jardin, Lutheran, Redemption, University, Word of Life
Girls basketball
Division I: Iolani, Kamehameha, La Pietra, Maryknoll, Mid-Pacific, Punahou
Division II: Christian Academy, Hanalani, Hawaii Baptist, Le Jardin, Lutheran, Sacred Hearts, St. Andrew's, St. Francis, University, Word of Life
OIA
Football
Division I (Red East): Castle, Farrington, Kahuku, Kailua, Kalaheo, McKinley, Moanalua
Division I (Red West): Aiea, Campbell, Kapolei, Leilehua, Mililani, Radford, Waianae
Division II (White): Anuenue, Kaimuki, Kaiser, Kalani, Nanakuli, Pearl City, Roosevelt, Waialua, Waipahu
Boys volleyball
Division I (Red East): Castle, Kahuku, Kaimuki, Kalaheo, McKinley, Moanalua, Roosevelt
Division I (Red West): Campbell, Kapolei, Leilehua, Mililani, Nanakuli, Pearl City, Radford
Division II (White): Aiea, Farrington, Kailua, Kaiser, Kalani, Waialua, Waianae, Waipahu
Girls volleyball
Division I (Red East): Castle, Farrington, Kahuku, Kalani, McKinley, Moanalua, Roosevelt
Division I (Red West): Aiea, Kapolei, Leilehua, Mililani, Nanakuli, Pearl City, Waipahu
Division II (White): Anuenue, Campbell, Kailua, Kaimuki, Kaiser, Kalaheo, Radford, Waialua, Waianae
Girls soccer
Division I (Red East): Castle, Kahuku, Kailua, Kaiser, Kalaheo, Kalani, Moanalua
Division I (Red West): Aiea, Kapolei, Leilehua, Mililani, Pearl City, Radford, Waianae
Division II: Campbell, Farrington, Kaimuki, McKinley, Nanakuli, Roosevelt, Waialua, Waipahu
Softball
Division I (Red East): Castle, Kahuku, Kailua, Kaimuki, Kalaheo, Kalani, Moanalua
Division I (Red West): Aiea, Campbell, Kapolei, Leilehua, Mililani, Pearl City, Waipahu
Division II (White): Anuenue, Farrington, Kaiser, McKinley, Nanakuli, Radford, Roosevelt, Waialua, Waianae
Boys basketball
Division I (Red East): Castle, Farrington, Kahuku, Kaimuki, Kalaheo, Moanalua, Roosevelt
Division I (Red West): Campbell, Kapolei, Leilehua, Mililani, Pearl City, Radford, Waianae
Division II (White): Aiea, Anuenue, Kailua, Kaiser, Kalani, Kamakau, McKinley, Nanakuli, Thompson, Waialua, Waipahu
Girls basketball
Division I (Red East): Farrington, Kahuku, Kaimuki, Kalaheo, Kalani, Moanalua, Roosevelt
Division I (Red West): Aiea, Kapolei, Leilehua, Mililani, Nanakuli, Pearl City, Radford
Division II (White): Anuenue, Campbell, Castle, Kailua, Kaiser, McKinley, Thompson, Waialua, Waianae, Waipahu
BIIF
Football
Division I: Hilo, Keaau, Kealakehe, Waiakea
Division II: Hawaii Prep, Honokaa, Kamehameha-Hawaii, Ka'u, Kohala, Konawaena
Boys volleyball
Division I: Kamehameha-Hawaii, Keaau, Kealakehe, Waiakea
Division II: Christian Liberty, Hawaii Prep, Hilo, Honokaa, Ka'u, Kohala, Konawaena, Laupahoehoe, Pahoa, Parker, St. Joseph
Girls volleyball
Division I: Kamehameha-Hawaii, Keaau, Kealakehe, Waiakea
Division II: Christian Liberty, Hawaii Prep, Hilo, Honokaa, Ka'u, Kohala, Konawaena, Laupahoehoe, Pahoa, Parker, St. Joseph
Girls soccer
Division I: Hilo, Kamehameha-Hawaii, Keaau, Kealakehe, Konawaena, Waiakea
Division II: Christian Liberty, Hawaii Prep, Honokaa, Ka'u, Kohala, Makua Lani, Pahoa, Parker, St. Joseph
Softball
Division I: Hilo, Keaau, Kealakehe, Waiakea
Division II: Hawaii Prep, Honokaa, Kamehameha-Hawaii, Ka'u, Kohala, Konawaena, Pahoa
Boys basketball
Division I: Hilo, Honokaa, Kamehameha-Hawaii, Keaau, Kealakehe, Konawaena, Waiakea
Division II: Christian Liberty, Hawaii Prep, Ka'u, Kohala, Laupahoehoe, Pahoa, Parker, St. Joseph
Girls basketball
Division I: Hilo, Honokaa, Keaau, Kealakehe, Konawaena, Waiakea
Division II: Christian Liberty, Hawaii Prep, Kamehameha-Hawaii, Ka'u, Kohala, Laupahoehoe, Pahoa, Parker, St. Joseph
KIF
Kapaa, Kauai, Waimea are Division II in all sports
MIL
Same for all sports*
Division I: Baldwin, King Kekaulike, Lahainaluna, Maui, Kaahumanu Hou, Kamehameha-Maui
Division II: Hana, Lanai, Molokai, Pac-3 (football only), St. Anthony, Seabury Hall
* -- the one exception is that King Kekaulike is Division II in football only
Note: Baseball and Boys Soccer do not play in classifications.