By Cameron Deckman
Every track practice at Purdue Polytechnic High School in Indianapolis, they gather on the sidewalk just outside their school. With no track, no discus ring and no high jump pit, practices have to get creative just to actually happen.
Just 30 minutes north, Carmel High School is having practice at a state of the art facility worth millions of dollars.
Just a 30-minute drive west, Brownsburg High School is also having practice at another state of the art indoor track facility. One that Delta High School’s track and field head coach, Shane Conley, described as “the second best facility in the state of Indiana.”
Does this seem fair?
In Indiana, there are no multi-class divisions for “individual” sports such as tennis, cross country, track, swimming, wrestling and golf.
Indiana has always loved an underdog story, and the Indiana High School Athletic Association feeds into that “one true champion” mindset. This is the Indiana way; we love the underdog story. This seemingly originates from the Milan Miracle of 1954, where tiny Milan High School beat the much larger Muncie Central High School in the boys’ basketball state championship.
There is a reason why this championship run became the basis for the movie “Hoosiers.” It is an amazing “David and Goliath” type of story.
However, these types of events take decades to happen, and the sport this movie follows is no longer a single-class tournament anymore.
Starting in the fall of 1997, divisions were integrated into sports like basketball, baseball, volleyball and soccer. Football already had divisions prior to the other sports receiving the divisions. All of these sports are classified as “team” sports.
For the nearly 30 years since then, nothing has been done to help athletes in individual sports compete on a more equitable basis.
This system that is currently being used is outdated, unfair and needs to be revisited.
The reason why individual sports have been kept in one division has many complex decisions that the IHSAA Executive Board faces. Examples of these questions: Where does the IHSAA draw up the lines for these divisions? Are the divisions going to be based on enrollment or on the total number of schools participating in the sport? If they change these rules, what other rules will they have to change? What about private schools that may be small in enrollment but powerful in sports?
Questions like these, with a mix of other concerns, have led to inaction. However, in recent years, it is becoming increasingly clear that the IHSAA needs to take a full step back and reconsider the single-class idea.
Carmel High School, with about 5,500 students, has won 154 total state championships in the single division sports, leading in state titles won for every individual sport on the boys and girls sides except for wrestling. They have 67 state titles in boys’ and girls’ swimming, 39 titles in boys’ and girls’ cross country, 29 titles in boys’ and girls’ tennis, 11 titles in boys’ and girls’ golf, and 8 titles in boys’ and girls’ track.
In wrestling, Bloomington South High School holds the record for most state titles. Although most of these titles are from the 1900s, it shows how the lack of class divisions in individual sports have always allowed for the larger school to have an advantage over smaller schools.
In recent years, Brownsburg High School has won the last two state championships in wrestling. This is yet another large competitor that has kept small schools from being able to win a state championship. Matter of fact, the last public school with under 1,000 students to win the state championship in wrestling was Bellmont High School in 1994.
Thirty-two years ago.
Compare the staggering amount of trophies Carmel has collected to that of a school like Blackford High School or Cowan High School, which only have two total state titles each; both of these championships are in team sports with classes.
In single class sports, this is a huge repeating issue. Multi-class sports allow for schools like Delta to have a reasonable chance to win. However, these smaller schools are at a disadvantage in many different ways.
One reason for this disadvantage is the difference in facilities. Large schools often can afford the very best athletic facilities due to the amount of money they can pull in through state funding.
For example, Carmel has a $55,000,000 natatorium that opened in early 2025. This building has two pools, an area dedicated specifically for diving, a therapy pool with a ramp, and seating for 1,400 spectators. This facility is more expensive than IU Indy’s natatorium which hosts the Olympic Trials for swimming and diving. Carmel puts a similar amount of money into its 5,000-plus students that a 50,000 bodied university spends towards athletics.
On top of this, they have a brand new indoor multi-purpose facility which has an indoor football field which is used for many other sports as well. They have a turf outdoor football field, and a turf soccer and lacrosse field. They also have 14 tennis courts.
Now, you look at a 1A public school like Barr-Reeve High School. They have five tennis courts. They don’t have a football field; in fact, they don’t have a team at all. They have a girls swim team, but they don’t have a pool. Their soccer teams practice at a church off of campus. They have a weight room, but compared to Carmel, it is inadequate.
In tennis Barr-Reeve held their own in the 2025-2026 season, earning a state ranking and beating bigger school Jasper in the regional. But the team lost in a matchup against Culver Academy at semi-state. If they had won that matchup, they would have had to face Carmel head on. Why should Barr-Reeve, a school with around 282 students, have to go up against Carmel?
In what world is that fair?
Another thing that makes it harder for small schools to compete with these schools is the lack of appeal some of the schools have.
Many larger schools have more money, simply because they are large. Most of these schools are in developed areas. They are typically situated in highly populated areas. This can be appealing to families who prioritize athletics.
This form of attractiveness is a public school’s way of recruiting athletes. In Indiana, public schools are not allowed to recruit and poach all of the talent in the state. However, it is harder for these small schools to hold on to standout student-athletes because these other schools just have more options for kids.
In Indiana, there have been many cases of athletes leaving their smaller public school to go to a much larger school for athletics. It has happened at my very own school.
Although it is very rare that this is one of the reasons for someone to move, it has been a key reason for a few.
Lastly, the biggest disadvantage when it comes to single-class sports is that athletes can feel like they are facing an uphill battle.
Being an underdog can be beneficial in some cases, but when teams are getting beat over and over again by larger schools, it can make athletes feel hopeless.
Some may claim that this is a ridiculous idea because there is no clear powerhouse when it comes to these individual sports, except Carmel in swimming.
Carmel girls swimming has won the state championship for the last 39 years, and the boys have won the last 12 state titles as well.
This is the most clear reason for the need for divisions. How is it fair that one team can win state for almost 40 years straight? Let alone house Olympic gold medalists still in high school.
On top of this, almost all of the recent state champions on the team side in individual sports have been much larger schools. The exceptions have also only been private schools.
How is it possible for a much smaller school to stand up to these large schools without getting their athletes injured?
Especially when these athletes from the larger school are becoming more and more specialized towards one sport. Because without putting all of their energy into one sport, they will almost never make the varsity team.
It is not impossible for a small school individual to beat a larger school individual, but for the whole team to win, it’s just not likely.
It is time for a change.
The IHSAA needs to truly consider bringing in divisions for these sports. There needs to be discussions about the rules that must be put in place with these divisions.
The complexities of this discussion are crucial and should not be held off any longer.
Many coaches from these sports have complained about how unfair it is.
The Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association (IHSTCA) proposed an idea for divisions the past few years, and it was tabled by the IHSAA. It is going to be discussed this June.
The track and cross country coaches association (IATCCC) just proposed ideas for divisions this year.
So, it is clear that athletes and coaches both want change, but there is inaction from the IHSAA.
Instead of pushing this issue down the road, the IHSAA needs to finally move forward and listen to the coaches.
Just like almost all other states in the U.S., Indiana needs to add divisions to individual sports.
Based on what has been seen in those other states, adding divisions has increased the amount of competition inside these sports. They have made these sports a little more fair for the teams and have brought an increase in participation for these sports.
With divisions, students can feel more inclined to compete because they are not going up against the juggernauts in the postseason. With cross country, the 1st and 2nd individual place finishers at the state meet were from small public schools. So, bringing in divisions will make the team side of the race a battle, and times will continue to get faster throughout every race.
With the increase in competition, it is likely that an increase in participation will follow. More people will want to fight for a sectional, regional, semi-state and state title, and it is likely that more people will want to get involved. This has been the claim that the Ohio High School Athletics Association and Michigan High School Athletics Association stand by.
Both of these claims can be applied to all of the individual sports.
Lastly, adding divisions just makes things a little more fair. Like stated before, much smaller schools will not have to face the powerhouses. The playing field will be a little more even, and the sports themselves will thrive.
So, how can athletes get involved?
When dealing with matters like this, the best course of action for people outside of the associations involved is to start advocating for change.
Starting from the ground up, contact athletic directors or principals to express your opinion. A school’s leadership must be made aware of the inequities created by the lack of divisions.
Principals and athletic directors are the official representatives who can submit proposals to the IHSAA.
An additional step that should be taken is to coordinate with the coaches associations from these sports. They have a say in what policies get suggested, so gaining support of that sport’s statewide coaching body is a critical step forward in making change.
At the end of the day, it is up to the coaches and athletes to get the divisions rolling.
It is time for a change, and for that to get started, athletes need to stand strong for the schools that don’t have what these larger schools have.
NOTE: This column represents the personal opinion of senior Cameron Deckman. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of the Eagle’s Eye newspaper or Delta High School.
