South Carolina High School League


The South Carolina High School League is the organization that rules and regulates school athletics in the state of South Carolina. Established in 1907 and based out of Columbia, the SCHSL has 414 member schools as of the 2011-2012 school year, of which 206 high schools and 208 junior high/middle schools compete.

Competition

SCHSL sanctions competition in the following sports: softball, baseball, basketball, competitive cheerleading, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and wrestling.
The SCHSL operates five classes of competition dependent on the size of a school's enrollment: AAAAA, AAAA, AAA, AA, and A. Each class contains eight regions with five to eight similarly-sized schools within proximity of each other. The first four regions in each class are considered "upper state" regions whereas the last four regions are considered "lower state" regions. Due to smaller budgets at smaller schools, some sports required AA and A to have combined tournaments and championships. Realignment occurs on a two-year basis.

AAAAA Football

Class 5a did not start until 2016
Division 1 and 2 football ended in 2014
The Big 16 ended in 2010
There was no Big 16 football in 2012
Realignment never covered 3 seasons
Football at the AAAAA level is subdivided into two divisions. Division I schools are the sixteen largest schools in the state by enrollment, and the division is often referred to as the Big 16. For the 2012-2014 period, the following schools are in the Big 16.
Big 16 and Division II qualifiers compete for their division's respective AAAAA state championship, which is held either at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia or Memorial Stadium in Clemson.