New York State Public High School Athletic Association

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New York State Public High School Athletic Association

Abbreviation	NYSPHSAA
Formation	1923
Legal status	Association
Purpose	Athletic/Educational
Headquarters	8 Airport Park Blvd. Latham, New York 12110, United States
Region served	New York
Membership	768 high schools
Official language	English
Executive Director	Dr. Robert J. Zayas
Affiliations	National Federation of State High School Associations
Staff	9
Website	nysphsaa.org

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) is the governing body of interscholastic sports for most public schools in New York outside New York City.^[1] The organization was created in 1923, after a predecessor organization called the New York State Public High School Association of Basketball Leagues began in 1921 to bring consistency to eligibility rules and to conduct state tournaments.^[2] It consists of 768 member high schools from the state divided into 11 geographic sections.^[3] While as its name suggests the vast majority of its members are public, it does include a number of private and Catholic high schools. Most of these are located in Central New York and the Capital District, where parallel sanctioning bodies for private schools (like the MMAA in Western New York, the CHSAA in Metropolitan New York, or various leagues in and around New York City) do not exist. It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations as well as the New York State Federation of Secondary School Athletic Associations.

The NYSPHSAA acknowledges 23 sports and holds over 30 championship events throughout 3 seasons: Fall, Winter and Spring.

Fall Sports

Winter Sports

Spring Sports

The NYSPHSAA is divided into eleven sections by geographical areas.^[4][5] The official membership list is at the NYSPHSAA site.^[6]

Each section is further divided into classes, by school enrollment size. The classes are, from largest schools to smallest, AAA, AA, A, B, C, and D, though the classifications and enrollment numbers for each classification vary by sport.^[7][8]

Schools will sometimes compete with other schools outside of the section in tournaments or invitationals. The section is further divided into leagues based on mostly location but also the size of the school. The schools in the section compete with each other over the course of three seasons, fall, winter, and spring.

Typically, each section holds a sectional championship tournament in each sport and class. The sectional champions then meet first in regional competition, then in state competition, to determine the state champion in each class.

Location: Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, Westchester Counties
Section 1 offers "modified athletics" administration covering grades 7-9 middle school competition in area middle schools (grade 9 is officially part of the high school level).^[9]

Location: Capital District
Section 2 is made up of high schools from around New York's Capital Region.^[15] The section is made up of 9 leagues mostly based on location but also based on size to ensure fair competition. Schools mostly compete with the other schools in their league but will sometimes compete with schools outside of it. This usually happens during the championship season when teams are competing for the section or state title.

Location: Central New York Section 3 comprises seven leagues, some of which are further broken down into smaller groups. The following is the list of leagues with their member schools in order of size, from largest to smallest, based on the number of schools in the league.

The OHSL divides itself into three conferences based mostly on the size of the school. It is not exact, however, because of reclassifications. The Freedom Conference comprises Class A schools, the Liberty Conference comprises Class B schools, and the Patriot Conference comprises Class C and D schools.

The Center State Conference is broken up into four divisions.

Frontier is divided into four divisions.

The CNYCL is broken into five sections.

Location: Southern Tier^[24]

Location: Genesee Valley^[25]

Location: Western New York

Location: Champlain Area

Location: Nassau County Section 8 is also known as the Nassau County Public High School Athletic Association. It is divided into eight leagues.

Location: Orange, Sullivan, Ulster Counties

Location: St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties

Location: Suffolk County

• New York State Public High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball Championships
• Public Schools Athletic League
• New York state high school boys basketball championships

• Official site