Oregon School Activities Association

History

Originally created in 1918 as the "Oregon State High School Athletic Association", the name changed to the "Oregon School Activities Association", or OSAA, in 1947.

Currently, the OSAA sponsors seventy-four state championships in nineteen interscholastic activities including athletics, music, and forensics and is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Starting in the 2006-07 school year the current four school classifications (1A, 2A, 3A, 4A) were divided into six classifications (6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, 1A). This caused some controversy as some school districts complained about the new classifications and sought legal action.

Classifications and leagues

The OSAA divides schools up into classifications and leagues (or conferences).

There are six classifications, with the smallest schools in class 1A and the largest schools in class 6A. Within each classification, there are between five and eight leagues and conferences. Each league or conference has between four and 15 schools. Prior to 2006 there were four classifications (4A, 3A, 2A, 1A). Prior to 1990 there were four classifications (AAA, AA, A, B). And prior to 1970 there were also either three or four classifications (dependent on the sport), but they were designated as A, A-2, B, B-8 for football, A-1, A-2 and B in basketball and A, A-2, & B for baseball.

A 1A school has fewer than 116 students, 2A between 116 and 235 students, 3A between 236 and 400 students, 4A between 401 and 850 students, 5A between 851 and 1520 students, and the largest schools, 6A, have 1521 or more students. However, some schools choose to "play up" in a larger classification than they would normally be assigned.

Southwest

Metro League

Mount Hood Conference

Three Rivers League

Portland Interscholastic League

Greater Valley Conference

Midwestern League

Northwest Oregon Conference

Mid-Willamette Conference

Intermountain Conference

Columbia River Conference

Cowapa League

Tri-Valley Conference

Far West League

Oregon West Conference

Sky-Em League

Skyline Conference

Greater Oregon League

Lewis & Clark League

West Valley League

PacWest Conference

Mountain Valley Conference

Eastern Oregon League

Southern Cascade League

Northwest League

Mountain View Conference

Tri-River Conference

Sunset Conference

Columbia Basin Conference

Wapiti League

The Valley 10 League

Casco League

Mountain West League

Skyline League

Mountain Valley League

Big Sky League

Old Oregon League

High Desert League

Not assigned to a league

Previously listed

These schools were previously listed, but are not currently on the OSAA web site.

Former members

Historic conferences made defunct by 2006 reclassification

4A Southern Oregon Conference : The final year of the Southern Oregon Conference consisted of South Medford, North Medford, Klamath Union, Eagle Point, Ashland, Crater, Grants Pass and Roseburg. This league was for 4A schools located near the Oregon-California border.

3A Tri-Valley Conference: The final year of the Tri-Valley Conference consisted of La Salle High School (Milwaukie, Oregon), Madras High School, Valley Catholic High School (Beaverton, Oregon), Estacada High School, Sherwood High School, and Wilsonville High School. This league was for 3A sized schools located in or near the Portland-Metro area. The Tri-Valley conference is currently active once again as of the 2009 season. It is a 4A Conference for schools located in the Portland-Metro Area.

2A Columbia Basin Conference: The final year of the Columbia Basin Conference consisted of Culver High School, Heppner Junior/Senior High School, Pilot Rock High School, Sherman High School, Stanfield High School, Umatilla High School, and Weston-McEwen High School. This league was for 2A sized schools located in central-eastern Oregon.

2A Trico League: The final year of the Trico League consisted of East Linn Christian Academy (Lebanon, Oregon), Harrisburg High School, Jefferson High School, Waldport High School, Monroe High School, Central Linn High School, and Oakridge High School. This league was for 2A sized schools located in the central Willamette Valley.

2A Wapiti League: The final year of the Wapiti League consisted of Grant Union High School, Vale High School, Nyssa High School, Elgin High School, Enterprise High School, and Union High School. This League was for 2A sized schools located in far-eastern Oregon.

OSAA-sanctioned activities

The OSAA oversees the following activities: