By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Kansas high school football landscape is set for a shake-up in 2022 after a unanimous vote from the KSHSAA board of directors to sanction six-man football next year.
The board voted 68-0 to approve the new championship on Wednesday, which will have an impact on schools in a majority of classes.
Currently, six-man football in the state of Kansas holds just 15 teams, but a minimum of 24 are needed to field a championship, which will lead to another reclassification across the state.
The hope of many is that by making this an official KSHSAA sanctioned championship, many schools in eight-man that were hesitant about moving will see this as an opportunity to compete in an official capacity.
The reclassification will change the number of schools in class 3A and 4A to 40 and will leave the remainder of traditional 11-man schools in class 1A next season.
Six-man football has been played in the state of Kansas since 2014, with their unofficial championship, the Wild West Bowl, being established in 2016.
For more on the reclassification and what this means for our area schools, stay tuned to the Salina Post.