By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Bedford North Lawrence will drop to Class 3A in boys basketball, girls basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball for the next two years, following the IHSAA’s release of enrollment data.
BNL, which has competed in Class 4A since the change to class sports in 1998, will now be the second-largest 3A school in the state with an enrollment of 1,185 in four grades. The cutoff for 4A came at 1,202 (with Martinsville and New Palestine).
BNL will remain in Class 4A for football (which is divided into six classes).
Enrollment figures that were submitted by the schools to the Indiana Department of Education were used to determine the classifications. Committees, consisting of state school administrators, will be used to make the sectional assignments, with the final recommendations to be presented to the IHSAA Executive Committee for approval on May 5.
The changes, which were expected as BNL’s enrollment numbers declined over the last decade, will be for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons.
The Stars have won five state championships in girls basketball, including three in the class system, but have not won a boys sectional title since 2001. BNL won its last baseball sectional in 2017, and its last softball sectional in 2022. BNL won its last volleyball sectional title in 1982.
