The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) is the governing body of interscholastic sports for most public schools in the U.S. state of New York, outside of New York City. 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. It consists of 768 member high schools from the state divided into 11 geographic sections.
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.
Contents
NYSPHSAA sports
The NYSPHSAA acknowledges 23 sports and holds over 30 championship events throughout 3 seasons: Fall, Winter and Spring.
Fall Sports
Winter Sports
Spring Sports
Sections
The NYSPHSAA is divided into eleven sections by geographical areas. The official membership list is at the NYSPHSAA site.
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.
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.
Section 1
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).
Section 2
Location: Capital District
Section 2 is made up of high schools from around New York's Capital Region. 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.
Section 3
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.
Section 4
Location: Southern Tier
Section 5
Location: Allegany, Cayuga, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates counties; Genesee Valley
Section V is composed of 5 Athletics Leagues. As of the Spring 2025 Baseball and Softball season, schools were distributed among leagues in the following ways with two schools participating as independents.
Section 6
Location: Western New York
Section 7
Location: Champlain Area
Section 8
Location: Nassau County
Section 8 is also known as the Nassau County Public High School Athletic Association. It is divided into eight leagues.
Section 9
Location: Orange, Sullivan, Ulster Counties
Section 10
Location: St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties
Section 11
Location: Suffolk County