The Southern Section (SS) will have a record 96 cross country teams competing in new divisions this coming season.
The landscape for most of the divisions has remained fairly similar over the last decade or so as the numbers that separate each division have not fluctuated much. That will definitely not be the case this season especially in the lower divisions. The feedback from most of the coaches is that as a result of the changes, Division IV seems to be the division most effected. A previous cap of 1250 (statewide mandate) will now go all the way up to 1500 for SS teams. From the 2013 season, 27 teams will drop down from 3 along with 4 teams moving up from Division V. That division will now field teams up to 600 which is 100 more than the previous cap. The next division most affected will be Division III with over 20 teams moving into this division. The SS has historically dominated both Divisions I and II at the state meet and both divisions should not be affected by the new numbers.
It will be interesting if other sections will follow suit and use the same numbers for their own divisions. The result of all these changes taken on by the SS will be interesting to watch this coming season. There might be additional moves for some school once the school size numbers are updated in October but those changes will be small at best.
You can check out the 2014 Fall Sports Preview below which includes all the divisional breakdowns as well as lots of other pertinent information for the upcoming season.
http://www.cifss.org/admin/images/previews/preview%20xcty%2014.pdf
