Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association


The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association is the association that oversees public high school sporting contests in the U.S. state of Maryland. Formed in 1946, the MPSSAA is made up of public high schools from each of Maryland's 23 counties and independent city of Baltimore, which joined the association in 1993 when its public high schools withdrew from the earlier longtime athletic league, the Maryland Scholastic Association which was founded in 1919.
The MSA had been composed of public high schools in Baltimore and private/religious/independent schools on the secondary level in Baltimore and its metropolitan area and the surrounding central Maryland region. It was one of the few state-level interscholastic athletic leagues in the nation composed of both public and private/religious/independent secondary schools. After the Baltimore City public high schools withdrew from the MSA, the remaining private/religious/independent schools conferred and organized two parallel regional/state-wide athletic leagues with sports competition and exercise activities with one for young men and the other for young women. These were the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland, which still exist today.
All three state-wide athletic leagues, two for private/religious/independent secondary schools and one for co-ed public high schools exist today marrying on the proud traditions, memories and championships of the old Maryland Scholastic Association —one of the oldest state athletic leagues for secondary schools in the country.
The current MPSSAA includes nearly 200 public high schools, with more than 110,000 student-athletes participating in 24 sports. The Association is governed by the Division of Instruction of the Maryland State Department of Education. All public high schools in Maryland in the 23 counties who qualify under the established rules and regulations may become members of the MPSSAA.
The stated purpose of the MPSSAA is "to promote, direct, and control all interscholastic activities of high school students; to establish, maintain, and enforce regulations to assure that all such activities are part of and contribute toward the comprehensive educational program of the state of Maryland; to work with the state department of education in the development of the program to safeguard the physical, mental, and moral welfare of high school students and protect them from exploitation."

Sponsored sports

Team sports
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Individual sports
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Due to the state's unique geography, Maryland high school athletics is divided into nine districts by the MPSSAA for purposes of organizing athletic activities and postseason tournaments. MPSSAA member schools compete within geographic regions and are divided into leagues across the state. In total, there are five conferences and six counties competing together to form a league, but remaining independent.

Classifications

The MPSSAA's 199 member schools are arranged by classification to ensure that schools compete on a regular basis with other schools in the geographic area of a similar size. The classifications are 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A.
  • 1A = Lowest 25 percent based on enrollment
  • 2A = Next 25 percent based on enrollment
  • 3A = Next 25 percent based on enrollment
  • 4A = Top 25 percent based on enrollment

    District Alignment

  • District 1 – Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, and Washington counties
  • District 2 – Montgomery County
  • District 3 – Prince George's County
  • District 4 – Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary's counties
  • District 5 – Anne Arundel and Howard counties
  • District 6 – Baltimore County
  • District 7 – Cecil and Harford counties
  • District 8 – Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester counties
  • District 9 – Baltimore City

    Conferences

Appalachian Mountain Athletic Conference

Bayside Conference

Monocacy Valley Athletic League

Southern Maryland Athletic Conference

Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference

Independents

Anne Arundel County League