Nebraska School Activities Association


The Nebraska School Activities Association is a statewide organization which oversees interscholastic competition between high schools in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The NSAA was founded in 1910 as the Nebraska High School Athletic Association, and rebranded to its current name in 1949. The NSAA is the only interscholastic activities association in Nebraska, thus, it serves both public and private schools.
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History

The Nebraska School Activities Association was preceded by the Nebraska Interscholastic Athletic Association, which was formed in 1900. In 1910, members of the organization left and formed the Nebraska High School Athletic Association. The organization began with fourteen schools and passed a constitution the following year. However, due to overall disagreements with said constitution, the organization lost members and was dissolved for years later. In 1916, the organization was re-established and made major changes to its constitution, bringing back interest.
In 1935, the Nebraska School Athletic Association was reorganized, consolidating all sponsorship activities under one head. That same year the organization changed its name to the Nebraska High School Activities Association. In 1949, the organization expanded to elementary schools and changed its name again to the Nebraska School Activities Association.
The organization moved into its current headquarters at 500 Charleston Street in March 2008. In 2025, during efforts from the federal and state government to ban transgender people in sports, the organization announced that it would comply with Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender athletes in women's sports teams. Previously, the organization allowed transgender people to participate in sports aligning with their gender identity and allowed for cross-gender participation under specific circumstances. However, as part of complying with the order, the organization made those decisions the schools choice.

Classifications

The NSAA divides schools into classes, which are continuously assessed by examination of the size of the school's enrollment. Each activity has a varying number of classes, based on the amount of participating schools and the nature of the activity. As such, some classifications separate further into divisions, which are denoted by a "1" or "2" following the classification's letter. Additionally, each activity has its own standards for classification, meaning that a school may compete in a different classification for separate activities.
ClassNotesRef.
AAOnly used for music-based activities; based on ensemble size.
AConsists of schools with the largest enrollment size, does not separate into divisions. Football teams play standard 11-man football.
BDoes not separate into divisions. Football teams play standard 11-man football.
CIn certain activities, Class C separates into C-1 and C-2 divisions. Football teams play standard 11-man football.
D
In certain activities, Class D separates into D-1 and D-2 divisions. Football teams play 8-man football.Starting in 2018, a third football-only division, D-6, was established to play 6-man football. This is a revival of Class D-3, which the NSAA governed from 1987 to 1998; from 1999 to 2017, 6-man football in Nebraska was organized by associations other than the NSAA.

Sponsored Activities

Fall

Winter

Spring

Year Round

Other Activities

Unified Sports

In coordination with the Special Olympics, The NSAA developed a set of activities which allow students with and without intellectual disabilities to participate together in a shared competition. Currently, the NSAA offers two Unified Sports; Unified Bowling and Unified Track and Field.

Non-Sponsored Activities

Due to Title IX restrictions, limited participation of schools, or other reasons; certain activities are not sponsored by the NSAA, but, though external organizations, high school level competition is provided to Nebraskan high schools. Some of these activities include Cheer and Dance, Ice Hockey, and Trap Shooting. Often, schools organize non-sponsored activities as clubs, as a way to keep school affiliation regulated.