Stratford To Appeal WIAA Proposal To Move Up A Division In Football

Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 -- 8:44 AM

The Stratford school district is appealing a proposal by the WIAA to move the Tiger football program to Division 4 for the 2026 season. 

The Tigers have had good success in football in recent years, winning state championships in Division 6 in 2022 and 2023, and a Division 5 title in 2024.  Last season, also in Division 5, Stratford advanced to the state semi-finals. 

Due to that recent success, the WIAA would like Stratford to move up another division, to Division 4 next season.  Stratford’s enrollment for 2026 is projected at 277 students.  That would mean Stratford would be the smallest school in Division 4.  There would be 14 schools in Division 4 with twice as many students as Stratford, with the largest school, Cudahy, having an enrollment of 620. 

Stratford officials are citing safety concerns, graduation losses and other issues as reasons for their opposition to this move. 

The school also mentions that the Competitive Balance formula, which is used to determine if schools should be placed in higher divisions, is supposed to be implemented after a three-year period, and the Tiger football team has only played in Division 5 the last two years.

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