High school athletics and activities could face significant cuts

State tournaments could potentially be cut from eight to four qualifying teams

The Wyoming High School Activities Association issued a press release Monday warning that major changes could be coming to high school athletics and other student activities across the state.

Both Big Horn County School District No. 1 and Big Horn County School District No. 2 are still waiting for additional information from the state before finalizing their activities budgets for next year.

The WHSAA board met last week and reviewed the impact of the 2026 legislative recalibration bill, which introduced a new “silo” approach to the state’s block grant funding. As a result, schools across Wyoming are facing a projected funding reduction of about 8.4% for student activities. While most districts are expected to rely on reserve funds to maintain programs during the 2026-27 school year, WHSAA officials warned that larger changes could follow in future years if funding levels remain unchanged.

Neither Rocky Mountain High School nor Lovell High School has been able to fully shore up next year’s budgets because recalibration numbers are still filtering down from the state. It was discussed during Monday’s Big Horn County School District #2 board meeting that some budget items may not be resolved “until well into the summer.”

Rocky Mountain athletic director Tobee Christiansen said, “It was too early to tell on the budget,” but added, “We’ll definitely have to make some changes.”

Lovell athletic director Chris Edwards said, “Unfortunately I have not received any final information for my budget for next year. I’m hoping to get some of that later this month.”

Edwards added optimistically, “One thing I do know is that we aren’t going to be in that bad of shape compared to some districts around us.”

Schools around the state are beginning to get a feel for what reductions in athletic funding could mean for students, coaches and communities.

Among the possible changes discussed by WHSAA were eliminating regional tournaments, reducing the number of teams qualifying for state events, cutting consolation games and shortening regular seasons. Activities could face cuts as well, including speech and debate and music, as well as SkillsUSA, FFA and FBLA.

For local schools, many of the proposals could have a noticeable impact on students and communities alike.

One of the biggest potential changes would involve state qualification. Currently, several Wyoming sports allow eight teams to qualify for state competition. Under proposals discussed by the WHSAA board, that number could be reduced to four in some sports, making qualification significantly more difficult.

Track and field could also see major adjustments. WHSAA discussed the possibility of limiting state track participation to only the top 16 times or marks statewide rather than using regional meet qualification. Schools like Lovell and Rocky Mountain, which often qualify numerous athletes to the state meet, could see fewer participants advancing.

Travel and scheduling changes may also affect local schools. The association encouraged more Friday-Saturday scheduling to reduce substitute teacher costs and discussed reducing regular season tournaments and overnight trips. Fewer available contest days could also make it more difficult to hire referees and officials, which has been increasingly difficult in recent years.

Speech and debate, music, FFA, SkillsUSA and other CTE activities and leadership organizations could all face fewer travel opportunities and reduced statewide events. The proposals could particularly affect smaller schools where participation in activities often overlaps heavily. In smaller communities where many students participate in multiple sports, music programs, leadership organizations and academic competitions throughout the year, reductions in opportunities could limit both student involvement and the experiences that help keep students connected to school.

The WHSAA also acknowledged the broader impact activities have on Wyoming communities. State tournaments and regional events bring significant travel dollars to host communities through hotels, restaurants, fuel stations and shopping. Smaller communities that regularly travel to competitions could also feel the effect of fewer events and reduced participation opportunities.

At this point, WHSAA officials emphasized that the ideas discussed are exploratory and no final decisions have been made. The organization said it plans to continue working with school districts, parents, communities and lawmakers to identify solutions and preserve opportunities for Wyoming students.

For now, most Wyoming districts are expected to use reserve funding to avoid immediate cuts, but officials warned that long-term solutions will likely be needed if activity funding levels are not restored. At the local level, schools remain largely in a wait-and-see mode until final recalibration numbers are released by the state.