After years of debate and months of speculation, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association voted to finally adopt a six class football structure starting in the 2016-17 school year.

The PIAA also took part in a one-time special vote to expand classifications in other sports.The board met in Mechanicsburg on Wednesday and voted in favor of moving to six classes for football by a 26-4 margin. It was the third time the PIAA voted in favor of this proposal, which under PIAA rules, needs three votes to pass.District 7 and Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) representatives have long opposed the idea to move to six classes and it was no surprise that all the "no" votes during Wednesday's meeting came from out West, along with representatives from District 8.The board also voted, 23-7, in favor of expanding classifications in boys basketball, girls basketball, baseball and softball from four to six classifications. Boys soccer, girls soccer and girls volleyball will now have four classifications, while field hockey moves to three classes and boys and girls lacrosse will now have two classes.The change for football means more than just classifications, as teams will now have the option to play nine regular season games with two scrimmages or 10 regular season games with one scrimmage.Most schools in District 11 are favored to keep a 10-game regular season.Schools will have until Oct. 15 to submit enrollment numbers for the next two-year cycle (2016-2018) and will find out in mid-November what class they fall in. Once schools find out what classification they fall under, they will have a three-week window to decide if they want to stay in that class or play up from their designated classification.