The KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl is a series of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

games, typically held on the first weekend of December, that determine the

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

champions of the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. The tournaments that lead to the championship games, as well as regular-season competition, are governed by the

Kentucky High School Athletic Association The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) has been the governing body of the U.S. state of Kentucky's high school athletics since 1917. It is located in Lexington. Sports The organization sanctions competition in the following spo ...

(KHSAA).

History

The KHSAA began conducting state football championships in 1959. Throughout its history, the competition has been divided into classes based on enrollment (though with historic exceptions noted below). The history of classifications is as follows: * 1959–1974: Three-class system. All schools in Jefferson County, which includes (and is now consolidated with) the state's largest city of

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, were placed in Class 3A regardless of enrollment. Remaining schools were placed in Class 2A or A based on enrollment. * 1975–1986: Quasi-four-class system. Initially, all high schools in Jefferson County were placed in Class 4A regardless of enrollment, though by the end of this era smaller schools began to be placed in their appropriate enrollment classes. In this era, there were two separate 4A champions—a "State 4A" winner from outside Jefferson County and a "Jefferson County 4A" champion—that would meet for an overall 4A title. * 1987–2006: True four-class system, with all Jefferson County schools classified according to their enrollment. * 2007–present: Six-class system, again based on enrollment, but with a slight change in calculation of enrollment. Historically, schools were classified based on total enrollment in grades 9 to 12, with all-boys schools treated as having twice their actual enrollment. With the expansion to six classes, the KHSAA changed the basis for classification to enrollment of boys only in the same grades. Traditionally, the championship games were held in Louisville, first at the old Cardinal Stadium on the grounds of the

Kentucky Exposition Center The Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC), is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Originally built in 1956. It is overseen by the Kentucky Venues and is the sixth largest facility of its type in the U.S., with of indoor ...

and later at

L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, also known as L&N Stadium and formerly known as Cardinal Stadium and Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, is a football stadium located in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, on the southern end of the campus of the U ...

, previously known as Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, on the campus of the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

. From 2009 to 2016, the games moved to Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium on the campus of

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

. In 2017, the KHSAA announced that the 2017 and 2018 games will be played at

Kroger Field Kroger Field, also known as Commonwealth Stadium, is a stadium in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, located on the campus of the University of Kentucky that primarily serves as the home field for the Kentucky Wildcats football team. The stad ...

on the campus of the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

in Lexington. With the expansion to six classes, the Gridiron Bowl is now a two-day affair, with three championship games on Friday and three on Saturday.

List of champions

Below is a complete list of state champions from all six of the KHSAA Divisions

6A state champions

5A State Champions

4A State Champions

3A State Champions

2A State Champions

1A State Champions

Championships, by schools

:''The following is a list of all schools that have won at least one KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl Championship, along with what years they have won their championship(s).''

Notes

:Consolidated into today's McCracken County High School as Mustangs on August 9, 2013. :Tilghman did not participate in the McCracken County High consolidation, as it is operated by a separate district. :School is now defunct

References

Past KHSAA Football Champions

External links

*http://www.khsaa.org/football/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Khsaa Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl High school football in Kentucky