After years of success and a most recent 4A state championship, the Aliquippa football program is being moved up another level to play 5A in the 2024-2025 school year. This is not the first time the program has faced a change, as they were moved from 2A to 3A in 2016, and then to 4A in 2020. If based solely on size, Aliquippa would play in the class 2A division.

The PIAA has received backlash for this decision, including corrections on their roster for the team. The state reported that the team had 45 players on their roster, with 23 being transfers. Aliquippa coach Mike Walfard has insisted that only two new players join within this cycle. To account for this request, Aliquippa has put in an appeal, but this first appeal has since been denied.

There was a previous discussion of moving Aliquippa up to 5A for the 2022-2023 school year. However, this idea was revoked following a discussion of player safety regulations. The language regarding these player safety rules has since been removed from PIAA regulatory policies.