1983 Indiana High School Football Season
One flaw with the original playoff structure was that a school that finished
undefeated might not get a chance to advance to the postseason. To solve this,
the IHSAA added a fourth class in 1983. For the first time, a team could now
play their way into the playoffs.
Every school in the state was divided into one of 64 clusters. Each class
would have sixteen clusters, and each cluster had five to six teams. Each
cluster champion advanced to the postseason.
Also, the regular season was started one week earlier to eliminate teams the
need for mid-week sectionals.
IHSAA State Champions
| Class |
Champion |
Winning Coach |
| Class 4A |
Penn (14-0) |
Chris Geesman |
| Class 3A |
Ft. Wayne Dwenger (14-0) |
Andy Johns |
| Class 2A |
Indpls. Chatard (14-0) |
Chuck Schwanekamp |
| Class 1A |
Fountain Central (13-1) |
Rick Malone |
Polls & Rankings
| Class |
AP
Media |
UPI
Coaches |
| Class 4A |
Castle (10-0) |
Castle (10-0) |
| Class 3A |
Ft. Wayne Dwenger (10-0) |
Ft. Wayne Dwenger (10-0) |
| Class 2A |
Indpls. Chatard (10-0) |
Indpls. Chatard (10-0) |
| Class 1A |
Tri-West (10-0) |
Jimtown (9-1) |
Cluster Champions
| Cluster |
Champion |
| Class 4A Cluster 1 |
Munster |
| Class 4A Cluster 2 |
Hobart |
| Class 4A Cluster 3 |
Portage |
| Class 4A Cluster 4 |
Michigan City Elston |
| Class 4A Cluster 5 |
Penn |
| Class 4A Cluster 6 |
Ft. Wayne Northrop |
| Class 4A Cluster 7 |
Carmel |
| Class 4A Cluster 8 |
Anderson Highland |
| Class 4A Cluster 9 |
Anderson |
| Class 4A Cluster 10 |
North Central (Indpls.) |
| Class 4A Cluster 11 |
Indpls. Washington |
| Class 4A Cluster 12 |
Lawrence North |
| Class 4A Cluster 13 |
|
| Class 4A Cluster 14 |
|
| Class 4A Cluster 15 |
Jeffersonville |
| Class 4A Cluster 16 |
Castle (4-0) |
| Class 3A Cluster 17 |
Hammond |
| Class 3A Cluster 18 |
Griffith |
| Class 3A Cluster 19 |
South Bend St. Joseph's |
| Class 3A Cluster 20 |
Concord |
| Class 3A Cluster 21 |
New Haven |
| Class 3A Cluster 22 |
Ft. Wayne Dwenger |
| Class 3A Cluster 23 |
|
| Class 3A Cluster 24 |
|
| Class 3A Cluster 25 |
|
| Class 3A Cluster 26 |
|
| Class 3A Cluster 27 |
Roncalli (Indpls.) |
| Class 3A Cluster 28 |
Plainfield |
| Class 3A Cluster 29 |
Rushville |
| Class 3A Cluster 30 |
Seymour |
| Class 3A Cluster 31 |
Vincennes Lincoln (4-0) |
| Class 3A Cluster 32 |
Jasper (4-0) |
| Class 2A Cluster 33 |
|
| Class 2A Cluster 34 |
|
| Class 2A Cluster 35 |
Lakeland |
| Class 2A Cluster 36 |
Ft. Wayne Luers |
| Class 2A Cluster 37 |
Oak Hill |
| Class 2A Cluster 38 |
Western |
| Class 2A Cluster 39 |
Crawfordsville |
| Class 2A Cluster 40 |
Edgewood |
| Class 2A Cluster 41 |
Speedway |
| Class 2A Cluster 42 |
Indpls. Chatard |
| Class 2A Cluster 43 |
New Palestine |
| Class 2A Cluster 44 |
Yorktown |
| Class 2A Cluster 45 |
|
| Class 2A Cluster 46 |
|
| Class 2A Cluster 47 |
Providence |
| Class 2A Cluster 48 |
Ev. Mater Dei (5-0) |
| Class 1A Cluster 49 |
Winamac |
| Class 1A Cluster 50 |
Bremen |
| Class 1A Cluster 51 |
|
| Class 1A Cluster 52 |
|
| Class 1A Cluster 53 |
|
| Class 1A Cluster 54 |
|
| Class 1A Cluster 55 |
Frontier |
| Class 1A Cluster 56 |
Attica |
| Class 1A Cluster 57 |
Sheridan |
| Class 1A Cluster 58 |
Lapel |
| Class 1A Cluster 59 |
Tri |
| Class 1A Cluster 60 |
Eastern Hancock |
| Class 1A Cluster 61 |
Tri-West |
| Class 1A Cluster 62 |
Fountain Central |
| Class 1A Cluster 63 |
North Daviess |
| Class 1A Cluster 64 |
Springs Valley |
Conference
Champions
| Conference |
Champion |
| Allen County |
Norwell (5-0) |
| Big Eight |
Gibson Southern (6-1) & Vincennes Lincoln (6-1) |
| Big Blue River |
|
| Central Indiana |
|
| Central Suburban |
|
| Duneland |
Hobart (6-0) |
| Eastern Indiana |
|
| Hoosier |
|
| Hoosier Heartland |
|
| Hoosier Hills |
Columbus East (6-0) |
| Indiana Lake Shore |
Hammond Noll (6-0) |
| I.P.S. |
|
| Lake Suburban |
Highland (5-1), Lake Central (5-1), & Munster (5-1) |
| Mid-Indiana Athletic |
|
| Mid-Indiana Football |
Milan |
| Mid-Southern |
|
| Mid-State |
|
| Midwest |
Winamac (6-0) |
| North Central |
New Castle |
| Northeast Corner |
West Noble (5-0) |
| Northeastern Indiana |
Homestead (5-1) & New Haven (5-1) |
| Northern Indiana |
Penn (8-0) |
| Northern Lakes |
Concord (7-0) |
| Northern State |
No Championship Awarded |
| Northwest Hoosier |
North Judson (4-0) |
| Northwestern |
Gary Wirt (4-0) |
| Olympic |
|
| Patoka Lake |
Mitchell |
| Pocket |
Heritage Hills (6-0) |
| Rangeline |
|
| Sagamore |
|
| South Central |
Martinsville |
| Southern Indiana |
Castle (6-0) |
| Summit |
Fort Wayne Dwenger (9-0) |
| Three Rivers |
Oak Hill (6-0) |
| Tri-Eastern |
|
| Wabash River |
|
| West Central |
|
City Champions
| City |
Champion |
| Evansville |
Bosse (6-0) |
Back to Year-by-Year Summary
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