ðə tɹɐdˈɪʃənəl klˌæsɪfɪkˈeɪʃənz hæv ðə sˈeɪm nˈʌmbɚɹ ʌv skˈuːlz ɔːɹ æz klˈoʊs æz mˌæθɪmˈæɾɪkli pˈɑːsᵻbəl ɪn ˈiːtʃ əv ðˌɛm, bˌʌt nˌɑːt nˌɛsɪsˈɛɹᵻli ðə sˈeɪm nˈʌmbɚɹ ʌv tˈiːmz ɪn ɐ ɡˈɪvən spˈoːɹts tˈʊɹnəmənt; smˈɔːlɚ skˈuːlz ɑːɹ ʌnˈeɪbəl tə səpˈoːɹt æz mˈɛni spˈoːɹt tˈiːmz, ɔːlðˈoʊ ðeɪ mˈeɪ fˈɔːɹm koʊˈɑːpɚɹətˌɪv pɹˈoʊɡɹæmz klˈæsᵻfˌaɪd baɪ ðə kəmbˈaɪnd ɛnɹˈoʊlmənts ʌvðə skˈuːlz ɪnvˈɑːlvd.
The traditional classifications have the same number of schools (or as close as mathematically possible) in each of them, but not necessarily the same number of teams in a given sport's tournament; smaller schools are unable to support as many sport teams, although they may form cooperative programs classified by the combined enrollments of the schools involved.