The back and forth banter on how to realign the Division I (4A) and I-A (3A) schools in southern Nevada took another turn at the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association board meeting last week in Reno.
It was announced in January that Faith Lutheran was going to move up to the largest league in Nevada, because it had easily surpassed the 150-point total that is set in the Nevada rubric system. The Crusaders have dominated play in Division I-A for years.
Last June, the NIAA board locked in an alignment for next year of 21 Division I schools and 16 Division I-A schools. The names would also be changed back to Class 4A and Class 3A. The alignment was to be in effect from 2016-17 through 2019-20.
In a surprising move last week, that plan was scrapped. Schools that surpass the threshold of 150 points will now move up to the largest level of competition.
That means Clark will move up next fall. The Chargers have won the last three Division I-A state boys basketball championships. However, many of its other programs still struggle.
Ray Mathis, a NIAA board member and the Clark County School District’s executive athletic director noted the original decision was bad one.
As a result of the decision, there will not be a locked number of teams in each league in the future.
“This is what we have been fighting for the last two years,” said Lowry High School principal and Division I-A North president Ray Parks. “They came to this meeting with a different mindset. This is the best possible scenario for the teams in the North. We are happy.”
One possible answer to the sudden change of heart in the south was the threat of possible litigation from the smaller schools that compete in the Division I-A South.
“Virgin Valley, Boulder City, and Moapa Valley were getting together and ready to file a lawsuit if things didn’t change,” Parks said.
Virgin Valley boys basketball and soccer coach Sean FitzSimons said that the smaller southern schools are happy with the decision. Ideally, he said he would like to see 10 schools in the Division I-A South.
The small schools will still have to play boys basketball against Desert Pines. Desert Pines has three players that have signed Division I college scholarships for the 2017-18 season. They will be the favorite
now that Clark is gone.
FitzSimons added the biggest headache is that schedules can not be done until the end of the school year.
The Division I-A South may drop to 12 teams by the start of the next school year. Sierra Vista (119) and Spring Valley (116) could reach 150 points, depending on how well its spring sports teams do.
It is likely that no school will move down from the largest level as well. If a team has fewer than 16 points in the rubric system they are allowed to drop. Bonanza currently has 15 points but the Bengals are expected to score points in baseball and increase its total.
Parks noted that he expects that number to change when everything becomes final in June.
In addition, the board changed course on the length of realignment cycles. Instead of four-year realignment cycles for all schools in all sports, the board approved going to a two-year cycle.
“The way it is now, no one is coming down. They were not prepared for anyone to move down,” Parks said. “I am pretty sure that point total is going to change. With Faith Lutheran and Clark in there next year, they are going to grab some points. If the other two are in there as well, they will earn points. You will probably see movement once that happens and we will be right back where we were.”
This move could also change the state playoff structure once again. When the Division I-A South was set at 16 schools, they wanted to have three teams advance to the state championships in volleyball, soccer, basketball, baseball and softball.
Now that the North and South will be similar in size, the schools in the North will ask to keep the current structure of 2-2.
“That will be decided in June,” Parks said. “We feel that if the leagues are close to the same amount of schools it should stay at 2-2. We are willing to give them some extra spots in other sports such as cross country, track and wrestling.”
The Division I-A North will stay the same with no additional teams for the foreseeable future. The one major change, is the combining of the Division I-A and III soccer leagues. In addition, the football season has been moved up a week to accommodate the new six-team playoff.
Division III sees small changes
The one major change is Division III (going back to 2A) next year is the combining of the soccer leagues with Division I-A (3A).
There will be two divisions in the league, which includes nine teams in one and eight (seven girls) in the other.
White Pine and West Wendover will play team sports in the Northern 2A next year, while their individual sports will be in the South.
