My response to the NCHSAA's 2nd draft (west of I-77 only)

[FreedomAlum]

Using what the association now proposes and some of the previous models generated here I've come up with a model for conferences west of I-77 only. I've looked at what they've got up and, as near as I can tell, this doesn't interfere with anything else they have; the rest can go as planned or they can shuffle the deck as they please.

I put a few teams in conferences that run east of 77 only to make everything fit, and I didn't make big changes to those conferences. There will probably be longer driving times for some schools, but I don't want to hear it-plenty of schools are going to have to make these drives to make any of this work. Car goes vroom.

I've eliminated the one big 4A/5A conference, and I believe I have fewer split conferences. There are some nine team conferences, because I didn't see any other way around that and there are a couple of 1A/2A/3A conferences, but only because there were 1A schools with nowhere else to put them. Otherwise, I think this is fairly compact.

Here's my model for this area:

Little SMC (no football) 1A
Hiwassee Dam
Tri-Count Early College
Blue Ridge Early College
Summit Charter School
Nantahala
Highlands


SMC 2A/1A
Swain 2A
Murphy 2A
Cherokee 2A
Hayesville 2A
Robbinsville 1A
Rosman 1A
Andrews 1A

Western Highlands 3A/2A (1A)
Mountain Heritage 3A
Draughn 3A
Patton 3A
West Caldwell 3A
Avery 2A
Mitchell 2A
NC School of Sci. & Math, Morganton 1A (no football)

Foothills 3A/2A/1A
Lincolnton
W. Lincoln
Bessemer City
Mountain Island Charter 2A
Piedmont Community (no football, only here because they're 3A)
Highland Tech 2A
Cherryville 2A
Thomas Jefferson Classical Acad. 1A (FB) only fits here because they play football, nowhere else to put them otherwise.

Northern foothills 3A/4A
Ashe 4A
Wilkes Central 4A
Forbush 4A
N. Surry 4A
W. Stokes 4A
W. Wilkes 3A
N. Wilkes 3A
Surry Central 3A

Mountain 7 4A/3A
Pisgah 4A
Tuscola 4A
East Hendo 4A
Brevard 4A
Hendo 3A
Owen 3A
Madison 3A

SW 4A/3A
Stuart Cramer
E. Gaston
Burns
Lake Norman Charter Edit: the NCHSAA already has Lake Norman Charter in a conference east of 77, which works fine for my purposes. Reduces travel times and makes for one less nine-team conference.
R-S Central 3A
Shelby 3A
E. Rutherford 3A
Chase 3A
Polk 3A

CVAC 4A
Lincoln Charter
Maiden
Bunker Hill
Newton Conover
Bandys
W. Iredell
Fred T. Foard
East Burke
Hibriten

WMAC 5A
Enka 5A
Erwin 5A
West Hendo 5A
North Hendo 5A
Franklin 5A
Smoky 5A
North Buncombe 5A

Western Piedmont 5A
Hickory
Huss
Forestview
N. Lincoln
Crest
N. Gaston
E. Lincoln
S. Point

Western 6A/7A
Watauga
TC Roberson
Asheville
S. Caldwell
Freedom
AC Reynolds
McDowell (7A)

Piedmont Hills 6A/7A
St. Stephens
Statesville
N. Iredell
Kings Mountain
Ashbrook
Alexander Central
Lake Norman 7A
Mooresville 7A
South Iredell 7A

 

[crestrulz]

Fantastic

 

[raider1959]

Like the Western Piedmont 5A!

 

[shutdownD24]

Using what the association now proposes and some of the previous models generated here I've come up with a model for conferences west of I-77 only. I've looked at what they've got up and, as near as I can tell, this doesn't interfere with anything else they have; the rest can go as planned or they can shuffle the deck as they please.

I put a few teams in conferences that run east of 77 only to make everything fit, and I didn't make big changes to those conferences. There will probably be longer driving times for some schools, but I don't want to hear it-plenty of schools are going to have to make these drives to make any of this work. Car goes vroom.

I've eliminated the one big 4A/5A conference, and I believe I have fewer split conferences. There are some nine team conferences, because I didn't see any other way around that and there are a couple of 1A/2A/3A conferences, but only because there were 1A schools with nowhere else to put them. Otherwise, I think this is fairly compact.

Here's my model for this area:

Little SMC (no football) 1A
Hiwassee Dam
Tri-Count Early College
Blue Ridge Early College
Summit Charter School
Nantahala
Highlands


SMC 2A/1A
Swain 2A
Murphy 2A
Cherokee 2A
Hayesville 2A
Robbinsville 1A
Rosman 1A
Andrews 1A

Western Highlands 3A/2A (1A)
Mountain Heritage 3A
Draughn 3A
Patton 3A
West Caldwell 3A
Avery 2A
Mitchell 2A
NC School of Sci. & Math, Morganton 1A (no football)

Foothills 3A/2A/1A
Lincolnton
W. Lincoln
Bessemer City
Mountain Island Charter 2A
Piedmont Community (no football, only here because they're 3A)
Highland Tech 2A
Cherryville 2A
Thomas Jefferson Classical Acad. 1A (FB) only fits here because they play football, nowhere else to put them otherwise.

Northern foothills 3A/4A
Ashe 4A
Wilkes Central 4A
Forbush 4A
N. Surry 4A
W. Stokes 4A
W. Wilkes 3A
N. Wilkes 3A
Surry Central 3A

Mountain 7 4A/3A
Pisgah 4A
Tuscola 4A
East Hendo 4A
Brevard 4A
Hendo 3A
Owen 3A
Madison 3A

SW 4A/3A
Stuart Cramer
E. Gaston
Burns
Lake Norman Charter
R-S Central 3A
Shelby 3A
E. Rutherford 3A
Chase 3A
Polk 3A

CVAC 4A
Lincoln Charter
Maiden
Bunker Hill
Newton Conover
Bandys
W. Iredell
Fred T. Foard
East Burke
Hibriten

WMAC 5A
Enka 5A
Erwin 5A
West Hendo 5A
North Hendo 5A
Franklin 5A
Smoky 5A
North Buncombe 5A

Western Piedmont 5A
Hickory
Huss
Forestview
N. Lincoln
Crest
N. Gaston
E. Lincoln
S. Point

Western 6A/7A
Watauga
TC Roberson
Asheville
S. Caldwell
Freedom
AC Reynolds
McDowell (7A)

Piedmont Hills 6A/7A
St. Stephens
Statesville
N. Iredell
Kings Mountain
Ashbrook
Alexander Central
Lake Norman 7A
Mooresville 7A
South Iredell 7A

I like it for the most part with the exception of the split conference in your Piedmont Hills 6A/7A. There are still enough 6A schools close enough to make an all 6A conference here. I am aware that will include a couple of 6A schools east of I77.

 

[FreedomAlum]

I like it for the most part with the exception of the split conference in your Piedmont Hills 6A/7A. There are still enough 6A schools close enough to make an all 6A conference here. I am aware that will include a couple of 6A schools east of I77.

In my original proposal I think I had a 6A only conference with those teams. All I did here was tack Ashbrook and KM onto the proposed conference the state already has out there. I mostly did that so I could have the 5A conference with Hickory, SP, Crest, etc.

 

[shutdownD24]

In my original proposal I think I had a 6A only conference with those teams. All I did here was tack Ashbrook and KM onto the proposed conference the state already has out there. I mostly did that so I could have the 5A conference with Hickory, SP, Crest, etc.

Your conference realignment is pretty good overall. Besides the split conference situation the other thing for me as a KM fan would be having conference opponents that are close to 2,000 students in LN and Mooresville while KM is barely over 1,300. I still like your conference realignment versus what we have right now however.

 

[FreedomAlum]

Your conference realignment is pretty good overall. Besides the split conference situation the other thing for me as a KM fan would be having conference opponents that are close to 2,000 students in LN and Mooresville while KM is barely over 1,300. I still like your conference realignment versus what we have right now however.

It would be simple enough to change a few things around (in green):
Mountain 7 4A/3A
Pisgah 4A
Tuscola 4A
East Hendo 4A
Brevard 4A
Hendo 3A
Owen 3A
Madison 3A
Polk 3A

SW 4A/3A
Stuart Cramer
E. Gaston
Burns
Lincoln Charter
R-S Central 3A
Shelby 3A
E. Rutherford 3A
Chase 3A

CVAC 4A
Maiden
Bunker Hill
Newton Conover
Bandys
W. Iredell
Fred T. Foard
East Burke
Hibriten

Piedmont Hills 6A/7A
St. Stephens
Statesville
N. Iredell
Kings Mountain
Ashbrook
Alexander Central
Lake Norman 7A
Mooresville 7A
South Iredell 7A

This way I eliminate all the nine team conferences west of 77. Lake Norman, Mooresville and S. Iredell can go play with other 7A schools or in a 7A/8A conference around Charlotte.

 

[ref4e]

It's not too difficult if you limit everything to a specific geographic area. Unfortunately, the realignment committee has to look at this thing considering how it will effect a much larger footprint...even the entire state. As I said in another thread, it's kind of a 'house of cards.'

I do agree that Brian Simmons has done a really nice job with his proposal. However, we don't know how the schools and conferences would feel about his. Can't please 'em all!!

 

[FreedomAlum]

It's not too difficult if you limit everything to a specific geographic area. Unfortunately, the realignment committee has to look at this thing considering how it will effect a much larger footprint...even the entire state. As I said in another thread, it's kind of a 'house of cards.'

I explained above that I didn't change much that exists east of I-77. If you compare what I have here with the conferences they propose the only differences outside the region would be putting Ashe in with the Wilkes County schools that are in with the Surry County schools, Forbush and W. Stokes. That's adding one school there to make it an eight-team conference. I also put Ashbrook and Kings Mountain in with a seven school 6A/7A conference to make it nine, but you don't even have to do that as I showed in my later model. I did the entire west a few weeks ago and mostly people complained about the drive from school x to school y.

Maybe that's what the association focused on, but I think you can come up with a model fairly easily if you take the perspective that schools in the west will have long drives so there's not really any excuse for other schools to grumble much. Last night I was behind Freedom's buses coming back from Watauga and I know those kids didn't make it home before 11. We've got to do it regularly going to Watauga and Ashe and we'll have to do it with the new model as well, and it's worse for some other schools. So, I don't have much sympathy for schools who have to drive an hour and a half somewhere to make a model work.

Edit-the east is an entirely different animal, and I don't see a good solution for some of the schools down there in terms of conferences split across more than two classes and/or travel time. But the west can be done fairly simply, with a few schools having long bus rides once or twice a season. Schools like Watauga and Rosman will have long rides regardless.

 

[DeBoer31]

I like most of it. As I've said before .... the most remote schools can't drive the entire state's conferences.
and take these two out (BOLD) & replace with who is shown in italics:
SW 4A/3A
Stuart Cramer - West Lincoln
E. Gaston - Bessemer City
Burns
R-S Central 3A
Shelby 3A
E. Rutherford 3A
Chase 3A
Polk 3A

and take these two out (BOLD) & replace with who is shown:
Western Piedmont 5A
Hickory - Stuart Cramer
Huss
Forestview
N. Lincoln - East Gaston
Crest
N. Gaston
E. Lincoln
S. Point

CVAC 4A-Lincolnton and move out one of those teams to one of the "mountain" area conferences

 

[FreedomAlum]

I like most of it. As I've said before .... the most remote schools can't drive the entire state's conferences.
and take these two out (BOLD) & replace with who is shown in italics:
SW 4A/3A
Stuart Cramer - West Lincoln
E. Gaston - Bessemer City
Burns
R-S Central 3A
Shelby 3A
E. Rutherford 3A
Chase 3A
Polk 3A

and take these two out (BOLD) & replace with who is shown:
Western Piedmont 5A
Hickory - Stuart Cramer
Huss
Forestview
N. Lincoln - East Gaston
Crest
N. Gaston
E. Lincoln
S. Point

CVAC 4A-Lincolnton and move out one of those teams to one of the "mountain" area conferences

Lincolnton is going to be 3A in this reclassification. I would be taking a 4A conference and making it a 3A/4A for only one school. I realize that Lincolnton has a traditional affiliation with this conference, but that won't work.
Likewise, I would be taking a 5A conference and making it 4A/5A if I moved in Stuart Cramer and E. Gaston as you suggest. E. Gaston to Polk is an hour and twenty minutes by car. I've already said that driving time shouldn't be a factor given that the association is already asking other schools to drive much further in its models.

 

[beamer24]

@FreedomAlum you getting this to the representative from here?

 

[FreedomAlum]

@FreedomAlum you getting this to the representative from here?

I don't know who that is, so let me know if you have a point of contact. Thanks.

 

[beamer24]

I was thinking it was Casey Rogers but I maybe mistaken.

 

[Squirrel Gravy]

solid

 

[FreedomAlum]

I was thinking it was Casey Rogers but I maybe mistaken.

You're right, he's the AD for the county. I will see if there is a way to reach out to him.

 

[DeBoer31]

Lincolnton is going to be 3A in this reclassification. I would be taking a 4A conference and making it a 3A/4A for only one school. I realize that Lincolnton has a traditional affiliation with this conference, but that won't work.
Likewise, I would be taking a 5A conference and making it 4A/5A if I moved in Stuart Cramer and E. Gaston as you suggest. E. Gaston to Polk is an hour and twenty minutes by car. I've already said that driving time shouldn't be a factor given that the association is already asking other schools to drive much further in its models.

Yes... and SC has about 30 kids less than SP and EG about 65 less than SP. They're classified as 3a sure....but I guess that's a whole other argument to deal with.
Could also group Lincolnton in with EG/SC and kick out Crest for the Western Piedmont 5A... and have a 3 member 3a part of a split conf. EG/SC/SP all within 15 minutes of each other and all about the same size. Stupid they're not all in the same conference.

SP would still play Crest non conf. I'm sure.