Changes Proposed for Prep Basketball Playoffs

Sweeping proposals that would alter the groupings for high school basketball playoffs beginning in 1989 have been introduced to Southern Section league representatives to consider for a vote next month.

A playoff grouping committee, chaired by Bill Brand, principal at Trabuco Hills High School, has recommended two plans for basketball. The more radical plan, Proposal B, would bring the Southern Section in line with the rest of the state, with groupings based solely on enrollment.

“It would be interesting. Our league (Pacific Coast League) and the Sea View League both have such diversed enrollments that conceivably every team in league could get into playoffs at various levels,” Bill Shannon, Woodbridge basketball coach, said.

Under Proposal A, the current six divisions for basketball playoffs--5-A, 4-A, 3-A, 2-A, 1-A and small schools--would remain, but several of the county’s leagues would switch divisions.

The 5-A division, which includes primarily parochial and large schools, would increase from 5 to 10 leagues. The Bay, Channel, Marmonte, Pacific and South Coast leagues would move from the 4-A to 5-A division.

The 4-A division would remain with 10 leagues, adding the Foothill, Golden and Sea View leagues from the 3-A division.

“We were real good this year, but it has taken us a few years to put the program together,” said Saddleback Coach Pat Quinn, whose basketball team plays in the Sea View League. “To have someone sit back and say ‘These guys are too good, let’s move them up,’ is tough to take.”

Four of the county’s leagues--Empire, Freeway, Garden Grove and Orange--would remain in the 3-A division. The division would include two new leagues--Mountain View and San Fernando Valley--for a 10-league alignment. The Pacific Coast League would remain in the 2-A division.

“I’m curious to know where they (the council) think the line of support is going to come from,” Tim Travers, El Toro basketball coach, said. “If this is a railroad job that’s one thing, but if it’s a legitimate vote, I don’t know where they’ll get support. I can’t imagine our league (South Coast) or the Sea View League being in favor of it. I can’t imagine any of the leagues that are being asked to move up will be in favor of it.”

The committee also recommended a change in football that would use division designations instead of the current conference setup to eliminate confusion for fans.

Under the football proposal, the nine conferences--Big Five, Coastal, Southern, Eastern, Southeastern, Central, Northwestern, Desert-Mountain and Inland--would be eliminated. Leagues would be placed in nine divisions, based first on the average enrollment of each league member and then on the league’s competitiveness.

Orange County’s nine football leagues are currently spread out in four football conferences--Big Five, Southern, Central and Desert Mountain. The Big Five Conference would become Division I under the proposal, with the Southern Conference becoming Division III, the Central Conference becoming Division VI and the Desert-Mountain Conference becoming Division VIII.

The proposals will be considered May 5 at the next general council meeting at Norwalk. A two-thirds majority vote of league representatives is needed for a measure to pass.

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFF PROPOSALS

BASKETBALL--PROPOSAL A

5-A Division: Expanded from five to 10 leagues. Holdovers Angelus, Del Rey, Camino Real, Moore and Sunset will be joined by Bay, Channel, Marmonte, Pacific and South Coast leagues, South Coast moving up from 4-A.

4-A Division: 10 leagues including holdovers Baseline, Century, Citrus Belt, Ivy, Ocean, San Gabriel Valley and Sierra. Foothill, Golden and Sea View leagues will move up from 3-A.

3-A Division: 10 leagues including holdovers Empire, Freeway, Garden Grove, Hacienda, Orange and Whitmont. Desert Valleys and San Andreas move up from 2-A. Two new leagues--Mountain View and San Fernando Valley--round out the 10.

2-A Division: Pacific Coast League, including powerful Woodbridge, remains in 2-A.

BASKETBALL--PROPOSAL B

Under this proposal, the groupings would be in line with the state playoff setup, based solely on enrollment. Leagues would not be in divisions; instead, schools qualifying for the playoffs would be placed in divisions according to enrollment. Thus, Woodbridge would probably play in Division 4-A while league rival Laguna Beach would play in 2-AA.

Division 5-AA: enrollment of more than 2,400 students. 32-team bracket.

Division 5-A: enrollment of 2,000 to 2,399 students. 32-team bracket. Note: Both 5-AA and 5-A would compete in Div I in the state playoffs.

Division 4-AA: enrollment of 1,750 to 1,999. 32-team bracket.

Division 4-A: enrollment of 1,500 to 1,749. 32-team bracket. Note: Both 4-AA and 4-A would compete in Division II state playoffs.

Division 3-A: enrollment of 1,000 to 1,499 students. 32-team bracket.

Division 2-AA: enrollment of 750 to 999 students. 16-team bracket. Note: Both 3-A and 2-AA would compete in Division III state playoffs.

Division 2-A: enrollment of 400-749 students. 16-team bracket. Note: Would compete in Division IV state playoffs.

Division 1-A: enrollment of 150-399. 32-team bracket.

Small Schools Division: enrollment up to 149. 32-team bracket. Note: Both 1-A and small schools would compete in Division V of state playoffs.

FOOTBALL

Current conferences such as Big Five or Southern will be replaced by divisions to eliminate confusion for the general fan who doesn’t know the difference between, say, the Southeastern Conference and the Northwestern. Divisions of five leagues each, except where noted, would be based on average enrollment of the schools from each league and competitiveness of each league in the conference.

The proposals:

Division I (formerly the Big Five Conference).

Division II (formerly Coastal).

Division III (formerly Southern).

Division IV (formerly Eastern).

Division V (formerly Southeastern, would become a six-league conference).

Division VI (formerly Central).

Division VII (formerly Northwestern).

Division VIII (formerly Desert-Mountain, would become a six-league conference).

Division IX (formerly Inland, would become a six-league conference).

Note: six league divisions such as Desert Mountain will be guaranteed only two playoff entries from each league.